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Cybersecurity Audit &
Protection

​Cybersecurity audits and protection help St. Augustine businesses identify weaknesses, reduce risk, and protect critical systems before an attack causes real damage.
This service focuses on understanding where your business is exposed today and putting practical safeguards in place to prevent data loss, downtime, and financial impact.

What Is a Cybersecurity Audit?

A cybersecurity audit is a structured review of how your business protects its systems, data, and users.

For most small and mid-sized businesses in St. Augustine, this means answering practical questions like:

  • Who can access your systems, and should they?

  • Are backups working and recoverable?

  • Are devices patched and secured?

  • How exposed is your email to phishing attacks?

An audit looks at real-world risks, not theory.

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Did you know?
More than 80% of successful cyber incidents involve misconfigurations or excessive access—not advanced hacking. Most breaches happen because systems were never reviewed, cleaned up, or validated.

What We Review During a Cybersecurity Audit

Our audits focus on areas that commonly cause incidents for local businesses.

 

User Access & Permissions

  • Who has access to email, files, and business systems

  • Former employees or vendors who still have access

  • Shared passwords or admin accounts

 

Common local issue: Small offices often reuse passwords across staff or never remove access after turnover.

 

Device & Endpoint Security

  • Laptops, desktops, and mobile devices

  • Antivirus / EDR coverage

  • Missing security updates and unsupported systems

 

Example: A sales laptop used off-site at client locations without encryption or endpoint protection.

 

Email & Phishing Exposure

  • Spam and phishing filtering effectiveness

  • Email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)

  • Past phishing attempts and user behavior

 

Reality: Email is still the #1 entry point for ransomware and credential theft.

 

Network & Firewall Configuration

  • Firewall rules and open ports

  • Remote access methods

  • Guest Wi-Fi separation

 

Common risk: Flat networks where one infected device can reach everything.

 

Backup & Recovery Readiness

  • Backup frequency and storage location

  • Protection against ransomware-encrypted backups

  • Ability to restore files or systems quickly

 

Key question: Can you actually recover, or are backups just assumed to work?

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Cybersecurity Protection: What Happens After the Audit

An audit is only useful if action follows. Cybersecurity protection focuses on closing the gaps found.

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Practical Security Improvements

  • Lock down unnecessary access

  • Enforce strong passwords and multi-factor authentication

  • Secure email against phishing and spoofing

  • Harden endpoints and servers

  • Protect backups from deletion or encryption

 

These are measurable, visible changes—not abstract recommendations.

 

Ongoing Monitoring & Alerts

  • Suspicious login attempts

  • Malware or ransomware activity

  • Risky behavior on endpoints or email accounts

Problems are identified early, before they turn into business disruptions.

 

Why This Matters for St. Augustine Businesses

Local businesses face unique risks:

  • Seasonal staffing and turnover

  • Remote access for owners and managers

  • Limited internal IT resources

  • High reliance on email for vendors, reservations, and payments

A single incident can:

  • Lock access to scheduling or accounting systems

  • Expose customer or client data

  • Shut down operations for days

  • Create legal or compliance issues

 

Cybersecurity audits help prevent these scenarios instead of reacting after the fact.

 

Common Mistakes Businesses Make

“We’re too small to be targeted.”
Small businesses are targeted because defenses are often weaker.

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Relying on antivirus alone.
Antivirus does not stop phishing, credential theft, or misuse of valid accounts.

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Assuming backups are safe.
Many backups are encrypted right along with the main system during an attack.

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No regular review.
Security changes as your business grows—what worked two years ago may now be a risk.

 

Cybersecurity Audit & Protection gives St. Augustine businesses:

  • Clear visibility into real risks

  • Practical steps to reduce exposure

  • Ongoing protection against common attack methods

  • Confidence that systems and data are actually protected

 

It is about prevention, clarity, and continuity—not fear or complexity.

For businesses that want cybersecurity integrated into their day-to-day operations, this service is part of Opseva’s broader approach to reliable IT management. Learn more about how this fits into our overall offerings on our IT Services page.

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