Do you remember the days when IT asset management and data security were all about ensuring systems are safe?
To be honest, that period was not a very long time ago. The field of IT specializations, cybersecurity, and data management are constantly evolving.
This means that the challenges, trends, and best practices that held The disposal of IT assets must be a year back do not have any relevance anymore.
For businesses, this creates an additional area of focus that needs to be constantly monitored. For experts and professionals in IT services, this means that they have to constantly keep expanding their horizons to prepare for newer threats and challenges.
With laptops, servers, tablets, smartphones, IoT, AI, Cloud, and other areas rising to the fore, you can imagine why IT asset management is key to data security.
In this resource article, we are going to discuss the following important areas about IT asset management-
â— What are IT Asset Management and Data Security composed of?
â— The Role Played by the Coronavirus Pandemic in complicating asset management
â— Major Reasons why IT asset management is critical to combating cybersecurity threats
â— Key Objectives of the Asset Management program in your organization
â— Our Own Analysis and Final Word
The Core Ingredients of IT Asset Management and Data Security
As a business organization that works with data, the first step of the process of to identify the loopholes in your policy. This means understanding every touchpoint that your data goes through and creating protected areas for the same.
Experts say that this process is technically termed as Inventory Management of IT Assets’. The major or core ingredients of IT asset management and data security are as follows-
- Taking regular stock of all your IT assets at periodic intervals and keeping them updated at all times is a key ingredient of asset management.
- Identifying and locating gaps in the security network especially with new devices, integrations, and software updates.
- Taking immediate action once the gaps have been identified and executing all enforcement protocols.
You might be thinking that the above ingredients are issues that nearly all of us are familiar with. Why then are there cyberattacks that lockout systems and demand millions in ransom?
Just like we all know that regular washing of hands can prevent diseases, but we tend to ignore the same, the same simple logic applies in this case as well.
How the Coronavirus Pandemic has changed IT Asset Management completely?
If you have been following the news, you would have read how cyberattacks have gone up ever since the pandemic hit. Whether we talk of big businesses like Twitter or your smaller SMEs and MSMEs no one has been spared from cyberattacks.
Most experts point out that during a public emergency like the pandemic, businesses, as well as normal people, let fear dictate their digital actions.
To help understand this point better, we have compiled a list of ways why cyberattacks increased during the pandemic. These are also the major reasons why IT asset management became problematic during the pandemic.
â— Work From Home becomes Mainstream
The first wave of the pandemic saw most businesses shifting to a WFH model. This increased the digital touchpoints and stretched out the security net to the point it could not handle every single connected system. The gaps increased and could not be plugged in on time.
â— Connections of Extra Devices on Unsecured Networks
It is easy to understand that the kind of firewalls and security frameworks that existed in the office could never match the ones of the home internet. Smartphones, tablets, home PCs, work laptops, personal emails, unsecured servers, etc. contributed to the attacks.
â— Fear Driving Clicks on Spammy Emails and Websites
Last year, most people were ready to click on anything that had a WHO or a CDC URL or Email ID. This was not from the authorities, but from cybercriminals that were looking to play on the fear of people. This opened systems to malware attacks on a major scale.
â— The relegation of IT Cyber Security in the face of a Larger Catastrophe
With so many changes taking place in the face of the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, everyone just dropped their ball. This was expected and happened and ensured that cybercriminals had a field day on the vulnerable and unsuspecting working professionals.
â— Improper Disposal of IT Assets
Businesses in the pre-pandemic era tried to ensure that their user data was disposed of responsibly. The WFH set-up has amplified this problem. It is necessary the disposal of IT assets is done by seasoned professionals to ensure data does not get into the wrong hands.
Major Reasons why IT Asset Management is critical to Combating Cyberattacks?
In this section, we look at some major reasons why effective IT asset management is central to combating cyberattacks and ensuring data security.
Helps in Reducing and Mitigating Risks
As a business, your organization’s security experts, administrators, and troubleshooters would be more comfortable if they exactly know where all the IT assets are located. Having a complete idea of all the devices, systems and networks can help them in a major way when it comes to fencing against cyberattacks. This helps in ensuring the integrity of the data.
Ensures that Software use within the Organization is Optimal
The use of too much software and applications is never a good idea. This is because, the more software you use, the higher are the number of times you need to pay attention to update the same. Old and dated software that has not been updated is a ticking timebomb that can be infiltrated by cybercriminals.
Identification of Extra or Additional IT Hardware (WFH)
If the IT team knows that the team members or employees are using additional hardware devices, they will be able to take those under the security network as well. Keeping important information like you using your personal laptop for official work needs to be brought to the attention of the IT team at all times.
Fixing of Access and Mapping of the IT Infrastructure
Not having a clear map often leads to security loopholes and gaps. All employees within the organization do not have the same level of clearance and access to data, folders, and servers. It is the responsibility of the IT team to map out the infrastructure in the organization and assign access, roles, and responsibilities. This adds to accountability and responsibility for data.
Better Reporting and Accurate Feedbacks
For IT experts, effective asset management means that all the security reports can be created without any trouble. It also results in the best feedback to ensure security compliance is begin followed at all levels within the organization. There is no last-minute scampering for missed reports, data systems, or glaring holes in the mainframe.
Key Objectives of IT Asset Management for a Business Organization
Many have pointed out that there are three major objectives of effective IT asset management. Let us look at them in some details:
Planning and Organizing all the Devices within the Organization
The IT team must be aware of every digital touchpoint that is used by the employees of the organization. This means that even the personal systems, smartphones, tablets of the employees should be taken into consideration. Even if they are being used by the CEO or the Chairman, it is important to take note of them and analyze them thoroughly.
Ensuring Devices are always Live/Visible and Healthy
Regular inspection of all the devices within the organization to ensure that they are all updated with the latest software security patches is important. Dead devices are usually a matter of concern as no action means there is inadvertently something wrong. IT experts suggest that mapping all the devices and ensuring that they are live and healthy is necessary.
Remove Old and Outdated Devices and Systems from the Network
The disposal of IT assets must be as soon as a device starts experiencing problems, it is important to get rid of it. Going to service centers, using company downloads and patches will simply ensure a new set of problems for the security protocols of the organization. This is why major corporations always retire their systems and other devices as soon as they start showing signs of wear and tear.
The Bottom Line
The passing of every day signals more complex digital engagements and data endpoints for employees and businesses. Newer integrations like IoT, Cloud Computing, and Artificial Intelligence have added to the complexity in a major way.
The need of the hour is for organizations to invest and propagate effective IT asset management. In this article, we have tried to discuss some of the important topics and conversations around the same.
If you have any other doubts on IT Asset Management and Data Security, please let us know in the comments section below. We will try to address your queries there.
