It’s the people that make a company, not the other way around. That’s why they’re the most important asset. Most of the time, people are responsible for a company’s rise and fall. The latter isn’t something that anyone wants to happen. If you’re in the business world, then you don’t want your employees to be the cause of your demise. But that often occurs due to lousy cybersecurity measures and practices.
A lot of managers believe that cybersecurity is a once-a-year type of thing. You host a meeting that’s an hour-long, and everyone will abide by the rules presented in a corporate PowerPoint presentation. That’s never the case.
Cybersecurity is something you have to work on constantly. In the last year, 70 percent of cyberattacks were directed toward small businesses. The other statistics are even more worrying. No one is safe, and you need to implement these practices to protect the company you work for.
Don’t click on pop ups, links, and emails that are unsafe
This is easier said than done. If you see an email coming from an address that looks like it was randomly generated by a robot, you probably won’t open that email. But phishing practices are becoming better each day. Hackers can now use emails that seem legitimate, trying to get you to click on them. All it takes is one person inside the company to fall for a scam, and the hacker can gain access to the entire system.
One of the best tips to follow is to avoid entering sensitive data on a website that comes from an email, even if it looks like your coworker. Cyberattackers spent months trying to impersonate employees. Instead of believing anything that enters your inbox, make sure to triple-check, so you’re not putting the company and your own information in danger.
Don’t plug unchecked USBs into company computers
Not everyone is a fan of cloud storage. If you work in a company where you need to send and work on large files, it’s much better to share a USB instead of uploading and downloading files all the time. Some companies even receive USB drives from outside sources. If you work in such a place, treat every USB as a virus. All it takes is one device to be plugged in and compromise an entire network.
The most popular software installed on USB devices is a keylogger. The software records everything you type, and it’s the easiest method for hackers to get their hands on emails, passwords, credit cards, and other types of sensitive info. USBs can also be killers that can destroy a PC or laptop when you plug them in.
The best practice here is to bring every device to the IT experts and ask them to check whether a device is virus-free and safe to use.
Use a VPN
Your office Wi-Fi probably has a strong password. That’s because it’s a private network that’s safe and encrypted. Public networks, on the other hand, are the complete opposite. Anything free has a hidden cost. For free Wi-Fi, the price could be your personal information and everything you can access. If you’re using your company phone to connect to public networks, you might be putting the company in danger. If there’s a hacker on the same network, they can quickly gain access to your device because public Wi-Fi has minimal security protection, and it’s open access for everyone.
It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to work from Starbucks or want to connect to look at a company email. Public Wi-Fi is never safe unless you’ve got a VPN software installed. It’s the only measure that keeps information leaks at bay, making it impossible for hackers to breach your security. If you want to be serious about cybersecurity, it makes sense to go for a paid version instead of a free one. You get better performance, more features, and no data limits.
Use strong passwords and multifactor authentication
Most people use the same password for every account, even though they know it’s a bad practice. No one can remember hundreds of passwords for every service and website they use. When it’s time to change a password, you probably add a special character or a number at the end.
It sounds obvious, but your passwords need to be strong and long. The minimum requirement for safety is ten characters. Not only that, but you should add special characters, numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters, and symbols. Having a password manager comes in handy in this situation.
However, without multifactor authentication, every password is unsafe. That’s why another layer of security is vital. Even services that send you an SMS with a one-time number can be breached. Apps like Google Authenticator are much better because the keys for two-factor authentication change every few seconds.
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