14 Jun Information Technology Checklist

1. Control of Access
You can lock out everyone who doesn’t need to view the data by regulating who has authorization in the first place. You can limit access to different parts of your network.

If someone enters an area where they do not belong, you can cancel their session and kick them out. Furthermore, you should restrict the number of failed login attempts per user in order to prevent hackers from brute-forcing your server.

2. Education and Training

Your organization should prioritize awareness and training to deal with the human side of things. Users play an important role in cybersecurity. As your workforce uses network devices, ensure they are aware of the cybersecurity dangers and how to minimize them.

3. Accountability and auditing
When an occurrence occurs, an investigation may be launched. You should have a consistent auditing and accountability component of your business to save time and effort. This comprises the creation, evaluation, and storage of system-level logs and records. Create an alert in the event that the logging procedure fails.

4. Configuration Administration
In this section of the checklist, you should create and manage a set of settings for all of your organization’s systems. Having the proper security configuration settings in place will make your company safer. Use policies such as blacklisting, whitelisting, and limiting non-essential apps and services.

5. Authentication and identification
Before granting access, your system must check the identity of all users. This is known as authentication and identity in the area of cybersecurity. It is the process of validating each user, device, and procedure. For improved results, use multi-factor authentication.

6. Incident Handling

The first job is to develop an incident handling procedure. Preparation, analysis, detection, recovery, containment, and user replies are all included. Following that, make a point of tracking and testing your organization’s capabilities.

Take a look at this: 6 Ways to Combat Social Phishing Attacks

7. Care and upkeep

Maintaining your network on a regular basis will keep it as secure as possible. When replacing or updating equipment, wipe the removed equipment and delete all CUI. Whoever does your maintenance, often a system administrator, should be subjected to several identification checks to ensure that authority does not pass to the incorrect person.

8. Media Security

Personal media is a major problem for most businesses. You should also limit CUI access through media. Any in-house media that is utilized should be labeled with the appropriate CUI and its use should be restricted.

9. Personnel Safety
The first step in personnel security is to screen and background check new workers. When an employee is terminated or transferred, the final step is to remove permissions. They should not have access to any CUI unless they are currently in a job that requires it.

10. Physical defense
It is extremely risky to engage physically with servers, papers, and media. If a criminal has physical access to a network equipment, they have a strong probability of breaking into your network. When someone enters a room containing physical media, they should sign a log. All physical access devices should be monitored and handled effectively.

11. Risk Evaluation
Carry out and keep track of routine risk assessments. This will assist you in identifying vulnerabilities that should be addressed as soon as feasible.

12. Security Evaluation
The same may be said for your company’s security. You should have a solid plan in place for detecting, removing, and mitigating any vulnerabilities. To maintain the system security plans up to date, they should be updated on a regular basis.

13. System and communication security
It is quite easy for an employee to share information with someone who does not have the authority to know it. One approach to fight this is to protect both incoming and outgoing communications is one method of dealing with this. Make certain that the confidentiality of all information exchanged via encrypted communications is maintained.

14. System and data integrity
When a fault in the system is discovered, it should be identified, reported, and remedied. To guard against malicious code or behaviors, the system should be checked on a regular basis. Any unlawful usage of networked devices must be tracked and reported.