There is a common misconception that technology poses the biggest security risk to business, but it is just one part of the problem.
Often, companies leave themselves vulnerable to information breaches despite technology, but there are ways to lessen the risk.
One of the areas where companies are leaving themselves vulnerable is through lack of security policies.
While all companies should have strong security policies across the business, in reality many companies don't put policies in place until after a breach.
“Awareness creates action, which is invaluable for tightening security,” says Jim Hamilton, vice president, member communities, CompTIA.
“Companies should use policies to create awareness by routinely implementing, updating and communicating them, rather than waiting for a cybersecurity breach.
“Implementing stringent policies can be hard to balance with ease of use and practicality. Many employees now use their own apps and devices at work, which can make the entire IT landscape much harder to manage.”
As organisations have embraced cloud computing and mobile technology solutions, Hamilton says they have extended the security perimeter, creating new considerations.
And, with the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) he believes there are lots of devices built without the security of a corporate IT system.
“Technology is moving fast and every company is at risk,” he adds. “Companies need to ensure their security systems and policies are keeping up.
“If they only do a security audit every five years it will become outdated very quickly. Companies also need to be more proactive about testing their resilience in this increasingly complex environment.
“People take risks to save time and money but, if something happens, they could lose significantly more than they saved.”
Furthermore, Hamilton believes companies need to make employees part of the solution, believing that human error is often the cause of issues with data security due to carelessness, failure to follow policies and failure to get up to speed on new threats.
“Clearly, more training is required for employees,” he adds. “Fully-certified personnel are by nature more vigilant but security now must be a concern for everyone, and training should follow suit.”
