Why We Should All Take Information Security More Seriously

Earlier this month, Conosco took an unprecedented step in advising our client base that, unless they heeded our advice on IT security measures, we would be asking them to take their business elsewhere.

That may seem like a strong statement for an IT service provider to make, and it’s not a decision we took lightly. But the truth of the matter is we feel that not doing so would be a bigger risk to our own business and to those of our clients.

Information Security is a major concern for us, as it should be to anyone running a business. The number of data breaches and attempted breaches in the UK and overseas is at a level never seen before and, having seen the damage they can cause first hand, we’re adamant that everyone we work with takes the threat seriously.

The good news is that the vast majority of threats can be prevented by introducing some fairly simple and inexpensive measures – most notably adoption of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

It’s likely that you’ve already used MFA in one form or another, perhaps without even being aware of it. If you’ve received a message via an app to confirm your identity for a social media account, or used a number generated by a hand-held device to log in to your bank account, then you’ve experienced MFA.

Its premise is simple: MFA removes the fundamental weakness of a password – that it can easily be stolen or copied – and replaces it with multiple pieces of evidence; typically something you know (e.g a passcode or PIN), something you have (your mobile), and something you are (a fingerprint or iris that can be scanned), making it much harder for a would-be attacker to duplicate.

The latest generation of MFA solutions work across almost any cloud platform with minimal
administrative or implementation cost, and have very little impact on usability, being almost as quick to complete as filling in a password field. And yet, they have an enormous potential impact on the security of your business.

It’s not just us saying so either: the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre states the following:

“Multi-factor authentication (MFA), buys a lot of additional security for relatively little pain, and this is always going to be a good thing. Organisations of all sizes can use MFA to protect both the services that are absolutely vital to the day-to-day business of your organisation and your information and/or money that are tempting to cyber criminals.”

To us, there’s no decision to make. If you would like to talk to us about Multi-Factor Authentication, please contact us.

Find out more about Conosco’s approach to Information Security.