How to Get Your Employees Thinking about Cyber Security

Large scale cyber-attacks are, it seems, never far from the headlines these days and each event ought to serve as a warning to businesses alike. In September alone we have had four examples where we have been impacted by a data breach. Deloitte, SEC, Equifax, and Sonic among the organizations breached.

But, it isn’t just the big boys who are suffering at the hands of hackers. It’s said that 14 million small businesses in the US were hacked in the last year – which is about half of the total.

It’s a big threat for businesses, and that means you have to think about how these businesses can protect themselves. One of the most important things to remember is that security is a team effort. Your business won’t be secure if everyone doesn’t know how they can play their part. If you can get everyone thinking about cyber security—and appreciating the role that they can play—then that’s half of the battle overcome.

So, how can we get there?

Introduce processes

You need to introduce processes in your business that put cyber security at the forefront. Whether it’s the way you manage the passwords used to access your systems, the way in which you handle your paperwork to keep confidential data secure, or the way in which you deploy antivirus software and encryption to protect your systems and the data held within them, it all needs solidifying. Crucially, you also need to ensure that your processes are effectively communicated to every member of your staff and that there’s a clear structure in place for anyone to raise queries, report issues or suggest gaps in your defenses that need to be addressed.

Nominate people with responsibility

With that in mind, your processes will be most effective if they are introduced alongside a structure. This might mean nominating one person to take the lead on cyber security within your organization or, if you’re big enough, it might mean appointing a team of people. These people can monitor and review your processes, ensure they are implemented and be at the center of an effective communication strategy. By making responsibility clear, it helps to avoid a situation where employees all presume that it’s someone else’s job.

Training sessions

Once you have your structure in place and your process mapped out, it’s time to think about training. Every member of your staff should be clear on your cyber security strategy—but should also receive training on the nature of the threat posed by hackers online. It’s important that you know what you’re up against—and that the potential danger is spelled out so that people know that all of this isn’t being done for nothing. Effective training will definitely get your employees thinking and, hopefully, talking about cyber security.

Training, structure and process are the three main pillars required to get your employees thinking about cyber security. Together, they form the foundation of a business equipped to cope with the threats now faced online. So, implement this advice and see if your business is safer as a result.

Steps to Staying Secure

As technology continues to gain a more important role in our lives, it also grows in complexity. Given how quickly technology changes, keeping up with security advice can be confusing. It seems like there is always new guidance on what you should or should not be doing. However, while the details of how to stay secure may change over time, there are fundamental things you can always do to protect yourself. Regardless of what technology you are using or where you are using it, we recommend the following steps to stay safe.

First and foremost, keep in mind that technology alone will never be able to fully protect you. Attackers have learned that the easiest way to bypass even the most advanced security technology is by attacking you. If they want your password, credit card, or personal data, the easiest thing for them to do is to trick you into giving them this information. For example, they can call you pretending to be Microsoft tech support and claim that your computer is infected, when in reality they are just cyber criminals that want you to give them access to your computer. Or perhaps they will send you an email explaining that your package could not be delivered and ask you to click on a link to confirm your mailing address, when in reality they are tricking you into visiting a malicious website that will hack into your computer. This is how attacks such as Ransomware or CEO Fraud start. Ultimately, the greatest defense against attackers is you. Be suspicious. By using common sense, you can spot and stop most attacks.

Passwords: The next step to protecting yourself involves using a strong, unique password for each of your devices and online account. The key words here are strong and unique. A strong password means one that cannot be easily guessed by hackers or by their automated programs. Tired of complex passwords that are hard to remember and difficult to type? Try using a passphrase instead. Instead of a single word, use a series of words that is easy to remember, such as “Where is my coffee?” The longer your passphrase is, the stronger. A unique password means using a different password for each device and online account. This way, if one password is compromised, all of your other accounts and devices are still safe. Can’t remember all those strong, unique passwords? Don’t worry, neither can we. That is why we recommend using a password manager, which is a specialized application for your smartphone or computer that securely stores all of your passwords in an encrypted format.  

Finally, one of the most important steps you can take to protect any account is enable two-factor authentication. Passwords alone are no longer enough to protect accounts; we all need something stronger. Two-step authentication is much stronger. It uses your password, but also adds a second step, either something you are (biometrics) or something you have (such as a code sent to your smartphone or an app on your smartphone that generates the code for you). Enable this option on every account you can, including your password manager, if possible. Two-step verification is probably the single most important step you can take to protect yourself, and it’s much easier than you think.

Updating: Make sure your computers, mobile devices, applications, and anything else connected to the Internet are running the latest software versions. Cyber criminals are constantly looking for new vulnerabilities in the software your devices use. When they discover vulnerabilities, they use special programs to exploit them and hack into the devices you are using. Meanwhile, the companies that created the software for these devices are hard at work fixing them by releasing updates. By ensuring your computers and mobile devices install these updates,

Backups: Sometimes, no matter how careful you are, you may be hacked. If that is the case, often your only option to ensure your computer or mobile device is free of malware is to fully wipe it and rebuild it from scratch. The attacker might even prevent you from accessing your personal files, photos, and other information stored on the hacked system. Often the only way to restore all of your personal information is from backup. Make sure you are doing regular backups of any important information and verify that you can restore from them. Most operating systems and mobile devices support automatic backups. In addition, we recommend you store your backups in either the Cloud or on an external device offline to protect them against cyber attackers.

By following the steps above, you will go a long way to protecting yourself while leveraging the latest technology.  You will make it much harder for someone to hack you.