Our Security Standards
Our Security Standards. Group 4 Networks provides managed IT and cybersecurity support for Toronto and GTA businesses. Call (416) 623-9677.
Many IT providers offer security controls as optional add-ons. We've found that organizations tend to underestimate their risk exposure until after an incident. Our approach: define a minimum standard that addresses the controls most commonly missing when we assess a breached environment, and deploy that standard to every client as part of onboarding.
The baseline below is what we implement during client onboarding. For each category, we've included the rationale - what attack vector it addresses and why we consider it non-negotiable. Clients at higher risk (healthcare, legal, financial services) receive additional controls on top of this baseline aligned to their specific compliance requirements.
The difference between a contained incident and a major breach is often response time. Our monitoring targets exist because we know a threat active for hours causes exponentially more damage than one caught in minutes.
The security baseline Group 4 Networks deploys to every managed IT client: EDR on every endpoint, MFA enforced, email protection, automated patching, 3-2-1 backup, and 24/7 monitoring. Toronto IT security.
Every Group 4 Networks managed IT client is protected by the same security baseline. These aren't optional extras - they're the minimum standard we deploy before an environment is considered managed.
Backup is only valuable if it can be restored. We test backups on a defined schedule and document recovery times - so clients know their actual recovery capability before they need it.
We offer a no-obligation security assessment that benchmarks your current controls against this baseline. You get a written gap analysis - whether or not you engage us for managed IT.
Traditional antivirus stops known threats. Modern ransomware uses legitimate tools like PowerShell and RDP. EDR detects the behavior, not just the file signature.
Most ransomware attacks exploit known vulnerabilities that have patches available. Consistent patch management eliminates the majority of the exploit surface.
Legacy firewalls only look at ports and protocols. NGFW with IPS inspects traffic content, blocking attacks that older firewalls pass through undetected.