Cybersecurity Services

As we become more and more dependent on technology in our daily lives, the threat of compromises to private data or disruption to the technology platforms and services we rely on has greater impact than ever before. While some disruptions may simply be annoying or inconvenient, the unavailability or failure of critical systems can have serious consequences, from work downtime, missing important deadlines, transportation delays, financial consequences, or even physical harm should health or safety systems fail.

Unfortunately, there are individuals and organizations who, in addition to financial gain, intentionally use cyberattacks to target people and technology with the goal of causing disruption or harm. From well-thought-out scams to steal personal or company data to make money, to more insidious efforts to destroy critical infrastructure and data for various purposes, every one of us must improve our cybersecurity awareness and stay vigilant to protect ourselves, our co-workers, and our communities.

All this can be overwhelming, but the good news is that there are processes and techniques that can help reduce the overall threat and impact of a cyberattack. At Crown Point Solutions, we work with clients to mitigate the risk of cybersecurity incidents using proactive and reactive methods, including implementing technology solutions such as firewalls, providing IT support, helping with policy implementation, and providing staff training. We use our skills and expertise to implement measures that help organizations minimize IT systems downtime and collaborate with our clients to protect IT systems and personnel from harm potentially caused by these attacks.

IT security includes implementing and performing many technology and management best practices ranging from network and systems monitoring, software updates and testing, encryption, ongoing backups, disaster recovery planning, training, policy development and standards compliance.

If you have a problem, and no one else can help, consider hiring the Crown Point Solutions team.

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The Cybersecurity Life Cycle

We believe there is a life cycle of cybersecurity services that once implemented, helps organizations minimize the risk and impact of a cyberattack.

Management and Budget

Building a good cybersecurity foundation starts with good management practices. Business owners and executive management must take cybersecurity seriously, demonstrate leadership and commitment to good IT security practices, and make cybersecurity a priority across the entire company. Because hardware, software, and people are ever-changing, and because hackers are always learning, there is no such thing as perfect cybersecurity. It is an ongoing battle. Managers therefore need to take a long-term approach and make decisions on where to prioritize their time and budget. What risks need to be identified and mitigated? What needs to be managed? How much money is it worth? A cybersecurity consulting firm like Crown Point Solutions is well positioned to help you make these decisions by improving your understanding of trade-offs and prioritizing actions to be taken.

Develop Policies and Procedures

Developing IT policies that include cybersecurity measures not only leads to more knowledge about your IT systems but helps reduce the odds of security breaches. Various security policies such as device policy, acceptable use policy, incident response policy, and employee onboarding/offboarding policy should be in place to help set expectations amongst management and staff about procedures and rules for employee conduct that protect the organization. We promote the adoption of accepted security standards such as HIPAA, ISO/IEC 27001, NIST CSF, and SOC2 as well as PCI compliance and consumer privacy legislation such as the CCPA. The Crown Point Solutions team can work across departments such as human resources, accounting, and operations to help develop effective IT policy.

Risk Mitigation

Once you identify your primary security risks and assess what the impact of a cyberattack might be, you can seek to lessen the risk. Risks are not only about technical security vulnerabilities, but also about human factors. As stated above, good company policies and procedures can greatly help. Having tools in place to monitor network activity and secure systems is essential. Using the built-in platform security features like multi-factor authentication is a must. Having reliable data backups and recovery plans in place greatly reduces risk to your company in the event of an attack. Layering your security, policy, redundancy, and backups, can all help companies mitigate risk.

Ongoing Monitoring and Awareness

Hackers are always making attempts to break into computer systems and networks. It is possible for them to inconspicuously compromise authentication systems, and frequently lurk quietly with unauthorized access to systems without you knowing it: collecting data, using your computer systems for their own purposes, or preparing for an attack on you our someone else when an opportune time presents itself. Security monitoring is important, so you are aware of whether hackers are trying to intrude and whether they have compromised your systems. Once you know what’s going on, you can then take effective action.

Defense (Proactive)

Proactive defense anticipates hacking attempts, identifies threats, and seeks to mitigate them before they happen. Due to the complexities of any IT environment, constant change, and introduction of new technologies, cybersecurity experts must always be on the lookout for new vulnerabilities. Knowing about emerging threats before they occur is one of the most effective ways to stay secure. Once you know the potential threats, you can take action to remedy them, such as implementing security controls.

Fast Incident Response

Once a cybersecurity incident is known to have occurred, it is essential to respond quickly. Delays could mean hackers acquire vital intellectual property, confidential customer records, financial information, and personal information. Hackers may also be able to shut down connected systems, damage hardware or software, lock you out of your systems via ransomware or other means, or use your systems to attack other targets. Reacting quickly can limit the damage and save you money.

Defense (Reactive)

Reactive defense deals with fixing potential vulnerabilities after an incident occurs or after a problem has been identified. As with proactive defense, reacting properly to a cyberattack after it is detected is critical. Since implementing security measures often takes time and can impact company operations due to technology or process change, it is always best to prepare your defenses in advance rather than as an afterthought.

Damage Assessment

After a cybersecurity incident occurs, you need to investigate thoroughly to understand what systems and data have been affected, so you can determine how to respond. It may not only require recovering systems and data for business continuity, but companies may also need to notify customers or maybe even government authorities depending on the nature of the data breach and what compliance regulations your business must follow.

Recovery

It is wise to have a disaster recovery plan in place in the event of a cybersecurity incident. Having a plan and doing regular disaster recovery drills greatly reduces the risk, impact, anxiety, and time lost when involved in a crisis. Recovery may involve restoring from backups but may also require rebuilding affected systems from scratch. The Crown Point Solutions team can help you put a disaster recovery process and plan in place, reducing your risk and giving you peace of mind.

Research and Analysis

Cybersecurity is complicated. It has many facets that require understanding, from human behavior and actions to understanding complex technology, and thus requires rigorous study. We advise spending time researching the existing systems, networks, platforms, and processes that your business uses. Watch for emerging trends, such as new threats, new tools, new compliance requirements. You can also hire the Crown Point Solutions team and rely on them to help keep you apprised of cybersecurity trends and best practices.

Education and Training

We are now in an era where IT security is not just something for IT professionals to think about. To be fully effective, security practices must involve a company-wide effort, as security is only as strong as the weakest link. Educating your staff on the importance of strong passwords, practicing good IT hygiene, not visiting certain websites or social media platforms, and being careful with securing devices and how you share data, are some ways to reduce the odds and impact of an attack. Helping your staff identify suspicious phishing emails and reporting them to the IT department can make a big difference in reducing your risk of ransomware or other types of incidents.

Cybersecurity is now relevant to everyone who uses a smartphone, tablet, or computer, and most everyone has been victim of or knows someone who has been affected by a cyberattack. The more difficult we can all make it on the people and organizations who perpetrate these attacks, the less disruption they can cause, the less money they can make off of their victims. Education is a key part of this effort, and as they say, knowing is half the battle.

Related Corporate Network and Systems Management Services

Managing cybersecurity involves mastering underlying IT systems. Crown Point Solutions also offers standard managed IT services such as:

• Online Platform Administration (Microsoft 365, AWS, Google)
• Server OS Updates
• Software Updates
• Network Architecture
• Firewall/VPN
• Encryption/SSL
• Zero Trust Authentication and Single Sign On
• Ongoing Systems Monitoring and Alerts
• Incident Response and Risk Mitigation
• Backups and Disaster Recovery
• Compliance (PCI, Consumer Data Protection)

If you’d like to discuss how Crown Point Solutions can help you with securing your IT infrastructure and mitigating your cybersecurity risk, please Contact Us Today