Despite advancements in technology the need for cybersecurity continues, as facing hackers and other dangers on the internet is still very much the task to handle. Cybersecurity tactics need to be updated according to new technologies that are being used in order to make them work the best. As a matter of fact, with major companies like AOL, Target, Sony, and JPMorgan Chase experiencing major data breaches, cybersecurity is all the more important. In order to make the best of a business’ cybersecurity efforts, here are five tips to really make it work.
Protect All Data with Cybersecurity
Most people think that they have the perimeter surrounding their most important personal data in place in a rather secure way. However, they do not realize that most of these tactics are out of date. Surprisingly, most businesses still spend upwards of 87 percent of their security budgets on measures reflecting this old frame of mind. For instance, there are more entrances through firewalls than people realize. Instead of focusing on covering up tracks that were created with the last breach, focusing on breach prevention is far more cost-effective in the long run. This statement is especially true when people look at how long businesses can experience downtime due to a security breach.
Aim Cybersecurity at Mobile Technology
Several of the easy points for entry through a firewall happen to be the ways that people use mobile technology to access information at work. In most cases, some employees need to work on their personal devices in order to have mobile access to technologies at work. Therefore, companies need to strengthen the ways they restrict access to critical data on these mobile platforms. One of these tactics allows IT departments the chance to remotely wipe devices that cause security breaches. Using a tool to log in can be used to make entering mobile applications, especially with banking information, all the more secure. Here’s an example of what Toys R Us requires.
Initiate Cybersecurity Before a Data Breach
If a data breach does occur, companies should already have a plan of some sort in place to respond to this threat. First of all, the most important procedure to have is how to stop the threat once it becomes known. Then, next steps to follow must also be in place to recover information, and for continual protection of information that is untouched yet still vulnerable. Plus, all employees need to be made aware of these procedures. As steps are updated, information should be given to employees. A memo or flyer posted about the information is not enough – actual retraining needs to happen, and it should occur often, regardless of whether or not procedures have been changed. This method is the only way that employees will be able to know how to respond effectively to a security breach of any kind.
Making Use of Supreme Password Protection
One of the older types of secure access to a business’ network and data is to make sure that strong passwords are used. The strength of a password means everything to protect vital information. A strong password includes letters that are either upper or lower case, numbers, and special characters like the exclamation point, asterisk, etc. Note that these passwords are only effective for so long. Therefore, companies need to employ policies that require people to change their passwords every so many days. Most importantly, passwords such as “admin” or “password” need to be avoided at all costs, even when an account is first established, because these are among the easy-peasy passwords that hackers will check first.
Another method to make sure that passwords remain safe is to require two-step authentication. There are applications that can be downloaded on mobile devices that will provide these authentication passwords. They are usually placed into a data access point after the employee’s personal password is entered. Another technology to use is a fob that produces these same authentication methods. They are a little bit more expensive than the mobile applications, but they can mean saving a great deal of money from data breaches.
Fight Back Against Ransomware
A new type of hacking technology available for use against businesses is called ransomware. This method allows hackers the access to data files that a hacker can encrypt – and then hold for ransom against the company from which the files were taken! According to the FBI, over 4,000 businesses are attacked in this way, so measures need to exist for dealing with ransomware before an attack occurs. There are tools to prevent this type of attack from occurring, and they are a worthwhile added layer of insurance against attackers.
There are plenty of methods to update the ways that businesses can prevent attacks on their most secure data. When breaches of this information occur they need to be found in a timely manner, and it also needs to be done in a way that prevents a business from resuming their normal daily procedures which led to the breach. These five cybersecurity measures will make the process all the less grueling.
Which of these tips do you use – and which one will you start using now? Let us know in the comments below!
