Cybersecurity: Tips & Secrets | Defend Your Company Against A Cyberattack

When it comes to battling cybercrime, it’s important to remember that the world’s most expensive and robust solution is not flawless. It can’t be.

These days, innovation is key. Cyberattacks are becoming more and more complex and sophisticated because the bad

guys are always innovating.

These days, innovation is key. Cyberattacks are becoming more and more complex and sophisticated because the bad guys are always innovating. Businesses must remain vigilant.

How you can protect your business from

cybercriminals

1. Put solid policies & procedures in place

You’ve likely heard this advice before. But in addition to putting the necessary policies and procedures in place, you must:

1. Put solid policies & procedures in place

You’ve likely heard this advice before. But in addition to putting the necessary policies and procedures in place, you must:• Actively communicate these policies and procedures

to your employees. Talk about what they can do to help minimize the risk of a data breach.

1. Put solid policies & procedures in place

You’ve likely heard this advice before. But in addition to putting the necessary policies and procedures in place, you must:• Actively communicate these policies and

procedures to your employees. Talk about what they can do to help minimize the risk of a data breach.• Identify the steps that should be taken if a data breach were to occur.

The FBI is now the primary responder for cyber events in the United States. When in doubt, if you are faced with a

cyber event, call the FBI.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO:• Conduct your own forensics

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO:• Conduct your own forensics• Wipe your computers

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO:• Conduct your own forensics• Wipe your computers

WHY?The FBI can expertly gather the information needed in a way that is forensically sound, ensuring that the data can be used in court. This is also important in ensuring the successful extradition of the cyber criminal (if they’re operating their criminal activity from overseas).

2. Train your employeesYour workforce should be well-trained in order

to execute the security policies and procedures that you’ve worked hard to establish within your

organization.

2. Train your employeesRemember, your company is only as strong

as its weakest employee.

2. Train your employeesThe following points are some good lessons

all employees should know.

2. Train your employees• To change their passwords quarterly • To use passphrases with at least 12

characters consisting of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters.

• To never share their passphrases with others

• That if they ever enter their passphrase on a public computer, they must change as soon as they are able to log on to their account from a secure location.

Get more password best practices here

2. Train your employeesAlso, make sure your employees know how to maintain sensitive data, how to encrypt data and why they should never plug thumb drives

into strange machines.

Yes, passwords matter … they really do.

You can have the world’s best policies, perimeter defenses and defense software, but if all your

employees’ passwords are all “password,” none of it really matters.

Discoverhow easy it is to trick people into revealing

their passwords to complete strangers.

Use this cybersecurity secret>> Use fake answers to online security questions. <<

It’s not hard for a bad guy to find out some pretty basic information about you, including: where you grew up, where you went to high school, your mother’s maiden name, your birthday, etc. … So, instead of answering those generic online security questions honestly, use a fake answer that you can easily remember. By doing this, you’ve created a variation of two-factor authentication and have effectively elevated the security of your profile.

3. Patch your softwareWhenever a software company

puts out a patch, the manufacturer puts out a

notification that identifies what the patch is designed to fix and

why this particular patch is necessary.

Cybercriminals have an easier time breaking into unpatched

computers because, assuming they have read the manufacturer’s

explanation for the patch, they can effectively exploit known

vulnerabilities.

3. Patch your software

Even though cybercrime is a complex problem that requires a

complex solution, an effective cybersecurity defense doesn’t

necessarily have to be expensive.

More tips & secrets

Encrypt your dataMore tips & secrets

Why: If you encrypt your data and it’s stolen, the fraudster shouldn’t be able to use the stolen information

Back up your dataMore tips & secrets

Why: If you lose access to data you backed up, you should be able to recover the backed up data. Just be sure the data is backed up and stored somewhere offline and away from your original data.

Utilize anti-virus softwareMore tips & secrets

Why: Installing anti-virus software is a cybersecurity best practice these days. Just remember that using only an anti-virus program could leave you vulnerable to some significant blind spots.

Use multi-factor authenticationMore tips & secrets

Why: You can significantly increase your security by using multi-factor authentication. While the bad guys may be able to guess your password, it’s unlikely that they will be able to fake your fingerprint or infiltrate the algorithm in your RSA token. Oftentimes financial institutions utilize multi-factor authentication, and for good reason. It works very, very well.

Cybercriminals will stop at nothing to access your company’s network. But you can help prevent a

data breach from crippling your business.

To learn more,download the free whitepaper

Cybercrime: The Invisible Threat That Haunts Your Business.