Our latest free guide – Securing the Public Sector – discusses the issues that the public sector face when dealing with IT security, and makes key recommendations on how these issues can be tackled.
It won’t surprise you to know that the biggest cause of security breaches is human error. After all, people are not perfect and mistakes will happen. However, with the right procedures in place many of these errors can be discovered before they become a security issue. Other major issues facing the public sector are budgetary pressures (on IT departments as much as anyone), increased use of remote working and a higher number of web-based applications. These are all areas where the traditionally closed public sector work environment becomes open and in turn opens itself up to more areas where security can be compromised.
The guide, which is available from the Network Box site, covers areas of best practice that all areas of the public sector should be implementing. These recommendations include:
o Ensuring that systems are updated and patched.
o Remembering that security is about more than just email.
o Regularly reviewing what applications and systems are used across the organisation as part of ISO9001 or about once per quarter.
o Ensuring that all data is routed through the appropriate channels and that nothing bypasses security systems (this is one of the most common causes of vulnerabilities).
o Educating employees – keep them informed about their role in keeping data secure and limit access rights.