Are you feeling confident about your approach to information security? Maybe you shouldn’t be; maybe your confidence isn’t justified. Why are businesses overconfident about their IT security?

To start with, there are many sources of information security risks. These include incorrect network and security configurations, limited resources and skills on the IT security team, limited training and motivation to compute securely from employees, threats to data from employees and contractors, external attacks, and compromised mobile and remote devices.

Even if you think you’re addressing all of those risks, chances are, you aren’t doing it completely or effectively. Some common failings include:

1. Setting configurations manually.

When configurations are done manually on every installation, it’s easy to make errors. Without a process that periodically reviews configurations to make sure they match best practices, you remain at risk. Without automation to deploy configurations across all systems, it’s easy to overlook a machine and leave it vulnerable.

2. No security testing.

In order to know that your systems are secure, you need to scan and test them for vulnerabilities. Testing shouldn’t just check for vulnerabilities; testing should also check that the operational procedures associated with security are effective, including how the business would respond in case an incident occurred.

3. Lacking log reviews.

Automated logs capture lots of detail and can provide insight into attempted attacks. These logs are often automatically scanned for trouble signs, but alert overload means they aren’t always reviewed.

4. Too many security tools.

Because no security tool is complete, businesses implement multiple tools to provide layers of security. However, too many tools can be hard to monitor and support. It’s difficult to ensure all configurations are in sync with no conflicts, and there can be an overload of generated alerts.

5. Overreliance on cloud.

Although there were lots of early concerns about data security in the cloud, cloud doesn’t make data less secure. But cloud doesn’t automatically make data more secure, either. Assuming the cloud provider will protect your systems and data is a major mistake; every business needs to actively participate in implement a cloud security solution.

Prescient Solutions helps businesses implement effective cybersecurity solutions that you can legitimately feel confident about. Our solutions utilize security tools that provide comprehensive coverage that can be effectively monitored and supported. Contact Prescient Solutions to replace your false sense of confidence with confidence that’s justified based on a robust information security solution.