Secure servers are essential to doing business today, even for small companies.
Whether you’re powering websites, storing data, using services of companies like Phoenix Internet, or providing user applications, determined hackers or indiscriminate malware can bring your business to a crashing halt, and even end it altogether.
Preventing unauthorized access should be at the top of your list of IT priorities.
Here are some principles you can work into your network infrastructure to keep your hardware protected.
Physical Isolation
You may tend to think of network threats as coming from the internet, but there are internal hazards, as well. Intruders, visitors with bad intentions, and unhappy employees can wreak havoc if they can directly access a server and bypass all that security software.
Your servers should be stored in a separate, climate-controlled room that only authorized IT personnel have access to.
Placing your servers in locked cages on their shelves is also a good idea to further mitigate the risks of tampering.
Proactive Monitoring
Preventive measures are also necessary. Be sure that all server activity is monitored, such as incoming internet connections, both remote and local user/application access of files, emails, and more.
Auditing these log files regularly will help you to better gather a picture of your daily IT operations.
Understanding these patterns in turn enables you to more readily spot suspicious connections or activities that could indicate a threat.
Separate Business Roles
A principle of minimal access should always be in place. Revoke guest accounts you don’t use, and grant network privileges and permissions so that no user can access data or applications they don’t need to do their jobs. Certainly nobody outside of your IT network team should have access to server operating systems.
You should also establish separate environments for different roles and groups, such as developers, testers, certain departments like finance, and so forth.
Ideally, sensitive information that isn’t needed for operations should be stored on physical or virtual servers that don’t allow internet access, and are accessible only to team members that use that environment.
Colocation of Data Centers
To safeguard your servers, or your most sensitive information, think about data center colocation for your business. This involves renting space in some third-party data center, which can include equipment as well as bandwidth, security software, and more.
These facilities are professional-grade services that are well-protected against both cyber and physical threats.
They can not only provide a secure environment, but off-site storage of files and applications can ensure a level of business continuity if your own servers or even the local power grid fails.
Conclusion
Small businesses may have limited IT budgets, but it’s particularly important to protect your assets in early stages of growth. A problem early on can cause financial problems your company might suffer from for many years afterward.
It’s obviously best not to rely on any one solution as fool-proof against all the digital threats you’ll encounter—getting all your preventative measures up will give you security and peace of mind.
Your server safeguards should be as up-to-date and multi-layered as possible.
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