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Stay safe during National Cyber Security Awareness month
October is National Cyber Security Awareness month, which is an annual campaign sponsored by NCSD and used by many organizations to raise awareness about cybersecurity. With a number of high profile security breaches we witnessed in 2017, the topic of cybersecurity is more relevant than ever.
This past year, we saw WannaCry and Petya ransomware viruses cripple hundreds of thousands of computers around the globe, costing businesses and individuals millions of dollars to recover files and countless hours of lost productivity. In addition to ransomware attacks, the Equifax data breach allowed cybercriminals to get access to personal information of 143 million consumers in the US – adding potential fuel to the phishing fire.
With these recent events in mind, this month is a perfect time for you to review your security practices, prepare a response plan and encourage your employees to do their part in protecting your company’s assets and infrastructure.
Educate your employees about cybersecurity issues
If you haven’t already done so, take time to invest in your employee cybersecurity awareness training. Most data breaches take advantage of the fact that employees don’t know security policies and aren’t vigilant enough. To this point, almost half of all security incidents can be linked to employee error. Organizations that regularly train their employees can see a reduction in security-related risks of up to 70%.
Secure your company data with 2FA
Portable devices, Internet of Things and bring-your-own-device policies broadened the digital footprint of many organizations and provided hackers with many additional points of entry for their attacks. Make sure that sensitive information is only accessed through secure connections and that you encourage your employees to change passwords frequently to reduce the risk of potential security breaches. You should also strengthen your security policy by requiring the use of two-factor-authentication (2FA). Symantec says that 80% of data breaches could have been prevented with the use of 2FA.
Protect your email from phishing attacks
Help ensure that your security technology and protection is able to safeguard your organization from emerging email threats. With email remaining a major communication channel for businesses, hackers constantly exploit it as an entry point for increasingly sophisticated attacks. In fact, over 90% of all cybersecurity attacks begin with spear-phishing. Your email security solution should include anti-phishing protection in addition to a more traditional anti-spam and anti-malware filtering. Check out how Intermedia Email Protection can help you secure your email.
Learn more about staying safe online
Finally, take the time to review resources available on the campaign site Stay Safe Online to learn more about best practices in keeping your businesses, employees, and customers secure.
Remain vigilant and stay safe!
