Internos IT, a Miami-based MSP, is a complete IT services company. Cyber security is a key component of our total IT offerings, which also include disaster recovery, cloud computing and hosted phone solutions. It’s crucial that the businesses in our community (and beyond) understand the difference between a cyber security company and an IT security company.

You may recall our recent article on choosing between a Miami cyber security company and a Miami IT services company. In it, we outlined how taking a holistic approach to technology by partnering with a managed services provider (MSP) is a smart business move. Not only do MSPs provide much-needed IT support, they also offer assessments, infrastructure protection, 24x7x365 monitoring and employee training. There’s more to the story, however.

Understanding Cyber Security

Cyber security, like medicine, is a practice. It involves predictions, reactions and training. There is the possibility of error. The term “cyber security” on its own refers to the protection of data on the internet from cyber criminals. Cyber criminals are individuals or groups who want to steal your information or disrupt your business.

>> Learn about the most common types of cyber crime and the 18 cyber security essentials you need in place to prevent them.

A Miami cyber security company will create a cyber security plan for your business. In order to mitigate risks, a combination of strategies including network risk assessments, password management, data encryption and data security policies can be implemented. The company can provide recommendations to your internal IT team regarding vulnerabilities in your daily operations or manage your security plan directly. 

Understanding IT Security

Information technology (IT) security involves implementing processes to protect data and information systems from unauthorized access. This, in turn, prevents theft of sensitive company data. 

Data can be in a variety of formats, both physical and involve any number of parties. Some examples of commonly held data that requires protection include:

• Employee contracts
• Customer credit card information
• Personally identifiable information (PII) from customers and employees
• Confidential company documents

A robust IT security plan will ensure that company data is handled properly every single day that your business is operating. By establishing a framework to collect, transmit or even destroy this information, your company can ensure the quality, confidentiality and accessibility of its data.

The scope of IT security is broad; under the umbrella of IT security you will find cyber security. It protects data shared across the internet as well as other channels like physical data and in-house systems.

IT Security vs Cyber Security

You may think that all tech people are the same: Wizards who come to your office when your systems shut down and magically walk out minutes later with operations up and running and machines humming as if nothing ever happened. Granted, IT and cyber security professionals have the same end goal of protecting your company’s sensitive information. They can achieve this in a number of ways, but they are fundamentally different. To wrap up this two-part comparison, we’ll examine the differences between each group in the scope of data covered, their approach to IT and their implementation strategies.

Is It Covered?

You store data in a number of different places. This includes papers stuffed in a filing cabinet, applications on a computer, documents in the cloud, passwords written on sticky notes (we cringe at this one) and anywhere else company information is kept. IT security encompasses all these points because of their possibility of vulnerability. It outlines procedures for handling data in all these places, including how it is collected, stored, shared and processed.

Cyber security provides policies and procedures regarding electronic data being transmitted across the internet in order to prevent hacking. IT security, therefore, provides a greater scope of data coverage.

What’s Your Strategy?

The approach of IT security is to set strict guidelines for how all business data, no matter how trivial it seems, is collected, stored, shared and processed. This is done in order to maintain the confidentiality of data, as well as its availability if it were, for example, locked in a ransomware attack.

Cyber security takes a different approach that is honed solely on risk management. A cyber security provider will identify and analyze the risks that pose potential threats to your business, then implement a plan to mitigate those risks. If you use a cyber security company (instead of an IT company that also provides cyber security) day-to-day security concerns are left on your plate.

How Will It Get Done?

The final difference is in the techniques used by each type of company. IT security requires a hands-on approach. An IT security plan will cover much more than a cyber security plan by nature of its scope of coverage. It will include monitoring of all endpoints (computers, tablets, phones, servers) in both physical and virtual locations. An IT security plan will also involve employees and customers because both parties share and interact with confidential information.

Cyber security companies take a snapshot of your current security procedures and make a plan to improve them. Using password protection, data encryption and network security, they aim to prevent data from leaking on the internet, whether that’s by a cybercriminal’s force or an employee’s human error. However, with a cyber security company, the heavy lifting of implementing recommendations often falls on your team.

Miami Cyber Security: The Bottom Line

If you choose a managed service provider (MSP) that provides IT security, there is no need to hire a separate cyber security provider. The MSP will take a holistic approach to keeping your company’s information secure and control all related operations. Internos is one such MSP. Let’s discuss your Miami cyber security and overall IT security  needs and how we can help. Contact us or book a meeting for a free, no-pressure consultation from a Miami cyber security company.