27 Jun Affordable Cybersecurity Solutions if You’re Sweating the Budget

How You Can Improve Cybersecurity with Budget Conscious Decisions

The begrudging necessity of cybersecurity is all too apparent these days with so much devoted reliance on technology. Data passes between apps and software in a flash. Critically important data is necessary to protect, but with the rapid evolution of technology and the limited control over where information goes, it’s challenging.

However, in an active threat environment, an enterprise has no choice but to invest in some form of cybersecurity solution. This doesn’t include things like anti-malware products, firewalls, and MFA implementation. Those are a necessity, so much so that the assumption is already made you have them. Rather, solutions are adopted from policies, CaaS (cybersecurity as a service), applications, network diversification, and established rules by experts. It also includes following regulatory mandates in post-attack environments to avoid penalties, something growing more common in the fintech industry.

Unfortunately, despite the need for comprehensive cybersecurity, you’re thwarted by one thing: budget. Cybersecurity and all that it encompasses is notoriously expensive. From onboarded experts to insurance, the factors involving infrastructural capital can be immense. Without proper infrastructure, your network, data, and company information are vulnerable to hackers, malware, hardware failure, and other serious complications resulting in loss and downtime.

The problem is, you don’t have the immense financial resources of a massive company. You can’t afford to onboard every cybersecurity expert or even train a team to handle your serious IT woes. But the issues of cybersecurity can’t be ignored, so what do you do?

Thankfully, you’re not out of luck. Numerous affordable solutions and strategies with great returns on cost investment exist without breaking the budget. Furthermore, spending money on the most expensive cybersecurity suite or service is not a guarantee for protection, and can end up becoming a burden more than a benefit. A frugal strategy, therefore, is not a bad one.

Affordable and Budget Friendly Cybersecurity Solutions

Let’s dive into budget-conscious tools, tactics, and strategies you can incorporate into your cybersecurity plan.

Compliance Training

One of the most effective methods for fast-tracking improved cybersecurity solutions is through compliance training. Awareness training and compliance educate a workforce on a number of things, depending on the focus. Training can involve healthy security habits, detecting falsified messages, engaging in zero-trust policies, what to do in an emergency event, and phishing recognition.

Not only is it incredibly effective, but it’s cost-efficient too. Training requires using your current resources, not the introduction of new ones. It also mitigates risk by reducing the problems with human error. Human error can lead to disastrous downtime events without preparedness training, as staff or management can fall victim to phishing-style attacks, social engineering, and BEC schemes. The best part is, that mitigating attacks does not require a master’s knowledge. Common sense and careful preparation are all tools you need to avoid disaster scenarios.

Enabling Administration Policies

Coupled with competency training is the importance of administrative security policies. These policies will help build the critical framework necessary for security without heavy financial demands.

Policies enable guidelines for the entire business model and kickstart the journey for improved, cost-effective solutions. What you employ as a policy will always depend on the business, but it’s a good idea to create standardized rules for everyone to follow. If you’re struggling to come up with policy ideas, you can start with simple guidelines.

• Requiring complex passwords for business-facing apps and logins
• Requiring MFA and backup devices
• Enabling “zero-trust” rules for administrative alerts, messages, and emails
• Custom rulesets for data access, storage, and transfer

Administrative policies have an immediate effect as they impact the entire business framework. They do not require onboarding additional resources or software. While it’s not the perfect answer to the threat climate we digitally navigate, it’s a critical foundation.

Creating a Roadmap

Lastly, remaining cost-conscious requires formulating a long-term roadmap for your security. You don’t have to acquire all the fanciest tech or most expensive software suites. However, you do need to budget for long-term stability. You need to think about how you’ll acquire necessary cybersecurity defenses and how to best incorporate them into your business model.

Establish goals and timeframes. For example: “we want to incorporate a hybrid firewall service in 3 months and we expect the cost to be x.” It’s a simple framework but enforces a proactive approach towards cybersecurity versus a reactive one. Ultimately, that’s one of the best strategies to follow.

Having trouble?

With all that said, it can be difficult to incorporate and establish workplace policies and cost-efficient cybersecurity solutions. But you don’t have to go it alone.

Bytagig is an experienced MSP provider with IT resources and consultation services to get you the best value for your investment. To learn more, contact us today.