Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for many organisations can be transformational in helping them to optimise efficiency, streamline operations and improve visibility. However, the implementation and deployment process can be complex, with lots of considerations throughout. If organisations are not careful cyber security is something that can often be compromised. In this blog we will discuss some key considerations for ERP deployment to ensure that cyber security risks are kept to a minimum. ERP cybersecurity is therefore essential.
ERP Cybersecurity Considerations
Understanding your security landscape – risk assessment
Before deployment, conducting a comprehensive risk assessment of the system infrastructure is essential. The process helps to identify any current vulnerabilities, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, evaluate the thread landscape and help to boost stakeholder confidence. In addition, it contributes to ‘future proofing’ the system by validating whether the ERP is scalable and adaptable, with robust security measure to address potential future challenges effectively.
Protecting data with access controls
It is key when considering the cyber security of an ERP to look at who has access to what information. You can start with implementing access controls, for example using multi factor authentication or applying role-based controls to ensure that users only have access to data that is relevant to their specific roles.
Continuous visibility – Security audits and monitoring
After the Risk Assessment it is important that this level of visibility is maintained. You should be regularly conducting security audits to be able to identify any potential vulnerabilities and implement continuous monitoring for detecting and responding to security incidents. By continuously assessing and monitoring the ERPs security you can ensure that the integrity of the systems cyber security is maintained and allows an opportunity to address any issues before it is too late.
Incident response planning for ERP cybersecurity
Hopefully it won’t come to this! But you should always be prepared for the worst. In the case of a security breach, you should have an incident response plan that outlines the procedure for how the incident will be addressed, communicated, eradicated and then recovered. It is also important that the plan is tested and updated as and when necessary.
Empower employees with training and awareness
Unfortunately, human error can sometimes lead to cybersecurity breaches. Therefore, it is essential to ensure employees are regularly given the resources to inform them on how to spot potential threats and how to then respond appropriately. Luckily thought you’re in the right place and can get in touch with us to discuss training and communication plans.
Securing partnerships through ERP cybersecurity vendor management
It is likely that during implementation and deployment third parties will be involved. It is therefore important to ensure that vendors have any necessary cyber security certifications as well as being aware of any incident response plans that are in place to keep consistency within the organisation.
Ultimately maintaining secure cyber security during ERP deployment is intricate, with lots of factors to consider. However, being able to have full visibility and the structure in place to respond efficiently in the incident that things do go wrong allows you to keep disruption and impact to a minimum. If you want to talk to anyone aobut how to ensure all of the above considerations are put in place then all you have to do is reach out to our team of experts. Get in touch today!
