The kind of sophistication applied to cyber attacks these days by hackers reveals how there is the general lack of cybersecurity readiness in organizations.
Most of the sources of the cyber threats are not technological issues but yet organizations tend to spend millions on security technology for the feeling of safety. It can be said that this has more to do with the human brain, in the form of curiosity, ignorance, apathy, and hubris. These human forms of malware can be present in any organization and are every bit as dangerous as threats delivered through malicious code.
With any cyber threat, it is extremely important that an organization defends itself by preparing it leaders and employees, whether they are inside an organization or part of an interconnected supply chain. If that is not done, it amplifies the consequences of a security breach. A typical example is the scale of the Yahoo breach disclosed in 2016, which cost the company and its shareholders $350 million in its merger with Verizon and nearly scuttled the entire deal.
For organizations to prepare for and prevent the cyberattacks of the future, there is the need to balance technological restraints and tripwires with agile, human-centered defenses. This will involve a proactive leadership approach with faster, sharper decision making. As cyber threats grow more rapidly, comprehensive risk management is now a board-level priority. Executives should approve on user education by implementing security campaigns in the workplace and also make the installation of some security tool serve as part of a mitigation strategy for the organization. The cybercrime threat is continuing firmly, therefore the solution needed to reduce the danger to users, their systems, and data assets is obvious. That is why there is the need for a security campaign that includes all staff persons.
Analyzing these cyber threats, organizations can focus on two things: set accurate internal processes and procedures, and conducting periodic security awareness training for employees on these common security threats. The suggestions below can be applied by organization employees regardless of the approve devices used:
Authentication
It is important that employees use complex passwords. The best practice that every organization can advise employees on is to use special software such as password managers, where employees will need to remember only one complex password and password manager will remember all the others. Further, the use of advanced techniques such as two-factor authentication when sharing files and also sending emails.
Device Access
Employees should be educated on the importance of preventing access to people on the use of company devices since this can be a huge security risk
Allowing someone to access the same account on a computer is a huge security risk. This person doesn’t have to do anything malicious – it is enough that they delete a couple of your files by mistake, or run some program that is not to be touched.
Data Encryption
It is important that organization devices are protected you should ask them to protect including the data with encryption. With cloud computing these days, most data can be transferred and/or archived and encrypted as well. However, the advice is that if there is the means to encrypt the data before it reaches the cloud since you do not know how much the cloud provider can be trusted.
Installation and Patching of Software
Employees should be provided with a list of software that are allowed for installation on the devices that are used for business purposes. This approved software can also have security vulnerabilities which will allow malware to be installed on the device. That is why it is crucial to install all the security patches as soon as they are published.
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