4 Cybersecurity Rules to Live By

 With a huge shift in culture to work-from-anywhere, cybersecurity has never been more important. In fact, within just December 2020 there have been several major cybercrimes on companies such as SolarWinds and FireEye, which affected organizations as big Microsoft and government entities like the US Treasury. These cyberattacks are particularly concerning as “this threat poses a grave risk” to government on every level as well as private organizations, based on a statement made by CISA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. So, what can your organization to ensure that you are as safe and secure as possible? Keep reading to learn our top 4 cybersecurity rules for you to live by. 

Read our article about top data breaches and Cybersecurity attacks in 2021.

1. Know your Security Posture

Your security posture is your organization’s overall security status based on your software, network, services, and more. Understanding your organization’s security strengths and weaknesses allows you to make informed decisions regarding your cybersecurity plan and fill any existing gaps. By regularly checking your security posture and patching holes as needed, you are more likely to remain secure from cybercriminals looking for easy access into your network. 

So, how do you determine your security posture? Organizations like Datalink Networks offer Free Network Security Assessments, which will identify weaknesses and provide you with a security report card to increase security and lower risk. Additionally, you can schedule routine penetration testing, a form of ethical hacking with the purpose of identifying security gaps and organization’s ability to respond to security threats. By performing a pen test on your organization’s network, you effectively go through the hacking process cybercriminals use to gain access so you can ensure that all avenues become dead ends.  

2. Increase Protection

Understanding your security posture is only half the battle. Once you identify your weaknesses and gaps in security, then next step is to fill those gaps to increase your protection. This is especially important as cybersecurity breaches have increased by 67% in the past 5 years. By leveraging several different types of protection such as email security, firewalls, and antivirus software you are creating stronger barriers. These different forms of protection work like a patch-quilt blanket ensuring that every portion of your network is secured.  These barriers carry less vulnerability and exposure blocking out cybercriminals and keep them at bay. Additionally, all software should be updated regularly as the previous version sometimes carry bugs that can interfere with their effectiveness. This can also increase the stability of the software, give you new features, and make the overall user experience smoother. 

Read about Cybersecurity for small to medium businesses.

3. Have a Backup and Recovery Plan 

While we hope you never need it, it is important that your organization has a comprehensive backup and recovery plan in case a cybercriminal infects your network with malware, or an employee deletes sensitive data. This is primarily important as ransomware attacks cause an average of over 16 days of downtime and average downtime costs up to $11,600 per minute. By having a backup and recovery plan, you can significantly decrease downtime, saving your organization’s time and money, and protects yourself from losing important data. You can either work with an IT vendor to create and deploy a plan that your organization manages, or you can work directly with a Managed Service Provider who will also monitor your network and act if a threat arises.  

4. Policies and Training 

Did you know that insider threats have increased by 47% over the past two years and more than two thirds of them are caused by employee negligence? This negligence is often shown through emailing sensitive information, using a personal email instead of a work email, falling for phishing attacks, and losing work devices. To mitigate this risk, create a company-wide set of cybersecurity policies and procedures and train your staff on them. These policies can include: 

• • Multi-factor authentication requirements 
  • Password policies 
  • Protocol for payment changes 
  • Social Media policy 

By training your staff on proper cyber-procedure and the importance of adhering to the policies, you will protect your organization significantly. Even simply training your employees on the tell-tale signs of phishing emails so they can recognize and ignore them will help keep your organization from falling victim. Your employees can either be your biggest asset or your downfall- give them the tools they need to understand the security risks, so they do not become negligent. 

Click here to read about the global challenge of Cyber-Security.