Why Your Company Needs a Technical Security Audit

Many businesses have moved away from using paper stored in folders and filing cabinets to store information. Most have switched to storing data digitally on a central computer server that lives physically “on the premises” of their office building. Turning on the security system and locking the door to the office building  at the end of the day is an established habit to detect and deter intruders. But what happens when a business shifts to storing stuff in a cloud-based storage space? How do we lock the virtual “doors” to our online cloud workspaces to protect our business data? We recommend a Technical Security Audit.

In this blog, we’ll review what kind of security you should look for in the cloud, and how a Technical Security Audit can help.

What Do We Need Protection From?

We need to create a system of checks and balances to protect against external threats and internal threats.

External Threats

External threats are people outside our company exploiting vulnerabilities in our system. Hacking is a common example, but can also include malware (spyware, ransomware, viruses, trojans, etc.) and deceiving people to reveal sensitive information (email phishing, fake scam websites, etc.).

Organizations can setup multiple safeguards for external threats such as:

• Strong passwords
• Multi-factor authentication (Read more: What the F is MFA?)
• Centrally controlled software updates for devices
• Educating employees about email and internet safety

Internal Threats

Internal Threats are security breaches caused by the people who work within the organization. It is not always as nefarious as a disgruntled employee who has sabotaged your system or stolen information. It can be unauthorized access to a secure area or as simple as people losing their password, accidentally interacting with a phishing email, or having their work device stolen or misplaced.

Organizations can implement multiple internal security measures for internal threats such as:

• Control who has access to data and what they can access
• Mobile device management
• Mobile application management
• Privileged Identity Management
• Conditional Access policies
• Azure Rights Management

How Do We Stay Secure?

Most organizations do not have in-house cloud technology specialists. Businesses who contract out to IT firms are discovering that their Managed Service Providers are lacking the depth of experience when it comes to cloud security. It is ideal to work with a cloud security specialist whose job is to stay ahead of the latest trends in security risks.

Working with a cloud security specialist to guide you through an evaluation of your current setup helps spot weaknesses and recommend strategies to improve. Regroove offers this service as a Technical Security Audit.

What Is a Technical Security Audit?

A Technical Security Audit is a checklist of criteria used to test, measure, and evaluate how secure your environment is to external and internal threats. The evaluation is performed by a cyber security advisor who reviews your environment, produces a summary, then reviews the summary with you. The review meeting can be high-level using plain business language or a deeper dive into the details. Regardless, Regroove prioritizes the finding by severity so you know what red flags need attention ASAP and which can wait until later.

During the audit, nothing is fixed. Our focus is getting information, documenting what was found, listing what needs to be resolved, and offering recommendations of what to resolve. You decide which recommendations to act on. You can action them internally, in partnership with your MSP, or request a separate project to have Regroove take care of it for you.

We continuously update the Technical Security Audit checklist to stay current with changes within the Microsoft 365 environments and corresponding Security and Compliance Centers.

What Are the Benefits of a Technical Security Audit?

A Clear Plan and Peace of Mind

An audit gives you a prioritized plan of action items to address so you can relax. We’ve taken the guesswork out of figuring out if something crucial has been missed or overlooked so you can get back to running your business or organization.

Ease Client Concerns

Demonstrate to existing clients and potential new prospects that you care about and are committed to the safety of the personal data they entrust in your care.

Scalability

A new device can be setup in less than a day so staff can get back to work quickly if a laptop is lost or damaged. Scalability is simple using the Office 365 Admin Center to easily setup accounts to add new employees to the system as the company grows. 

More Control

Monitor what staff members are doing on their work devices to prevent certain dangerous activities such viewing unsecure sites or sites notorious for viruses. Control how the devices and applications are used, and most importantly wipe a device if it gets stolen, lost, or compromised from any computer.

Agility and Flexibility

Your company can shift to working from home with minimal disruption due to enhanced portability of devices and ease of access to data without sacrificing security.  

Save Money

We also point out opportunities to save money, such as pointing out spare licensing that businesses are paying for that is not in use.

Keep Costs Down

Cloud-based security tools like EndPoint Manager (Intune) and Azure Active Directory, once setup correctly, can be managed in-house going forward to keep costs down. 

One Step Closer

Bring you one step closer to ditching the physical server in your office and operating 100% virtually using cloud-based software. Heck, why not also leave behind your physical office in favour of a rented shared boardroom in a local co-working space!

Conclusion

Security is paramount for organizations that work with sensitive information. Keeping your data and your client’s or customer’s information safe should be priority. Take the first step with a Technical Security Audit.

Regroove is a Victoria, BC technology company helping organizations in Canada and around the world understand and implement the benefits of cloud technologies. Are you a Canadian business, venue, or brand looking to upgrade your technology and processes, improve your security, or migrate to Microsoft 365? Contact us here and we’ll be in touch to help you start your journey!