Take steps today to protect yourself or your business!
You are at Risk!
Did you know, that according to a recent Government report an unbelievable 39% of all UK Businesses have suffered a Cyber Attack in the last 12 months. Many people believe it won’t happen to them but whether you are a multi-national business or a self-employed individual you are at risk.
Of course, a Cyber-attack will hit a business financially but there are other serious consequences too, such as data breaches and damage to your brand. If you aren’t taking your cyber security seriously now is the time.
How can I protect my business?
There are numerous ways in which a business can protect their business. We list five steps to help you prepare and mitigate for a possible cyber attack.
1.) Engagement and Training
The leading cause of cyber breaches isn’t nifty code or technical exploits – but human error. We believe that end users can be transformed from your business’ weakest link to their first line of defence. With the right training, testing and support, end users can be key in fighting the most damaging cyber threats like phishing and ransomware.
Through our ecSecure platform, staff are regularly educated and tested on the evolving threats of Cyber-attacks and can help spot things before it’s too late.
2.) Vulnerability Management
What is vulnerability management? It is the ongoing, regular process of identifying, assessing, reporting on cyber vulnerabilities across endpoints, workloads, and systems; then managing and remediating.
Open ports on your router or servers, outdated operating systems or 3rd party software could all be a gateway for cybercriminals onto your network. Continuous management of this is crucial for any business.
3.) Data Security
Data security is a must. Whether it be intellectual business data or client data, keeping it secure is imperative. Loss of your data could be destructive for your business in the wrong hands.
There are numerous ways to protect your data including encrypting your PCs/Laptops hard drives, taking regular backups of your data and ensuring when using cloud based applications that the data is protected against
4.) Incident Management
It is important to have an effective incident management process in place should the worse happen. If not managed, an incident can escalate into an emergency, crisis or disaster. Incident management is therefore the process of limiting the potential disruption caused by such an event, followed by a return to business as usual.
Having a well-rounded Computer Security Incident Response team is integral to providing a secure environment for any organization and is becoming a critical part of the overall design of many modern networking teams.
5.) Asset Management
Asset management is a systematic process of developing, operating, maintaining, upgrading, and disposing of assets in the most cost-effective manner possible. Being aware of assets that may prove a weakness to your organisation is important, if it’s aging equipment then replacing or upgrading it for a more modern solution is the way forward.
Disposing of assets securely is something a lot of businesses don’t think off, yet the PC you threw out will contain lots of data and a footprint to your business.
Managing the life cycle of your company assets expands to more than just PCs. These could include tablets, mobile phones, PDAs and other digital assets.
Are you ticking the boxes?
Does your business tick all fives boxes? Do you have robust processes and policies in place? Cyber Criminals are continually circling and its vital you and your business stay one step ahead.
Other Steps you should take
Cyber Essentials:
Cyber Essentials covers everything your business should do to protect itself from cyberattacks. Think of it as ‘cyber hygiene’ – a bit like washing your hands, brushing your teeth, or wearing a face mask.
Simply being certified can reduce your cyber risk by up to 98.5% and, it’s a great way to demonstrate to new customers and partners that you take cybersecurity seriously.
Cyber Essentials (or Cyber Essentials Plus) certification is a mandatory requirement for funding in some parts of the NHS and education system (ESFA funding, for example). But Cyber Essentials also has another role to play. Certification is fast becoming a requirement to bid for many UK government tenders. And, getting certified can not only unlock new opportunities for your business but also make the whole process easier
Not only can Cyber Essentials dramatically improve your business’s cybersecurity, but it’s also a great way to gain an edge over competitors and open up new avenues of opportunity
Passwords:
According to new research, anything with six characters, regardless of whether numbers and symbol are included, can be cracked instantly. The same goes for anything that is seven or eight characters but made up of just numbers or lower case letters.
But the news doesn’t get much better for any eight character combination. In fact, they can all be guessed in about 39 minutes according to US cybersecurity company Hive Systems, which is based in Richmond, Virginia.
DO
– Use a mix of special characters, numbers, capital letters. Including a range of upper and lower-case letters, as well as numbers and symbols (such as $ £ !), makes passwords securer and harder to hack.
– Aim for a long password with a minimum of 8-12 characters. The longer the password, the better. Longer passwords require more time to work out combinations and hackers looking for a quick win may be deterred.
– Use multi-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication requires hackers to get through two layers of security checks before they can get onto your account.
– Use a password manager. When creating multiple unique passwords, it can be tricky to remember them all. Instead of writing passwords down or on your phone’s notes, there are many apps and websites where you can safely store these passwords instead.
– Change your passwords regularly. Changing your passwords often reduces the risk of your accounts being compromised.
DON’T
– Don’t use personal information in your passwords. Stay away from using any type of personal information in your passwords, such as a name, date of birth, or your pet’s name. This information can easily be discovered by hackers from social media profiles or even public conversations.
– Don’t use obvious sequences of letters or numbers. Avoid using numbers and letters in common sequences such as 1234 or qwerty. These generic formats and memorable keyboard paths are the first to be guessed by hackers.
– Don’t tell anyone your password. Keep your passwords to yourself. If you were to share a password, make sure to change it soon after.
– Don’t automatically save passwords to your browser. It may be very convenient, but allowing your browser to save passwords risks your details being viewed by other people that use your devices.
– Don’t use the same password across multiple accounts. It’s important to not reuse passwords. If one account was to be hacked it could result in exposing other accounts to be breached with the same password.
How about a free no obligation IT Review Audit?
At EC Computers we pride ourselves on being Bristol’s Business IT Support & Solutions Company and we are here to help you every step of the way and that’s why you can benefit from a free, no obligation IT Review Audit.
You MOT your car annually. This is because ensuring that it is safe and serviced throughout the year is important. You ask professionals to look under the bonnet, check your tyres and your brakes, top up your oil and change your filters. What about your IT system? An IT audit (or computer systems review) works in the same way as an MOT. By ensuring maximum safety, security, and performance.
