The best technical decisions start with a clear understanding of risk, practical constraints and expected outcomes. This guide outlines principles you can discuss with your team and adapt to your own environment.
Week 1: Gain visibility
Identify key systems, owners, administrator accounts and important information. Confirm who can access cloud applications and remote systems.
Week 2: Fix the highest-risk basics
Enable multi-factor authentication, patch internet-facing systems, remove unused accounts and reduce unnecessary remote access.
Week 3: Verify your backups
Review backup schedules and retention. Test restoring a representative file or system; an untested backup should not be assumed recoverable.
Week 4: Prepare for incidents
Document reporting contacts, recovery priorities and the first actions to take after a suspected compromise. Establish a recurring review cadence and assign owners.