Cybersecurity is one area that you cannot afford to neglect – regardless of how big or small your business may be. In recent years there’ve been an increasing number of data breaches, involving businesses of all shapes and sizes.
If you want to protect your organization effectively, here are five useful tips that are a great place to start:
- Mandate cybersecurity awareness training
Did you know that many of the most damaging cybersecurity attacks have been caused by unintentional mistakes? Malicious actors often take advantage of human error with social engineering attacks like phishing, baiting, whaling, and so on.
To ensure that your employees don’t fall prey to these tactics, you should mandate cybersecurity awareness training. It will make them aware of the methods used to trick people into revealing confidential information, and how they can avoid falling victim to such tactics.
- Monitor suspicious behavior
By using employee monitoring software like Controlio, you can identify any suspicious behavior and take action early. It can track if any suspicious apps are used or websites visited, as well as file transfers, emails and IM messages, and much more.
Within Controlio itself you can set up behavior rules and alerts so you’ll immediately be notified if something suspicious is detected. Additionally if closer scrutiny is ever required it can capture screenshots or videos, or even log keystrokes to check if confidential information is being disclosed.
- Block risky websites
Some types of websites are far more risky than others, especially websites dealing in pornography or illegal content. Technically your employees probably shouldn’t be accessing such sites at the workplace, but it is far safer to simply block them.
If you want you can easily block any websites or apps within Controlio itself and display a warning to your employees. At the same time you can also set it up to notify you if an employee does attempt to access such websites.
- Establish a cybersecurity policy
Coming up with a cybersecurity policy is a simple yet highly effective option. It should cover all aspects of cybersecurity, including password safety, authentication requirements, social media use, a stance on employees using their own devices, and any websites or apps that are restricted.
By providing your employees with a clear and complete set of guidelines, you can make them follow simple cybersecurity best practices. That alone will help to reduce the risk of a data breach significantly.
- Plan for the worst
No matter what you should always plan for the worst and outline what needs to be done should a security incident of any type happen. It should include how security incidents are identified, who needs to be informed, what people need to do, and other steps that you feel are necessary.
On top of that you should have a business continuity plan that includes all information necessary to run your business even if the worst happens. Be sure to also include a backup policy so all important data can be restored if necessary.
It should be noted that these tips are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to cybersecurity and there are lots of other measure that you can (and should) take. Still, the steps listed above are a good place to start and will act as a strong foundation that you can build on in the future.
No matter what it is crucial that you do not underestimate the risk posed by cyber threats. Without proper preparation your organization could very well end up facing heavy losses due to a data breach or some other type of attack that makes it impossible to do business.