Why It Is Essential For Businesses to Secure Their IT Systems

Businesses are relying more and more on information technology to drive every aspect of their operations, this is also increasing their vulnerability to a variety of threats. These susceptibilities can arise from viruses and malware, hackers or even their own personnel. Failure to protect the integrity of information is the difference between the business’s success and failure. It is only by exercising security measures effectively you can ensure that business information is secure from unauthorized disclosure or malicious alterations and deletions. Effective information systems security is an essential part of ensuring business continuity.

Why Business Information Needs Protection

Information is considered as the most precious resource for a business since it drives business growth and success. Ensuring continued availability of information that has not been compromised is perhaps the key task of those in charge of managing the information systems. Security breaches can occur in a number of ways ranging from unauthorized access and use, to malware designed to corrupt data or even theft. The impact of the loss of data integrity can be manifold; not only can the business competitiveness and profitability be affected but also there can be severe repercussions on the reputation and goodwill. One of the main focus areas of IT consulting Bay Area is information security.

How the Internet Has Increased the Security Risk

In the age of globalization and digitization of data, businesses are increasingly sharing information with many other organizations digitally over the Internet, replacing the conventional paper-based methods. While this has enabled faster transmission and receipt of information, and also made possible processing of a far larger volume of data, this has also increased the risk of the data being manipulated. Hackers may be able to access sensitive pricing data as well as intellectual property and copy it or even alter or destroy it. It may be possible for them to gain administrative control over your website, and alter the contents to damage the business reputation or even direct visitors to a competitor website.

One of the main concerns of information security is also preventing unauthorized persons from accessing confidential data of its customers, including financial information like credit card details to prevent fraud. The reason why data security has assumed critical importance is because security breaches are increasing at a very fast pace, and almost every organization today is reporting data theft cases.

What Are the Typical Threats Faced By Business IT Systems?

The number of threats that businesses depending upon a robust IT system face can be numerous. The very first risk is posed by the employees of the company who may try to gain unauthorized access to information or applications. Their primary goal is to steal vital data and sell it to competitors. A company’s IT system is also being constantly monitored and probed by people external to the business for the slightest chance of exploiting security weaknesses. While many could be doing it just for the thrill of it, there are others who are doing it intentionally so that they can either make a profit or cause your business to suffer.

Another great risk that all information systems face is the threat of malware and viruses that can cause great damage to your data, corrupt your software, or cause resources to get jammed and crash so that your business is unable to operate and undergoes a financial and reputation loss. The ubiquitous presence of the Internet has also opened up many doors for committing fraud.

This guest post was written by  Marlene Robertson, a systems analyst with extensive experience in data security. Marlene is currently employed with a prominent IT consulting Bay Area company.

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