Malicious hackers have a wide range of tricks and tools to attack the digital data of government offices, companies, businesses and individuals. So much of our personal, financial and other types of information are stored digitally today that it’s easy for a hacker to enjoy financial gain by holding a business’s data hostage.
Enterprises ranging from airlines, media outlets and online stores to educational institutions and FairGo casino USA entertainment, venues have found themselves at the mercy of hacker’s hack passwords, infect computers, gain access through a backdoor, spy on emails and create zombie “bot” computers to attack a business’s legitimate activities. Researchers have found that the majority of such attacks take place after the hacker gained access via an employee’s negligence.
Today, the first line of defense against a cyberattack involves employee education. By investing in training, informing and empowering employees your investment will result in the elimination of businesses’ biggest threat to its cybersecurity.
Education Program
Your education program should include:
Empowerment
Any kind of educational program should emphasize what the employee will get out of the training. By learning and internalizing the safeguards, the employees should be able to see how the information is not only helpful to the company but to themselves as well. By relating the training to employees’ own personal account safety, it will be easier to convince employees to adopt safe online habits at home and at work.
Collaboration
Make it clear that the training is being undertaken because the company wants to invest in its employees and is interested in a team effort to stop attacks on “their” company. Employees who feel as though they are part of a team effort are more likely to respond positively to safeguards that may, in the long run, involve extra time in their daily routines. Make it clear that management understands this and will take these time-consuming tasks into account when delegating workloads.
Employee Training
Once the staff has been trained, incorporate cybersecurity training into the onboarding process when bringing new employees into the company.
Policies
Once you have laid the groundwork, it’s time to start putting cybersecurity policies in place. The most important of those policies include:
Locking
Physically and virtually lock up all devices, data storage and assets whenever they aren’t in use. If an employee leaves his/her desk for any amount of time, they should sign out of accounts. There are programs that auto-lock or time-out accounts if they are idle for a specific amount of time – these programs should be used on all company devices.
Storage locations or rooms where sensitive information or devices are stored should be kept locked as well.
Password Manager
Employees should be taught to never use the same password for multiple sites or programs. Every password should be a unique mix of numbers, upper and lower case letters and other characters. People have gotten used to using 8-character passwords but even that can be misused by hackers who optimize that information in order to attack. Employees should use 12 – 16 character passwords…..even more where possible.
Multi-Factor Authentication
Multi-factor authentication means that the user needs to input 2 types of verification in order to gain access to the website. This can include a username + password as one method and a text to a cell phone with a code that needs to be submitted as a second method. 2-factor authentication is one of the best ways to keep accounts from being hacked.
Back-Up
Keep data backed up as much as possible – at the end of every workday is optimal. By backing up data you ensure that, if data is ever compromised, you still have access to most of the material.
You might also want to encrypt your data so, if your data is ever compromised, you have an extra layer of protection.
External Devices
Teach employees to avoid plugging in external devices such as flash drives, hard drives or smartphones. If one of those devices is infected, it can infect the computer as well. If an external device needs to be connected to a company computer, have it scanned first for any type of virus or malware.
Financial Transactions
Financial tractions should be treated cautiously. You should make sure that your company has maintained a firewall configuration and encrypts cardholder data. If you’re making a transfer, use only company-sanctioned secure devices and secure WiFi/networks.
VPN
Invest in a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to extend your network protection to other sites that you may be visiting online. That way, if someone intercepts your data, all they’ll be able to see will be encrypted gobbly-gook.
Social Media
It goes without saying that everyone on staff should be careful about what they say on social media. It’s best to request that staff members share NO information about work on social media because hackers can gain insights if anyone shares sensitive data which will then help them target the business’s digital presence.
e-Mails
Many hacks come through emails that carry infected attachments or viruses. Employees should be trained to identify signs of a phishing email scam and to refrain from clicking on links or attachments from an unknown sender. Some of these emails may even be designed to have come from a trusted sender or from the company account so it’s worthwhile to invest in a program that labels emails that originate from outside the company.
Remote
For remote workers, use a mobile device management (MDM) that wipes the device clean if it is lost or stolen. Remote workers should be trained to work only on trusted secure devices and networksk – never on a public computer or through a free WiFi. The company should provide remote workers with portable WiFi hotspots that are password and login protected so that they aren’t dependent on public WiFi networks.
Many companies aren’t doing enough to prioritize information security risks. If you present the information appropriately and keep the lines of communication open, you can minimize the risks to your company.
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