New Year’s Resolutions for Savvy IT Professionals
Like us, you’re probably in the midst of 2023 planning. You’ve promised yourself that you will not repeat the same bad habits that made your job (and life harder) than it needed to be in 2022. You swear to improve your cybersecurity posture and reduce your attack surface. You pledge to achieve everything you set out to complete.
With this in mind, here are the top FIVE New Year’s resolutions that IT professionals should focus on in 2023. Add them to your list and make this year the best yet.
Resolution #1: Achieve top-notch patch compliance
According to a survey by Ponemon Institute, 57% of ransomware attacks result from unpatched software. Patching is a critical element of any organization’s cybersecurity posture and automating patch management can help ensure that patches are applied promptly and consistently. Policy-driven patch management can help simplify the process by providing a clear and concise set of rules for when and how to apply patches. Not only that but middle-of-the-night patching can be an effective way to reduce the impact of downtime on users and systems.
Resolution #2: Automate everything
We all know the drill. A client calls and says their computer isn’t working. The first question you ask is, “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” — and eight times out of ten, that does the trick. That’s why one of your New Year’s resolutions should be to automate all the mundane tasks that take up your time and peace of mind. Automating the patching and monitoring process allows you to fix issues beforehand without relying on clients to tell you what’s wrong. By automating as many tasks as possible, you can free up your staff to focus on other areas of your business. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth automating.
Resolution #3: Don’t trust your end users
Your end users are usually the weakest link in your organization’s security posture. They love clicking on infected links like it’s their full-time job and delaying patches for as long as possible.
This year, resolve to take a more proactive approach to protect your end users from themselves. Leverage policy-driven policies to close those unsecured ports, enforce two-factor authentication and patch vulnerabilities on a schedule. Shutdown admin permission sprawl and don’t let folks execute scripts if they don’t need to.
Go the extra mile and train your end users on cybersecurity best practices. Teach them how to identify phishing emails and other social engineering attacks. Empower them to be part of your organization’s defense against cyberthreats. These steps will keep your users from accidentally exposing your organization to malware or other threats.
Resolution #4: Improve cybersecurity
It’s time to gear up and beat cybercriminals at their own game in 2023. Set up monitoring tools to identify and flag any suspicious activity so you can investigate and resolve it promptly. Enforcing 100% antivirus and antimalware compliance means that all your security tools are always up to date to keep you safe and protected against known threats. Backing everything up is crucial should a ransomware attack or any other data loss incident occur. Keep multiple backups in different locations so you can always recover your data in case of an incident. Invest in an endpoint detection and response (EDR) solution to detect and respond to security incidents in real-time. Taking this step can help contain crippling business losses arising from a cyberattack and prevent further breaches.
Resolution #5: Focus on what matters
To be more productive and efficient at work, you must avoid wasting time on tasks that don’t add value to your business. If you’re trapped doing low-value work, automating routine tasks or outsourcing can help you free up your time for the cool stuff.
Network and security management are two essential components of a successful IT operation, but they can be time-consuming and resource intensive. That’s why it is becoming increasingly popular among IT professionals globally to outsource their work to network operation centers (NOC) and security operation centers (SOC). And because automated NOC and SOC monitoring can provide 24/7 coverage, you can be confident that your organization is being monitored and kept secure even when you’re not there.
Upgrade your technology
If anything we’ve said feels outlandish or impossible to you, it means the time has come to upgrade your tools. VSA is a next-generation remote monitoring and endpoint management solution that can automate your everyday and improve your security posture. Set the tone for the new year with best-in-class technology from Kaseya. Click here to schedule a demo and consultation.
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*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Blog - Kaseya authored by Kaseya. Read the original post at: https://www.kaseya.com/blog/2023/01/09/new-years-resolutions-for-it-professionals/
