[April blog 3]
We all have some pretty intuitive feelings about keeping ourselves (and our stuff) safe. It’s why we have doors and locks: If you knew your storefront, office, or home was sitting with the front doors stuck wide open, you wouldn’t walk away, call it a night, or go on vacation, right?
No, you’d do whatever needs to be done to secure your property. Sure, it’s possible everything will be fine — you aren’t guaranteed someone will break in. But the risk is too great, too obvious. Any of us would take the necessary precautions, even if it were pretty inconvenient to do so.
But here’s the thing: as obvious as this sounds when we’re talking about buildings and real-world stuff, things get a little murkier in the digital world.
The result is that many businesses and business leaders are sailing through life while their business’s digital infrastructure is frighteningly vulnerable — the equivalent of leaving the door unlocked, the safe open, and the keys in the ignition.
Understanding Security Vulnerabilities
“Security vulnerabilities”: by the name alone, they sound obviously bad and like something that needs to be fixed. But why do they exist in the first place? To explain this, first it’s important to understand what tech pros and software makers are talking about when they use this term.
The term “security vulnerabilities” covers a wide range of causes and ways that cyber criminals can gain access to your systems and your data. Anything from an insecure Wi-Fi network to improper security settings to old or outdated software and operating systems can be a security vulnerability.
Some security vulnerabilities are just a matter of setting things up the right way (or working with a technology provider like us who can do this for you). Your Wi-Fi and your security software setting shouldn’t be vulnerabilities; if you’re not sure on this point, we’re happy to help.
But other types of security vulnerabilities are a little more kinetic. The software and operating systems we use to get business done are very complicated things, with all kinds of modules and services interconnected and working together.
Frequently, security researchers and bad guys alike find weaknesses in software and operating systems, bits of code that can be exploited and used to steal your data and/or control your systems.
These are the security vulnerabilities we’re especially focused on in this post.
When these are discovered, the software and OS makers get to work fixing the problem (patching the leak, so to speak). Once they’ve created a fix, they push it out as a software update, a security package, or something similar.
But to actually patch the vulnerability on your systems, someone needs to keep up with all those software updates.
Doing so takes time and slows you down, so it’s no surprise that lots and lots of businesses put off these security updates.
Why You Should Fix Vulnerabilities ASAP
The tricky thing about these kinds of vulnerabilities is that as soon as they are discovered, well, now they’re out in the open. The bad guys have just as much notice as the good guys. While the good guys get to work developing a fix, the bad guys get to work figuring out how to exploit the vulnerability.
If your system doesn’t get updated, it still remains vulnerable. If the right bad guy with the right exploit finds your system, it’s kind of like leaving the door open or the keys in the ignition. Getting in just isn’t that hard to do.
The Best Plan: Managed Service Partnership
Keeping up with all these security updates is a frustrating and time-consuming thing for most business leaders. We get it: You have more important work you’d prefer to spend your time on. That’s why the best plan is partnering with a managed services provider (MSP) like us: we’ll create a plan so your systems always stay current and secure, keeping you safe and freeing you up to do what you do best.
Interested? Questions? Reach out anytime.