Recent world events have increased cybersecurity risk across many businesses. Employees working from home may be doing their best to secure company tools and business data, but data breaches happen. One open computer can cause many problems.
Assess Your Business Now
Malware and dangerous attachment protection on your email system is the first step to protecting your business. Yes, things you need may go to the spam inbox; however, one inaccurate click can radically damage your business output and the safety of your client data. Consider finding a portal that will allow you to safely upload and download attachments for the protection of your data and your client’s safety.
When was your last cybersecurity training? If it’s been more than a few months, you may need to reassess your security schedule. Hackers are always working to get around your current protections. If you’re not sure what the next round of training should be, consider working with a team that can provide Cybersecurity Managed Services to keep training robust.
Monitor Access Outside the Office
If you have employees who need to travel on behalf of your business, do your best to provide them with quality gear to move your hardware. If your employees are busy managing briefcases, suitcases, personal bags, and e-readers, the risk of loss for your hardware may go up.
Provide traveling employees with a quality backpack so your computer and their personal electronics can be easier to capture and carry. If employees are taking home a laptop for a short time, consider giving them time away specifically to take the laptop home.
One employee running one errand on the way home can suffer a theft which can put your business data at risk.
Manage Passwords
Carefully review the passwords used by your employees through a third-party reviewer or custom security software. Flimsy passwords are easily overcome and can lead to expensive losses.
Do your best to set up multiple password protections. Instead of allowing employees to leave the office with a machine loaded with your data, set up portal access so they have to log into their own machine in the office so all data is backed up. If data must travel via a thumb drive or other external sources, make sure you provide physical tools to easily capture these items.
Also read: Ways a Company Can Help Women Succeed in Technology
Perform Regular Backups
Run regular, daily backups. Data loss can happen at any time; one large storm can wipe out power to multiple city blocks and wipe out a great deal of work, time, and money. A serious data breach can be even more costly. If possible, run a daily automated backup at a regular time each day.
Your IT team may also get in the habit of running a manual backup before all updates to your software systems. If you have to have all computers restarted before a large update, get out reminders to all employees to restart all machines connected to the office for best results.
Do make sure that cybersecurity requirements are made clear and critical to all employees. Security is the responsibility of every employee. From securing the company laptop in their home to taking those tools directly home from the office, all employees need to be aware of data risks and potential costs.
One malware attack can completely shut down a business. Such an attack can also be very hard on your credibility as a caretaker of proprietary data.
Train Employees
The first defense against ransomware attacks is often a simple review of email practices. Set up tests to help employees easily identify phishing attempts. Even with a careful and thorough anti-malware attachment review of incoming data, these emails will come through.
Do encourage all employees to be comfortable forwarding questionable emails to your IT department. Make sure they know how to review incoming emails for questionable links and to check the sender’s email to determine the source of questionable communications.
Bottom Line
Hackers have plenty of time to try to get around your cybersecurity barriers. Keeping on top of these risks is the job of every employee with computer access. Reloading from a backup after cleaning your system may be possible, but it is time-consuming and disruptive. The more work you can do in preventing these repairs, the better off you will be.