Back to the Basics: Security Must-Haves for 2024, Part I
By: Gary Perkins, Chief Information Security Officer
Welcome to 2024!
A new year brings new change, so why not start 2024 with a rapid IT and security hygiene check? Read through the following list, keep a tally, and score your organization out of 10 on these mandatory items. If you don’t know the answer, it’s worth following up to find out.
In general:
- Does your organization have an information security policy that the employees are expected to follow?
- Do you have a risk register that an executive reviews quarterly?
- Do you perform risk assessments before introducing new systems or material changes to existing systems?
- Do you have an incident response plan and incident response team?
- Do you have mandatory security training for employees?
Now, let’s get technical:
- Do you have a modern endpoint security solution?
- Do you have a modern email security solution?
- Do you have multifactor authentication turned on?
- Do you perform regular vulnerability scans and patching?
- Do you have offline backups of sensitive data?
Give yourself one point for each item that your organization has effectively implemented. Subtract your total points from the maximum score of 10. If your score is anything less than 10, then I’m sorry to inform you that you did not pass.
Each of these basic security controls has been essential for the past few years. These modest security controls are akin to washing your hands and brushing your teeth. They’re basic hygiene. These tasks must be in place to stand a chance of warding off the attacks your organization faces. Of course, there are many other security controls that your organization should implement. But this quick temperature check will instantly tell you if there are any items that should be on your “to-do” list. Check back for Part II of our security basics where we’ll cover all 26 key components needed to improve your security posture.
Download the Printable Basic Security Hygiene Checklist Here
