With Halloween nearly here, many of us are focused on creating a scary atmosphere. Ghoulishly grinning pumpkins, ghost decorations, and plastic skeletons populate porches, yards, and windows in anticipation of Monday night. Many of the frightening creatures we evoke on Halloween are supernatural. However, sometimes everyday things can inspire the most fear. If you’ve ever wondered what sends shivers down the spines of IT professionals, here are some of the big sources of tech-related nightmares.
1. Insider threats. When you picture IT security risks, you might envision malicious hackers breaking through an organization’s defenses from the outside. Sometimes, however, the threat coming from inside the company. 73 percent of organizations reported that insider threats were their biggest security concern in a 2014 survey by AlgoSec.
Some of these insiders aren’t looking to intentionally sabotage the company but simply make mistakes, such as clicking on links in suspicious emails or failing to follow proper security procedures. Solutions like employee education and applications that prevent risky behaviors can neutralize some of these internal risks.
2. Increasingly dynamic security hazards. Each day hackers become craftier and develop new ways to get around IT security defenses. Headlines focused on data breaches pop up frequently. As of October 19, there were 783 data breaches in the U.S. so far this year, exposing approximately 29.5 million records, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center.
These breaches pose a significant threat to businesses, with the potential to not only cause monetary damages but also hurt an organization’s reputation once customers find out their personal information was stolen or compromised. Staying on top of IT security and adopting a proactive rather than reactive approach is crucial for businesses looking to combat increasingly intelligent and constantly evolving threats.
3. Human error. A seemingly minor mistake like a spilled cup of coffee can lead to major IT issues for your business. A report released earlier this year by the Ponemon Institute found that 22 percent of companies cited accidental or human error as the root cause of an unplanned outage. One person’s slip up could end up bringing down the whole company’s IT infrastructure for hours – which could be disastrous if there’s not a backup and disaster recovery plan in place.
4. Lack of resources. A lack of qualified resources is one of the top four things that frighten IT professionals, according to an infographic from Logentries. Tackling day-to-day IT management while also handling long-term planning and strategy can be nearly impossible for a short-staffed IT team. Outsourcing IT to an external service provider can help a business ease the workload of an overextended internal IT team.
5. Technology changing too fast. The IT landscape has been evolving rapidly, with new technologies like cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and software-defined networking emerging in recent years. It can be challenging for a company’s IT team to keep up with new tech, upgrades, and training in the latest tools and applications. This is another area where external expertise can potentially help.
If you’d like to learn more about the biggest points of concern in the IT world, our expert team can make these tech specters less scary by shedding some light on how your business can address them. Feel free to contact us by calling 877-599-3999 or emailing sales@stratospherenetworks.com.
