With the majority of business taking place online these days, overlooking cybersecurity is a huge mistake that companies can make. While it can be easy to overlook, business leaders need to educate themselves and act accordingly to the cybersecurity trends affecting their industries. To help begin this process, we’ve compiled a list of commonly overlooked risks and tips for how to ensure your company isn’t the next one to fall victim. Follow along and think about how you can implement these into your everyday business.
Poor Password Hygiene
No matter how much computing you do, website and app passwords are everybody’s problem. When it comes to office culture surrounding cybersecurity, weak passwords are an especially important aspect to consider. Thankfully, the importance of strong password usage isn’t as overlooked as it once was, but some of the most effective solutions are. For example, investing in a password manager is always a good idea, but providing your employees with tips on how to create strong passwords is even simpler. For starters, require your employees’ passwords to contain at least 13 characters that consist of a mix of upper and lower-case letters and special characters. Once these passwords are initially set, require employees to change them at least once a month to stay ahead of thieves as well.
Unsecured Personal Devices
Bring your own device (BYOD) policies are functional benefits for employees and employers alike. Not only does it allow employees to fulfill their tasks in whatever digital workspace they are already comfortable in, but also gives employers the benefit of avoiding productivity lags resulting from getting accustomed to a new workspace.
Unfortunately, BYOD capabilities can bring cyber risks along with their benefits. To help avoid these risks, develop a comprehensive and robust BYOD policy compiled by an IT professional. At the very least, require all users with access to on-site internet connections to utilize VPNs and ensure that all accounts are equipped with multi-factor authentication.
Weak Tools
When your company implements new tools for business, you’ll want to ensure you choose reliable and secure options. Weak communication tools or applications leave vulnerable windows for thieves to enter your systems, and ultimately steal classified information. When looking to implement these tools, dig into the available hardware and software options to make sure you are investing in certifiably secure options for your needs. Whether you are looking for phone services, contact center solutions, a messaging platform, video conferencing technology or other tools, implementing unified communications tools is a great option.
Obsolete Software Updates
Lack of updating whatever software and tools you choose for company devices is far-too-often responsible for wide-scale cyber disasters because of the window of vulnerability it leaves for lurking thieves. To help avoid these vulnerabilities and minimize potential exploitations, set all system updates to auto-update for a convenient time for your business. Daily updates give you the best chance of keeping you safer.
Inconsistent Knowledge Base
Even if management has knowledge of what security risks are lurking online, that can’t keep every employee safe every day. In order to increase the likelihood of keeping all employees safe every day, you must inform them of the risks at hand and educate them on how to report and handle these different situations, should they arise. Everybody should have uniform knowledge about the reality of lurking risks and how necessary and important it is for humans to be diligent these days, despite all the anti-virus and anti-malware software available. Educate your employees to understand what phishing emails, scams and spam emails look like for starters. As an added bonus, this comes in handy just as much at home as it does in the office.
Having both the knowledge of what these overlooked facets are and ways to overcome them can help keep your business safe online. Actually implementing and taking these precautions can provide your business peace of mind because your data will be much more difficult for cyber thieves to access. It’s important to not wait until a disaster strikes to implement safety procedures, or you could wind up regretting it.
