CYBERSECURITY: Technologies, processes and practices designed to protect networks, computers, programs and data from attack, damage or unauthorized access.
In a report from AT&T, 62% of businesses acknowledged they experienced some sort of a cyber attack. In 2016, these incidents became even more common. For today’s companies, falling victim to one of these attacks is no longer a question of “if” but “when.”
Today’s employees are connected to the Internet all day every day, communicating with colleagues and stakeholders, sharing critical information and jumping from site to site.
With hackings, data breaches and ransomware attacks on the rise, it is essential for all companies to plan for the worst, with mandatory cybersecurity trainings for all employees and with the recommended solutions for mitigating the risks.
Today’s data threats don’t discriminate – businesses of all sizes are susceptible to attacks.
However, small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are often less prepared to deal with security threats than their larger counterparts. The reasons for this vary from business to business, but ultimately it comes down to the fact that SMBs often have less resources to devote to cybersecurity efforts.
Unfortunately, the lack of cybersecurity awareness amongst employees is a leading cause of a successful ransomware attack against an SMB. Employee training is a top component of a successful cybersecurity protection program and most likely the only way to ensure all staff understand the cyber threats they face and, most importantly, what they should look for in order to avoid falling victim to them.
What easy tips for training employees on cybersecurity should be in an SMB toolkit?
- Spread Cyber Awareness: Employee awareness of social engineering is essential for ensuring corporate cybersecurity. If end users know the main characteristics of these attacks, it’s much more likely they can avoid falling for them. As many people are visual learners, make sure to provide them with actual examples of these scams.
- Watch Emails! Ensure all employees are wary of any email containing an attachment they aren’t expecting, especially if said attachment is a Microsoft Office file. Before clicking on anything, make sure they confirm with the sender (via phone, text, separate email) what it is before opening or clicking anything.
- Watch Websites! Malicious websites and malvertisements are designed to look like a page or ad on a legitimate website. These sites can look incredibly real, featuring branding and logos, which is why so many end up giving cyber criminals their personal information or access to directly inject malware onto their systems. Typically, hackers will insert code into a legitimate site which redirects unsuspecting users to their malicious site. Be certain that employees understand this risk and embrace safe browsing habits, making sure they are accessing sites using the HTTPS secure communication protocol and being wary of any site asking for private information. Also, show employees how to check URLs that links point to by hovering mouse over the link to reveal the complete URL in the status bar at the bottom of the browser.
- Create a cybersecurity training program! The cybersecurity training program you choose will be dictated by the specific nature of your business and the systems, software and hardware you leverage. However, a good start would be ensuring that all new employees receive training as part of their orientation and all employees receive training on a bi-annual basis. It is important to have a formalized plan in place to keep security front of mind and employees informed about new threats.
CompuData’s IT support plans give you that peace of mind of knowing that, no matter what you IT challenges maybe, you have an award-winning IT team behind you. Get access to remote Help Desk support, infrastructure management, firewall and virus protection, WAN/LAN health monitoring, a fully secure virtual environment, disaster recovery, scheduled on-site support and more – all focused on keeping your data safe, secure and accessible 24/7. Contact CompuData today.