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Security essentials for enterprises

From backups to MFA — the must-have controls every enterprise should implement to protect data and maintain compliance.

Essential controls & recommendations

Enterprises must protect sensitive data while keeping systems reliable. These practical controls reduce the most common risks and are achievable for small IT teams.

  • Multi-factor authentication (MFA): Enable MFA for all administrative and remote access accounts. Prefer authenticator apps or hardware tokens over SMS.
    • Evidence: MFA policy, enabled screenshot, list of protected accounts.
  • Backups & tested restores: Implement automated, encrypted backups and perform quarterly restore tests to verify integrity.
    • Evidence: backup job logs and restore test report.
  • Endpoint hygiene & patching: Use centrally managed patching and EDR/AV with weekly vulnerability scanning to keep devices current.
  • Network segmentation: Segment critical devices from guest Wi‑Fi and administrative networks to reduce lateral movement risk.
  • Supplier security checks: Maintain a simple supplier risk register and request security attestations for cloud or outsourced services.
  • Staff training: Run short, practical training sessions quarterly and use phishing simulations to measure awareness improvements.

Low-cost improvements

  • Restrict administrative privileges and use local admin accounts only when necessary.
  • Deploy network-level DNS filtering to block malicious sites.
  • Use centralized logging for critical systems (authentication, firewall) and retain logs for audit windows.

These recommendations are intentionally pragmatic: they focus on the biggest return for small teams and constrained budgets. Guardium can help implement or validate these controls and package the evidence in an auditor-ready format.