Great IT support plays to win. If you’re looking for an easy way to understand the basics, we broke it down in field terms.
Every. Single. Employee. = The Offense
Your project managers, estimators, superintendents, accounting team and executives are trying to move the business forward.
- They’re sending bids.
- Managing projects.
- Processing payroll.
- Sharing plans.
- Communicating with clients.
They’re focused on scoring.
They shouldn’t have to spend their day worrying about who’s trying to intercept the ball.
Your IT support company is the defensive coordinator.
Their job is to watch what’s happening across the field:
- Who is logging in?
- What devices are connecting?
- What looks unusual?
- Who has access to what?
- Is something trying to get through?
The offense plays the game. The defense watches the threats.
Your Firewall = The Defensive Line
The defensive line doesn’t let everyone run straight through the middle.
Your firewall does the same thing for your network.
It examines traffic coming in and going out and helps block things that shouldn’t be there.
Not every connection gets a free shot at your network.
MFA = The Safety
Think of multifactor authentication like having a safety standing behind the play.
Even if an attacker gets one credential, there’s another layer between them and the end zone.
Password stolen?
The play isn’t over.
Endpoint Security = Man Coverage
Every laptop, desktop and mobile device is another player on the field.
Endpoint security watches those devices for suspicious behavior. Your IT support should know every device with access to your network – new, old, internal, external or otherwise.
Because sometimes the threat doesn’t come through the front door.
Sometimes it walks onto the field wearing your team’s jersey.
Security Training = Practice
You wouldn’t put a rookie on the field without teaching them the playbook.
Your employees shouldn’t be expected to recognize phishing, suspicious links, fake invoices and social engineering without training either.
Cybersecurity isn’t just a technology problem.
It’s a team problem.
The best construction teams don’t wait until they’re getting sacked to think about protection.
They build protection into the playbook. Your IT provider should be doing the same thing.
Keep the offense moving. Let your IT team play defense.