How to Protect Your Business from Online Threats: The Three Pillars of Cyber Security

Cyber security is a vital and urgent topic for any business that operates online. Whether you run a website, send emails, store files, or accept payments online, you need to make sure that your data, systems, and reputation are safe from hackers, malware, ransomware, and other cyber threats. But how do you achieve that? How do you protect your business from online threats?

In this blog post, we will share with you the three pillars of cyber security: people, processes, and technology. These are the key elements that you need to consider and improve to build a strong and resilient cyber security posture for your business. We will also introduce you to some of the services that we offer at Jera IT, but don’t worry, we aren’t going to ram anything in your face, and even if you do decide to handle your security in house this blog will help your team with knowledge on everything from cyber security training, audits, and scans, to cyber security solutions, tools, and support.

By the end of this blog post, you should have a clear and comprehensive understanding of the three pillars of cyber security, and how to apply them to your business. You will also have a list of actionable steps and suggestions that you can take to improve your cyber security posture right away. And you will have the opportunity to get a free cyber security audit and consultation from us, where we will help you evaluate your current situation, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and offer you a tailored plan that will address your specific needs and challenges.

Table of Contents

The First Pillar of Cyber Security: People

People are the most important and often the most vulnerable aspect of cyber security. They are the ones who use the technology, follow the processes, and ultimately decide the fate of your data and systems. People are also the main target of cyberattacks, as hackers exploit human weaknesses such as curiosity, trust, greed, or fear to trick them into revealing sensitive information or compromising their devices. This is called social engineering, and it is one of the most common and effective techniques used by cybercriminals.

Therefore, it is essential that you educate and train your staff on cyber security best practices and how to avoid falling victim to social engineering attacks. You should also establish clear and enforceable policies and guidelines for your employees regarding the use of passwords, email, internet, mobile devices, and other technologies. And you should monitor and test your staff’s cyber security awareness and behaviour regularly, using tools such as phishing simulations, security quizzes, or feedback surveys.

At Jera IT, we can help you with all these aspects of cyber security education and training. We have a team of certified and experienced cyber security experts who can provide you with customised and engaging workshops, webinars, e-learning courses, and other resources that will teach your staff how to recognise and prevent cyberattacks, and how to respond in case of an incident. We can also help you design and implement effective cyber security policies and procedures that will align with your business goals and culture. And we can help you measure and improve your staff’s cyber security performance and compliance, using our innovative and interactive assessment tools and reports.

The Second Pillar of Cyber Security: Processes

The second pillar of cyber security deals with your processes. Processes are the rules and methods that you follow to manage your cyber security operations and activities. They are the framework that guides your actions and decisions regarding cyber security. Processes can help you:

Define your cyber security goals, roles, and responsibilities.
Establish your cyber security standards, policies, and procedures.
Implement your cyber security controls, tools, and practices.
Monitor your cyber security performance, risks, and incidents.
Review and improve your cyber security effectiveness and efficiency.

However, not all processes are created equal. You need to make sure that your processes are:

Aligned with your business objectives and strategy.
Based on best practices and industry standards.
Adapted to your specific context and environment.
Documented and communicated clearly and regularly.
Measured and evaluated objectively and systematically.
Updated and improved continuously and proactively.

At Jera IT, we can help you with all these aspects of cyber security processes. We have a team of certified and experienced cyber security professionals who can help you design and implement processes that are tailored to your business needs and challenges. We can help you align your processes with the best practices and standards, such as Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus. We can help you document and communicate your processes in a clear and concise way, using tools such as process maps, flowcharts, checklists, or templates. We can help you measure and evaluate your processes using tools such as audits, reviews, metrics, or dashboards. And we can help you update and improve your processes using tools such as feedback, lessons learned, or action plans.

The Third Pillar of Cyber Security: Technology

The third pillar of cyber security is technology. Technology is the set of hardware and software tools that you use to protect and support your cyber security operations and activities. Technology can help you prevent, detect, and respond to cyber threats, as well as recover from cyber incidents. Technology can also help you automate, optimise, and streamline your cyber security processes, making them more efficient and effective. However, technology alone is not enough to ensure your cyber security success. You also need to have the right people and processes in place, as I explained in the previous sections. Technology is only as good as the people who use it and the processes that govern it.

There are many types of technologies that you need to use and manage for cyber security. Some of the most common and essential ones are:

Firewalls: These are devices or software that monitor and control the network traffic between your systems and the internet, blocking or allowing traffic based on predefined rules and policies.
Antivirus: These are software programs that scan and remove malicious software (malware) from your systems, such as viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware, spyware, etc.
Encryption: This is a technique that transforms data into an unreadable form, using a secret key, to prevent unauthorised access or modification of the data.
Authentication: This is a process that verifies the identity of a user or device before granting access to a system or resource, using methods such as passwords, tokens, biometrics, etc.
Backup: This is a process that copies and stores your data in a separate location, such as a cloud service or an external hard drive, to enable recovery in case of data loss or corruption due to a cyber incident.
Monitoring: This is a process that collects and analyses data about the performance and activity of your systems and networks, using tools such as logs, sensors, alerts, etc., to detect and respond to any anomalies or incidents.
Patching: This is a process that updates and fixes your software and hardware, using tools such as patches, updates, upgrades, etc., to address any vulnerabilities or bugs that could compromise your cyber security.

These are just some examples of the technologies that you need to use and manage for cyber security. There are many more technologies available and emerging, such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, blockchain, etc., that can offer new opportunities and challenges for cyber security. You need to stay updated and informed about the latest technological trends and developments and evaluate how they can benefit or harm your cyber security.

At Jera IT, we can help you with all these aspects of cyber security technology. We have a team of certified and experienced cyber security technicians and engineers who can help you select and deploy the best technologies for your cyber security, and train and support your staff to use them effectively. We can also help you manage and maintain your technologies, ensuring that they are always up to date, secure, and reliable. And we can help you integrate and optimise your technologies, making sure that they work well together and with your people and processes.

Conclusion

To sum up, cyber security is based on three pillars: people, processes, and technology. You need to have all three pillars aligned and balanced to achieve your cyber security goals and objectives. At Jera IT, we can help you with all aspects of cyber security, from strategy and governance to implementation and management, to assessment and improvement. We have the expertise, experience, and resources to help you design and execute a cyber security program that is tailored to your business needs and challenges.

If you want to learn more about how we can help you with your cyber security: people, processes, and technology, please contact us today and we will be happy to assist you. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Cyber security is not an option, it’s a necessity. We are here to help you make it a reality. Contact us now and let’s get started.