5 Must-have Security Policies to Implement Today

No business can operate successfully without some policies in place. The purpose of given policies can vary from keeping consistency and accountability for certain actions or jobs, setting expectations of how and when an action should be completed and distributing knowledge consistently among a team or organization. Just like any other part of your business where policies are implemented, technology and security are no different. Often we see evidence that either policies are not being enforced or don’t exist at all. Having good policies in place can mean the difference between a business recovering after an event or attack or not at all.

Depending on the size of your organization, policies differ in how they are implemented and who they apply to. Your organization may have an IT department that takes care of making sure policies are being followed or they could be enforced by the executive management team to hold users accountable for their actions. Below are 5 critical policies that every business should and can have, regardless if they are an organization of 2 or 200.

Limited Access Policy

This policy defines user roles and the access that those specific user roles have to company data and applications. By limiting access for employees to only the tools they need to perform their duties, unauthorized access, both accidental and malicious, is prevented to protect the integrity of confidential company data. 

Remote Access Policy

This policy defines how users are able to access company data and applications when not at work or on the company network. This policy may force employees to use security tools such as 2-Factor Authentication and Virtual Private Networks (VPN) to prevent the theft of company data.

Naming Standardization Policy

Having a standard for naming hardware is critical for company organization and auditing. These naming conventions can define what a piece of equipment is, when it was deployed, the user, the location, etc. with just a name. This makes keeping track of hardware updates and audits simple.

Regular Auditing Policy

Regular Auditing can cover a wide range of actions. Auditing policies in any form are good for check and balances, and more often than not, data breaches or attacks often happen to organizations without strong security auditing. Audits help companies evolve to new risks and mitigate the chances of falling victim because of poor housekeeping, so to speak.

Automation Policy

Often, a breach occurs on devices and applications that aren’t up to date with security. Policies should be put in place to implement updates and patches after they have been released and tested. Backups can be automated as well to ensure that data can be recovered after an event or corruption.

These policies are just a few examples of critical areas that should be addressed with your organization’s technology. They all can be applied in different ways, but the key is that they are enforced, regularly updated and comprehensive. After all, having proactive security policies can mean the difference in whether an organization ever recovers after an incident, especially in the case of SMBs.