Tip of the Week: Fix Cybersecurity Sprawl to Improve Security Overall

Cybersecurity is necessary for businesses to function, but when it turns to overreaching and overinvestment—a concept called cybersecurity sprawl—it becomes a problem. Today, we want to highlight some of the many challenges that can come about from cybersecurity sprawl, as well as how you can avoid it.

You shouldn't implement every single security solution you can think of. Here’s why.

According to IBM: Quality Over Quantity

IBM Security’s Cyber Resilient Organization Study, which is rooted in a 2021 survey conducted by the Ponemon Institute, illustrated that companies with more than 50 security tools were more vulnerable to threats than those using fewer tools. This is due to several reasons:

Security Fatigue on Your Employees’ Part

It’s more likely than not that your team disregards the majority of notifications that they receive daily—even if they are from work-related apps. Alert fatigue is real, and it’s not simply a problem with personal smartphone apps. Bombard people with notifications that are “important” long enough and they will grow desensitized to them. If notifications are redundant, the situation gets even worse. They might spend more time dealing with the notifications than actually being productive.

Too Many Tools to Handle

If your business struggles with security, you will naturally want to do all you can to protect it. This might include adding on more security measures than you can handle. After all, more is better, right? Not necessarily. The more you implement, the more you have to maintain and update, and if you fail to do either of these things, you run the risk of your security solution becoming a liability–or worse, a vulnerability.

Consolidation is Your Best Friend

To avoid cybersecurity sprawl, it helps to eliminate what you don’t need and reduce redundant services or products. Start with a security tool audit, as well as the other programs your business might have, to see which ones provide value and are actively used. Ask your team, too, as they might have a better idea of what your organization needs in the day-to-day. You can then proceed to cut out what doesn’t work for your business and its needs.

You can use the cloud to great effect with consolidation, as it can be tiresome to manage multiple on-premise tools. Furthermore, you can automate what you can’t replace or consolidate, allowing you to save more time.

Let Us Help Your Cybersecurity Efforts

OnSite I.T. can work with your business to determine what should make the cybersecurity cut. Learn more by calling us today at (403) 210-2927.