Network consulting is an extremely valuable service that IT consultants provide because a small business’ network can be in danger without the owner ever knowing. With modern technology comes a high level of complexity that can be daunting to tackle alone, especially when a business owner needs to focus on the goods and services they provide to their customers. Working with your local IT consultant to protect and monitor your network can help avoid simple errors that can have enormous consequences for your business, so we want to talk about some of the key aspects of network consulting that will keep your small business running securely!
Network Misconfiguration
Misconfiguration is when an authorized user on a network changes system, security tool, or service settings in a way that makes the network less secure. This generally occurs by accident when a regular employee tinkers with the settings on their device or when IT staff begin working with a new system or application. Depending on what security service is changed, misconfiguration can result in small inefficiencies in a network or a critical vulnerability that malicious actors can take advantage of. With network consulting, you and your IT consultant can both check in on critical system settings and look for signs of misconfiguration on your network, so you can be protected from small mistakes that may have been missed!
Reducing Viable Attack Surfaces
Small businesses are extremely susceptible to cyberattacks that take advantage of their public facing IT infrastructure because they often don’t have dedicated IT staff that can monitor public-facing cybersecurity infrastructure. Without the proper IT expertise, a small business can easily leave old, vulnerable systems on their network, misconfigure existing systems, or simply not know which devices on their network are public facing. Network consulting services can help reduce all of these attack surfaces. Your IT consultant will catalogue your public-facing attack surfaces and ensure they are properly secured so that hackers can’t get in.
Network Consulting for Endpoint Security
High-quality network consulting will ensure your entire network is protected as best it can be from attackers, and this means implementing the tools necessary to monitor and defend company endpoints. Employee laptops, mobile devices, and applications all require regular updating to stay secure. Likewise, any firmware or operating systems that network devices use must always be patched so that malicious actors can’t leverage known vulnerabilities that have been patched out. A reliable IT consultant will provide your company with the tools necessary to monitor device health and prevent outdated devices from ever connecting to your network in the first place, so you know a device needs updating right away.
Summary
Any small business with limited IT resources should consider network consulting. It allows you to bring in security experts to identify any misconfigured systems on your network, attack surfaces that need to be mitigated, and endpoints that could act as an entry point for malicious actors due to poor updating habits. You should make sure your business is working with an IT consultant you trust, and our security specialists here at Robinett Consulting are ready to partner with you, so you get the high-quality network consulting your small business deserves.
