Did you know that cyber-attacks are now the number one cause of data loss in organizations around the world? That’s right, and small businesses are no exception. In fact, hackers often target smaller companies first. They know that either you don’t have the resources necessary to protect your business or that you think that security isn’t important as a “small fish in a big pond.”
If you are a business leader that believes you are not at risk, then you need to change your mind frame immediately and get everyone in your company on the same page. Cybersecurity is a team effort. Learn the risks involved and educate your employees so that they can get on board.
Share the Risks
While management might have some concerns about data breaches, many employees may not worry because they believe they won’t be affected. However, if your company becomes a victim, then everyone loses. If your organization is found to have been negligent and allowed a breach, then customers may lose faith in your company. Most consumers lose trust after a data breach — and that lack of trust for your business inevitably means a dip in sales. On top of that potential loss of revenue, your company has to work to repair its reputation, patch any vulnerabilities, and pay off potential fines.
Long story short, if your company goes under, then the employees could lose their jobs. That fact alone may help your staff to take things more seriously.
Employees also need to understand that while hackers try many tactics to breach your systems, sometimes it can be a current employee that poses the biggest threat. Mistakenly sending out an email with private customer information or forgetting to log out for the night can lead to a leak of sensitive information, so your staff needs to know how to be cautious with their work.
To avoid insider threats and accidental breaches, the entire company needs to learn how to avoid these issues as much as possible. To avoid accidentally sharing confidential information, supervisors can teach the team how to redact a PDF so that private data — like social security numbers and addresses — don’t fall into the wrong hands.
Of course, there is the possibility that an employee could perform a malicious act on purpose, especially if they are no longer with the company. For that reason, confidential information should be kept on a need-to-know basis. Only allow employees that need access to this information have the passwords for certain platforms that house the data. Further, as soon as an individual leaves the organization, management needs to revoke their access to sensitive data.
Employee Training Is Key
Your organization should have a comprehensive training program that educates everyone at the company about the potential cyber threats that hackers can pose and how to avoid falling victim. Ideally, these training sessions should be a part of every new employee’s orientation class, and at the end of the instruction, each worker must be required to sign off on what they learned. By doing so, they will understand the importance of their instruction. This can also prove useful if an employee ever causes an issue on purpose and the case goes to court.
Training should include lessons about the most common threats, including phishing scams. Phishing continues to be one of the go-to tactics for hackers. They send an email to any employee, act as if it was sent by a manager or vendor, and the employee may be intimidated enough to open it and click the link or attachment inside. However, if they do, then they are basically opening the door to hackers. To avoid the threat, an employee should report any suspicious messages to management immediately.
Another basic threat that continues to be effective is a brute force attack. This is when a hacker tries a barrage of potential passwords in hopes of breaking into the tech device or network. To avoid that threat, all employees and management should use complex passwords that include letters, numbers, and special characters. Also, avoid the use of pets, friends, and personal details that may be found on social media because hackers will also scour those profiles for clues to guess your password.
For that reason, management needs to stay on top of proper password usage and ensure that employees change their passwords to something completely different every three months.
Remote Employees Need To Be Cautious
These days, many companies also hire remote employees who work from the comfort of their own homes — or the exposed environment of coworking spaces. Many remote workers believe that they are safer when working away from the office, but hackers can still wreak havoc. That is why all employees must be protected. To start, your company should invest in a qualified IT service provider. In addition to fixing computers and recommending equipment, the tech team can also scan your network on a regular basis to catch viruses and malware before they become an issue.
Remote workers also need to do their part to protect themselves and the organization. That means having antivirus software installed on their work devices that scan for malware weekly. If they don’t have this software, the company should supply it. Employees should also be cautious with their personal computers because if they get a virus there and send an email to their work device, then the hacker has a pathway to the corporate network.
Many remote employees also work outside of the office in public places. One of the risks involved with this is that they might connect to a fake Wi-Fi network. The hacker sets up this fake Wi-Fi to look like the restaurant or shop network, and they may even advertise it as free to lure you in. If an employee does connect, then they are essentially connecting directly to the hacker’s computer, and from there, the cybercriminal can steal information. Employees must confirm the correct Wi-Fi or avoid going online when out in public.
As you can see, there are many strategies that everyone in your company can take to make cybersecurity a priority and avoid a breach. Managers who continue to educate their staff will have confidence that the business is protected.
