In 2022, cybercrime and the effects of the actions of cyber criminals remain a key business risk that they must mitigate as far as possible. On top of costing a business a lot of money, it can cause a huge loss of reputation and brand value to those that are affected by a successful attack. Cyber attacks can vary widely in terms of their methods and sophistication. Less intricate attacks may take the form of spam emails that contain a malicious attachment or link that, once opened, can release malware onto a corporate IT system. If they are not identified as being malicious, they can potentially cause significant damage and disruption to IT systems and applications. More sophisticated attacks may be the result of a highly skilled cyber criminal attempting to gain access to a corporate system via hacking once a point of weakness has been identified in the system. It is of paramount importance for all organizations to take steps to minimize the risks posed by cybercrime. This article explains five key ways in which this can be done.
Create a comprehensive IT security strategy
All organizations should seek to create a robust and comprehensive IT security strategy that includes facets such as a data loss prevention policy, a roadmap that sets out agreed on ways to proceed once an act of cybercrime has been identified, which aims to minimize the impact of such an attack. In addition, there should be an up-to-date risk register that is dedicated to potential risks relating to IT security. The IT security strategy should reflect all known current risks to an organization that are posed by cybercrime and should seek to educate the wider employee base on how to recognize such attacks.
Staff education
Most staff in many organizations will use IT equipment on a daily basis. They may connect to corporate intranets and store information (some of which may be sensitive or contain customer data) as well as react to a steady stream of incoming emails. It is important that staff of all levels within the organization are knowledgeable about IT security and cybercrime. Clearly, if all the security knowledge is held simply by the IT teams and senior managers, the risk of less sophisticated cyber attacks being successful via entry points through the general workforce remains high. Staff awareness of cyber security best practices and knowledge of how to spot malicious activity should form mandatory training packages for all levels of staff.
Back up data and encrypt
It is important to make regular backups of important data, and these backups should be stored on devices that are removed from company networks or held on secure cloud based systems. This is because many acts of cybercrime result in data loss or data theft. Corrupted data is unusable until it is repaired, and these acts of damage or loss to data can severely restrict an organization’s continued functioning. An organization should look to identify and catalogue all aspects of work that result in the collection and storage of sensitive or personal information. This type of information (such as customer details or sensitive financial information) should be saved in an encrypted format so that if it were to be stolen, the hackers would not be able to easily read and disseminate the contents.
Insist on strong passwords
All employees should be required to secure their access to work systems and applications with strong passwords that are difficult to guess or hack. It is a fact that over 80% of data breaches in an organization are the direct result of staff using weak passwords that are easily cracked. In addition, passwords should never be shared with other employees and should be changed regularly to minimize the risks of easy access to systems by intruders. Recent strategies to improve the security of login attempts by staff can include the use of two-step verification methods that require a code to be sent to another device or location. This extra layer of security can complement the use of strong passwords.
Audit and test
Regular audits of the IT estate are crucial to ensuring that out-of-date systems or unsupported software (that ceases to receive security updates or the latest patches) are not being used. Older and unsupported systems can provide an easy route into corporate IT systems for cyber criminals and can be significant weak spots. IT staff should also test a range of IT systems with a view to determining their security levels and ability to protect against cyber attacks. Mock attacks on systems can highlight weak points in a company’s IT infrastructure, which can be a key way of learning where specific improvements in IT security are needed.
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