Cybersecurity is one of the fastest growing industries in America today. Every company, at some level, is at risk for cyber crime.
A recent study by Symantec reported more than 250 data breaches exposed 552 million identities in just one year. Some of these breaches made national headlines, while others went undetected. And the number of breaches keeps growing by double-digit percentages every year. Protection against these crimes is becoming more and more advanced, but so are the cyber criminals.
So what should you do? Below are some top recommendations:
Strengthen your firewall and antivirus protections. No, this won’t protect you from highly complex security breaches. But, it will save you from low-level hackers and employee errors that could cost you. These precautions are the first step, and easy for any business to implement.
Make sure your wifi is private access only. You don’t want to invite opportunities for hackers to breach your database or security systems. The more limited you keep your wifi and network, the less chance you have of someone taking advantage. Of course, some businesses need wifi for their customers, but make sure it is password protected.
Educate your employees. Employees will not always know what to look for, and how to protect their work devices from potential issues. They are also at a higher risk for identity theft if the company networks are compromised. Make sure they know what to look for in phishing email and other practices.
Limit employee access to information. Some employees may be smarter than you think, and could try to compromise your networks on their own. Many cyber criminals are successful with this approach, getting hired at a company for a position that gives them easy access to sensitive information. Conduct background checks before hiring anyone that could have this kind of access.
DDoS security. A DDoS attack is a tactic used by cyber criminals, where they disrupt your online services or network, rendering it unusable to your customers or personnel. This distracts the cybersecurity team, working to fix the problem while the criminals gain access to sensitive information. This tactic is highly effective, unless you invest in DDoS security systems.
In all the possibilities for a cyber attack, your best defense is a solid plan. Know what you’re going to do in the event of a cyber crisis, and remember that they can be solved, no matter how difficult it may seem.
You also need to be prepared from a communications standpoint so you can tell all your different audiences what is going on and how you’re fixing the problem. If you need cyber security planning, talk to the professionals at Tucker/Hall today.
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