Cybersecurity steps to consider in your Business

Cybersecurity steps to consider in your Business

In 2018 the corporate world was rocked by several high-profile data breaches and ransomware attacks from Under Armour MyFitnessPal mobile app that led to the compromise of 150 million accounts to Cambridge Analytica scandal, to the British Airways and Uber Scandals, cybersecurity threats

It is clear that corporate security isn’t getting better fast enough, critical infrastructure security hangs in the balance, and hackers are getting bolder and more sophisticated.

Juniper Research estimated that the quantity of data stolen by cybercriminals could rise by as much as 175 percent over the next five years.

Add to that uncertainties in the global economy and 2019 looks set to be a challenging year for cybersecurity professionals. It is clear that no one is safe in the cyberspace as long as we invest in technology and even with the rise of new and emerging technologies like IoT.

But even with these challenges paused for bigger corporates. Here are some of the measures that you can take to ensure that your business is a little bit safe.

Use firewall to secure your Internet connection

Use a firewall to secure your Internet connection. Protect your business Internet connection with a firewall. This effectively creates a ‘buffer zone’ between your IT network and other, external networks. Within this buffer zone, incoming traffic can be analyzed to find out whether it should be allowed onto your network.

Educate your Staff on cybersecurity

Staff education on cybersecurity is equally important. Phishing and other types of cybercrimes are on the rise due to lack of knowledge by employees. As a business owner and through the IT team ensure that you promote a risk management culture – risk management needs to be organization-wide, driven by corporate governance from the top down, with user participation demonstrated at every level of the business. Provide appropriate training and also host several cybersecurity workshops that drive user education that is relevant to their role and refresh it regularly.

Secure your Data

The most important thing in your organization is your customer and company data. Protect yourself from viruses and other malware. Anti-malware measures are often included for free within popular operating systems. For example, Windows has Defender and MacOS has XProtect. These should be used on all computers and laptops.

Smartphones and tablets should be kept up to date, password protected and where possible, you should turn on the ability to track and erase lost devices. Viruses are another well-known form of malware. These programs are designed to infect legitimate software, passing unnoticed between machines, whenever they can.

Keep Updated

Keep your devices and software up to date. No matter which phones, tablets, laptops or computers your business is using, it’s important they are always kept up to date. This is true for both operating systems and installed apps or software. Keeping up to date is quick, easy, and free.

Reduce Risk and Monitor Systems

As an organization and a business owner, it is equally important to have an Information Risk Management Regime. This will help your team reduce what risks your business is willing to tolerate and what is unacceptable.

One can also put in place guidance and statements that help individuals throughout your business make appropriate risk-based decisions. One can also set up Security risk policy and a risk management strategy that help communicate and support risk management objectives.

In addition to this, continuously monitor all ICT systems and networks you could probably do this on a monthly basis. Analyze logs for unusual activity that could indicate an attack.

Removable Media Controls

Business owners should also come up with USB, DVD or any other removable devices policies. The policies should probably limit the number of removable devices used and also have terms and conditions that allow the organization to scan all media for malware before importing on to the company system

BYOD policies

If your employees can work from home or even bring their own devices to work and work from the personal devices, you are required to protect your data and systems. Your business should develop a mobile working policy and train staff to adhere to it. Business Owners can do this through usage of strong passwords and encryption on devices.

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