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Summer is a time for relaxed hours at the office, taking time with family and friends and generally relaxing. While that all sounds wonderful, cybercriminals aren’t taking a break this summer — so you need to be on high alert to be sure your cybersecurity is sufficient to prevent intrusions. Fortinet is one of the country’s leading security companies and their Threatmap is an eye-opening reminder of the dangers that are lurking around every corner of the web. More than 545,000 network intrusion attempts are being blocked by Fortinet alone, with threats pinging around the world faster than you can imagine. Here are 6 tips that will help boost your cybersecurity awareness this summer and help keep your business safe from harm.
1. Take Time to Train Staff Members
Your employees are the first line of defense for cybersecurity, and committing to a series of ongoing training is one of the best ways to keep your business safe. Training doesn’t have to be long or in-depth and can be as simple as reminding your staff to create complex passwords and steer clear of questionable emails. You might be surprised how valuable these two pieces of information are when paired with a robust cybersecurity posture for your business.
2. Manage Your BYOD
BYOD, or Bring Your Own Device, is a security risk that many organizations are dealing with as staff members want to utilize their personal devices to access their corporate files and intranet. Ensuring that any mobile devices accessing confidential or protected information are fully secure, but you’ll also need plans in place for any devices that happen to be lost or stolen to reduce the chance of an additional security breach.
3. Secure Your Corporate WiFi
Many businesses provide their clients or staff with accessible WiFi, a fabulous benefit that people will be delighted to take advantage of on a regular basis. Unfortunately, allowing individuals to access the same WiFi network as your secure information is a serious security risk. Consider creating a separate WiFi network strictly for clients and non-secure personnel, such as visiting vendors. That will help separate your confidential business information from any potential threats.
4. Limit Employee Access to Networks and Confidential Information
It’s all too easy to forget to update employee access levels when they move to a new department or leave the organization. This is a serious threat to your business, as a disgruntled former employee may either attempt to infiltrate your network or their information could be stolen by hostile actors. Employees should have the lowest level of access to your systems that allows them to perform their daily activities. If a specific department doesn’t need access to sensitive information, limit their logins or awareness of these details to help reduce the overall risk to your systems and business data.
5. Regularly Review Your Firewall Rules
Every internet connection should be protected behind a firewall — a set of programs that can keep intruders from gaining access to the details that are stored on your corporate network. While there is free firewall software available online, vet it carefully or ask local IT services professionals to ensure that the firewall provides the level of support that your business needs. More employees are working from home or taking their laptops to remote locations to work, and that means you need to be extra diligent. Each computer, laptop, tablet or other devices that access your corporate network need to have a firewall and added levels of security to keep your business safe.
6. Secure Your Corporate Payment Options
Employees with access to your payment options need additional training to ensure they are on the lookout for any inconsistencies in the way a request is made. Many banks and other financial institutions are adding new security checks to their processes in an effort to reduce the amount of fraud that they handle on an annual basis. Be sure that corporate payment channels are only accessed via a secure connection, and that employees are well-versed in the dangers of getting on unsecured WiFi networks and accessing financial information.
There’s no time like the present to upgrade the cybersecurity in your office. Want to get started right away? Contact the professionals at Nexus IT Consultants today at 435-250-3721 or fill out our online form to get a free cybersecurity analysis for your business. Not only will you see where you currently are, but learn some suggestions for quickly improving the security of your data and your business.