In today’s world, it is nearly impossible to get any kind of work done without the help of the internet and computers in order to do it more efficiently. Isn’t it great that everything can now be accessed with a simple click of the button or a tap of the finger? The thing is that not everybody who uses these advances in technology is necessarily going to use them for noble purposes. Unfortunately, there are many individuals out there who would prefer to steal other people’s identities and data in order to gain a profit. How do you protect your company from that kind of attack? In this article, we will be discussing four easy tips that you can implement as company-wide policies in order to increase your organization’s cyber security.
- Invest in Quality Online Solutions that Provide Security
This may seem like a no-brainer, but this is the very first step that you can take in order to protect your data. Do not invest in any systems that do not provide the best quality of cyber security measures. Yes, there are many apps and programs out there that are free, but you can never be sure if they are top of the line or not. Plus, if something were to go wrong, then you may have a harder time getting the help of customer service compared to if you were a paying customer. Thus, besides buying a piece of robust anti-virus and anti-malware software for all of your company devices, make sure that every other program you use comes with security features. For example, if you need to do a lot of online corporate meetings that may contain sensitive data, then you should go for a solution such as secure video conferencing provided by BlueJeans.
- Tell Your Employees to Never Give Away Their Password
No matter who asked you for your login credentials, the number one rule of cyber security holds true from the beginning of the internet until today: you should never, under any circumstances, hand over your username and password to anybody else. Yes, that means you should not give it to even the people you trust the most, even if they may happen to be your closest family members, your spouse or significant other, your best friends, or your officemate. In fact, OPSWAT notes that you should watch out for the missing link in your company—we all know that one person who keeps their password on a post-it note that’s stuck right on their computer.
- Watch Out for Any Messages Claiming to Be from Providers
To put it simply, there are some hackers that still utilize a method that is commonly known as phishing. What they will do is send you an e-mail claiming to be a representative from a company that you currently hold an account at. They will then say that your account has been compromised by an unidentified individual, and will give you a link to a page that looks very close to the official page of the site. They will then say that in order to keep your account safe, they will need you to input your username and password into that page—sometimes, they even tell you that you have to “log in.” The openDNS Blog notes that you should be suspicious of any links sent to you, as they may lead you to a phony site. They may even automatically download malware to your device.
- Ask Your Employees to Make Their Passwords as Complex as Possible
Because passwords are usually the first barrier that would keep any hacker from getting into your account, you have to make sure that you make it as hard as possible for anybody else to access your data. When you have your employees create their personal passwords, make sure to ask them to create one that is at least 12 characters long and uses a combination of letters, numbers, and alphanumeric symbols. To make it even harder to crack, ask them to use a mix of lowercase and uppercase letters, too. That way, any hacker will have to try very, very hard to crack it, even if they were using a program to carry out a brute-force attack, wherein an app would automatically generate every possible combination possible.
Keep These Simple Tips in Mind for Better Company Protection
By carrying out these simple steps, you can do your organization a whole lot of good by upping your security all by updating your cyber security practices. In order to convince your employees about the importance of each of these steps, make sure that you hold a meeting with them and tell them how these tips can help them secure not just the company’s data, but their personal data as well, should they choose to implement the same steps for their personal accounts. Just remember that hackers’ tactics continue to evolve each and every year—sometimes even in a matter of a few months—so keep yourself updated by always following the news on the latest cyber security tactics and breaches. With enough vigilance, you should be able to protect your company from any and all online threats that may come your way.
