Here are our top 10 steps to help you be as close as you can to secure your network against all sort of threats.

1. Removable Media Controls

Produce a policy to control all access of removable media. Limit media types and use. Scan all media for malware before importing into the corporate system.

2. Home and Mobile Working

Develop a mobile working policy and train staff to adhere to it. Apply the secure baseline build to all devices. Protect data both in transit and at rest.

3. Monitoring

Establish a monitoring strategy and develop supporting policies. Continuously monitor all ICT systems and networks. Analyse logs for unusual activity that could indicate an attack.

4. Network Security

Protect your networks against external and internal attack. Manage the network perimeter. Filter out unauthorised access and malicious content. Monitor and test security controls.

5. Managing User Privileges

Establish account management processes and limit the number of privileged accounts. Limit user privileges and monitor user activity. Control access to activity and audit logs.

6. Incident Management

Establish an incident response and disaster recovery capability. Produce and test incident management plans. Provide specialist training to the incident management team. Report criminal incidents to law enforcement.

7. Malware Prevention

Produce relevant policy and establish anti-malware defences that are applicable and relevant to all business areas. Scan for malware across the organisation.

8. Data Breach Notifiers

Protect your network against internal and external data breach attempts. Install the devices that would alert immediately if someone is sniffing around your important data.

9. User Education & Awareness

Produce user security policies covering the acceptable and secure use of organisation’s systems. Establish a staff training programme. Maintain user awareness of the cyber risks. Read this article for more info.

10. Secure Configuration

Apply security patches and ensure that the secure configuration of all ICT systems is maintained. Create a system inventory and define a baseline build for all ICT devices.

If you need any help to keep your computer systems safe, check out the articles below or get in touch here. Also, you can download the NCSC 10 Steps to Cyber Security from here.