When an intranet is utilized to its full potential, it becomes a single source of truth for an organization. It becomes one of the places employees can rely on to find important information on company policies, employee data, and other very sensitive business-related information. Intranet security is a must.
In this world, there is a lot to worry about when it comes to keeping information secure and in the right hands. Security breaches, hackers, non-compliant employees, and viruses all pose a threat to the sanctity of your intranet. But while it may be insurmountable to make your intranet completely bullet-proof (after all, there’s a fine line between total security and usability—you still want the right employees to be able to find important info on your intranet), five simple steps can help put your mind at ease that your data is protected. Keep these things in mind when shopping for an intranet solution!
1. Up your sign-in game
While making employees create a unique password and username for their intranet logins may have once been enough to keep accounts safe, it no longer cuts it in the day of brute-force hackers. Two-factor authentication is a great way to increase the security of your workforce sign-ins, especially when the authorization comes from a reliable authenticator app (instead of a code sent to your email or mobile phone, which can easily be intercepted).
Recently, single sign-on (SSO) has gained a lot of traction, and a lot of praise from cybersecurity experts. Essentially, SSO means that you use one set of login credentials to access multiple applications. With Intranet Connections’ latest software update, for example, users can utilize their Microsoft Azure logins to authorize their intranet logins. This has a number of benefits:
- It streamlines password management
- It improves security by lessening the chances of phishing
- It leads to fewer IT complaints and tech troubles.
2. Set appropriate user permissions
Not everyone in your organization needs to be an intranet admin, with full rights to access, delete, and move files and folders around the intranet. Certain departments may only need admin rights to their own corners of the intranet. Not only is this good governance, but it also increases security. If you have only a few full intranet admins, you automatically reduce the chances of a hacker hacking the right account to wreak total havoc on your intranet.
IC’s solution allows you to give intranet users access and admin rights to select areas of your intranet. Not only does this keep your intranet more secure from hackers gaining access to employees’ accounts, but it also keeps you safe from disgruntled employees who may take their frustrations out on the intranet.
3. Set up workflows that automate the approval process
Part of intranet security involves deciding who needs to approve the right forms. For example, certain forms need to be approved by specific managers, so automating the process that delivers a submitted form to an approval manager’s inbox ensures that no policies slip through the cracks—and the wrong pair of eyes don’t end up on potentially sensitive employee information. This also will help ensure you catch non-legitimate form submissions that may be the result of a security breach. When each document is automatically sent to be reviewed by the right person, you can rest assured that any fishy business will be dealt with promptly.
4. Develop structured intranet security and IT policies
Work with IT to develop a set of structured, enforceable, and clear policies on how the intranet is to be used, when it should be accessed, what devices can be used to access it, and so forth to strengthen intranet security. When you have clear guidelines for your workforce to follow, you can ensure that rogue policies won’t run rampant and result in security issues for your business. For example, policies on the use of personal devices, the use of public WiFi, or firewalls that must be installed on all work laptops are crucial for your workforce to abide by. Read our blog on Shadow IT and Rogue Policies to find out more on how to enforce and encourage compliance with these policies.
5. Take intranet security to the next level on-premise
Depending on just how much security control you may need for your intranet, consider shopping for an on-prem solution. When using a cloud-based intranet solution, you are storing information on external servers, and the security of those servers is largely out of your hands (but, with IC, certainly in good hands).
IC is one of the few intranet providers that still actively offers and supports an on-premise solution, which allows you to store all your data on your own servers, and control what security measures you put in place for them. Keep in mind, however, that an on-premise solution often requires a VPN for intranet access off-site. It’s a good idea to understand the pros and cons that both alternatives will offer to your organization, and make a decision that offers you the most benefits.
IC has your intranet security needs covered
Every step mentioned in this blog is a feature of Intranet Connections’ software. We work with clients in security-focused industries, such as finance and healthcare—so we take this matter of intranet security very seriously. To explore how our software can help keep your digital workplace more secure, book a demo with our team.
