Let’s face it; cyber attacks are becoming more common. Whether you’re a small business or a large corporation, there’s always the possibility that hackers might try to hack into your systems. With that in mind, here are some steps you can take to ensure your organization is safe from outside threats and stays protected from cyber attacks:
Embrace The Cloud
Cloud computing is a way to store and access data. The cloud can be a service that allows you to store your data in a remote server, which can be accessed from any device connected to the internet. This means that your data is stored on multiple servers rather than on one physical hard drive or computer.
Cloud computing has been around for quite some time, but it’s only recently become popularized as a way of accessing information and serving up content online (think Netflix). Since then, many companies have started offering services like iCloud. Here, you can upload files from your laptop and download them whenever you want without having to worry about deleting anything else off your computer first. These services are also great because they allow users access anywhere without having local copies of everything.
Secure Your Devices
You can take steps to protect your devices from being compromised. First, make sure your software is up to date. If you aren’t using the latest version of the software that came with your operating system (for example, MacOS), this could leave holes for hackers to exploit.
Second, use a password manager if you haven’t already. It will help you generate and store more secure passwords. Thirdly, enable two-factor authentication wherever possible so that no one can access any accounts without it.
Think About Backups
Backups are the lifeblood of the digital age. It’s not enough to save your files on one computer or cloud system—you need to back up everything across all platforms so that no matter what happens, you’ll still have access to your work.
As a rule of thumb: if it can be backed up in more than one place, do it! And keep those backups in at least two different locations—that way, even if everything goes wrong and half your data is lost, you’ll still have some backup options left.
The easiest way to do this is with an external hard drive. You can plug it into any computer with a USB port and store as many files or folders as you want—no installation is required.
Implement Extra Security Measures
There are some basic steps you can take to make yourself less of a target. This includes using a VPN, enabling a personal firewall, using strong passwords, and multi-factor authentication. A password manager is also highly recommended for storing your passwords securely. These measures will help prevent hackers from gaining access to your network and account information. Besides, you can also invest in physical security measures like a stock of ammo and parts like AR 15 handguard.
Encourage End-User Security Awareness
You should encourage end-user security awareness to protect your organization and its employees. This means educating them on the importance of keeping their passwords secure and teaching them how to detect suspicious emails or website links. You can do this through employee training programs and by encouraging employees to report any security incidents they encounter.
Encouraging end-user awareness is especially important in the modern workplace, where remote employees are more common than ever before. When you’re relying on other people for help with your business operations, it’s even more vital that everyone understands how to stay safe when using technology at work or home.
Update And Patch Software
You can’t rely on the cloud to protect you from hackers. In fact, it’s not even a good idea for you to use public Wi-Fi networks at all.
No matter how safe your data is in the cloud or how many layers of security are in place to protect it there, many hackers still manage to get through and gain access. The best way for you to stay safe from these attacks is by regularly updating both hardware and software with patches that have been released since the last update was installed.
Ensure Your Third-Party Vendors Are Secure
You may be thinking, “I’m not a third-party vendor! I don’t do anything with any of those people.” Well, it turns out that your company can still be the victim of a hack because of the services you use.
In fact, in many cases, it is often easier to hack into your network through your third-party vendors than it is to penetrate your own defenses. You see, many organizations have security measures in place but fail to apply them consistently across all their systems and applications—which means hackers can easily exploit this blind spot by targeting an outside vendor.
So how do you make sure this doesn’t happen? Here are some tips:
- Ensure that all third-party vendors are thoroughly vetted before working with them on sensitive projects or operations involving customer data or proprietary information;
- Make sure these companies have secure networks and processes;
- Conduct regular audits/reviews of their employee training programs (ensuring they’re up-to-date).
Conclusion
The bottom line is that you should always be on the lookout for phishing and other attacks that are designed to steal your data or gain access to your account. If you limit what information is available about yourself online, it will be much harder for someone else to target you. Also, remember that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
