What Is Access Control And Why Is It Important? 

With an ever-increasing amount of IT infrastructure now hosted in the cloud and protected by the security teams of some of the world’s biggest service providers like Amazon, Microsoft and Google, the primary focus for data security is now access control. For example, while the security of your assets in the cloud is normally the responsibility of your chosen cloud service provider, the responsibility of securing the access to your cloud assets rests with you.

Access to sensitive data and business-critical infrastructure should be restricted by access controls, and those access controls should be implemented at every touchpoint between your sensitive data and your users. If you are a business which handles sensitive data, you would benefit from managed IT services. New York businesses suffer an increasing number of attempted cyber attacks every year and those who have professionally managed cybersecurity services have a far better chance of withstanding those attacks.

Access control has become even more of a concern recently, as more and more business start embracing a remote work model. When users can theoretically access your network and data from anywhere in the world with an internet connection, it is more important than ever to ensure that they really are who they say they are.

Finding a balance between security and accessibility in one of the challenges of implementing access controls. You want to reach a level of security which blocks fraudulent users without significantly slowing down or frustrating genuine users. Finding this balance is one of the areas of cybersecurity which a managed IT services provider like Carden IT Services can help with.

Here are 3 aspects of access control which every business should consider:

1. 1. What Are The Risks and Goals of Your Access Control?
      You should assess your business’s sensitive data and critical infrastructure. Determine which assets are most at risk and what the process will be for granting or removing access.

   2. Which Team Members Need Access?
      Not every member of your team will need access to every element of your business’s IT. It is good practice to segment your workforce into smaller teams for the purpose of access control and only granting each team access to the data and systems which they actually need to do their job.

   3. Who Is Responsible For Implementing and Maintaining Your Access Control Policies
      Your access control policy is not static and will be a constantly evolving process which will change as members join or leave your workforce, your employees switch job roles, and new software and systems are brought online.

Access control should also include the recording of very access request (both successful and unsuccessful), and these records should be audited regularly.

For these reasons, you need to assign the task of maintaining and auditing your access control policies and records to a trusted team member or third party. Carden IT Services can provide this as part of our comprehensive cybersecurity service.

Any effective, modern cybersecurity environment includes stringent access control. Addressing the above points will provide your company with a good foundation for restricting user access to your business-critical data and systems.

If you would like help devising, implementing, and maintaining an effective access control policy, speak to our cybersecurity team today.