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Security assessment for small businesses
Could someone still access your email after leaving the company? Who can open your customer files? If a laptop failed tomorrow, could your team get back to work? These are practical business questions, even when you do not have an IT department.
Edwards Consulting Group reviews the systems and practices you agree to include, explains the findings in plain language, and helps you decide what to address first. You work directly with Chris Edwards and leave with a plan your team or existing IT provider can use.
An assessment gives you a view of the agreed systems at a point in time. Ongoing monitoring, emergency response, and implementation are separate services or responsibilities to confirm in the engagement scope.
Review sign-in protections, administrator privileges, shared accounts, and how people join or leave your business. Identify access that no longer has a clear purpose or owner.
Check sharing permissions, where sensitive information is stored, and how staff access it. Focus on the systems and information included in the review.
Examine agreed configurations, update practices, and exposed services. Any scanning or testing is defined and authorized before it begins.
Review what is backed up, who checks it, and the recovery evidence available. Discuss how staff report suspicious activity and find the person responsible for responding. A recovery test can be scoped when needed.
The proposal identifies the systems, access, and assessment methods involved. Your agreed deliverables can include:
If you want ECG to implement fixes or verify them afterward, that work is scoped and priced explicitly. Where a gap involves staff habits, practical technology training can help your team put the guidance into practice.
Discuss the systems you rely on, the information you handle, and any specific concern that prompted the review.
Confirm which systems are included, who can authorize access, the permitted assessment methods, and timing around your operations.
Examine the agreed areas, document evidence, and distinguish confirmed findings from items that need further investigation.
Prioritize the work with you and identify who will carry it out. Any implementation or follow-up verification needs an agreed scope.
Yes. A focused assessment can complement their work. We agree on access, responsibilities, and how findings will be shared so your provider can help explain the setup and carry out the improvements you approve.
A security assessment does not automatically include penetration testing. That is a separate, specifically authorized activity with its own scope and methods. If it is needed, we can discuss coordinating it with a specialist partner.
The methods and timing are agreed before work starts. Some reviews rely on documentation and settings; other checks may need access, testing, or a maintenance window. We discuss likely effects and restrictions before authorizing those steps.
Only when that work is explicitly included in the proposal. The assessment provides findings and a prioritized plan. Implementation, verification, recurring reviews, and monitoring responsibilities should each be defined separately. An assessment does not include an emergency response service or around-the-clock coverage.
No assessment can guarantee that an incident will not happen. Findings reflect the systems, information, and methods in scope at the time. If an insurer or customer has specific requirements, share them before the review so the work can support those needs. Compliance preparedness can help organize the related evidence and documentation.
Tell Chris what your business depends on and what concerns you most. We will agree on a focused review that helps you decide which improvements deserve attention first.
Prefer to read first? Explore the free Small Business Learning Series.