As a business owner it’s your responsibility to take certain cybersecurity precautions. Making sure you have the correct firewalls and policies in place are important ways to keep your business protected. Although you have a lot of control over your own cyber safety, human error is often the cause of breaches and downtime.
According to one Oracle Users Group Survey, human error accounts for 45% of it. Due to this, it’s imperative that you make your employees aware of security precautions they should take while using their devices in the workplace. October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) and provides a great opportunity to educate and inform your team.
Email Encryption
First, you might want to work with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) to incorporate email encryption into your environment. Encryption is one of the strongest ways to deter a security breach. It modifies the information in your email into another form that can only be read by those approved to read it.
You will never have to worry about company information being seen by hackers or cybercriminals. Encryption turns emails into an unbreakable code and is an extremely easy way for your team to have online correspondence without security concerns.
Phishing Schemes
Are your employees aware of phishing schemes, ransomware, and social engineering? Cyber schemes are on the rise and it’s important to educate your team on what to look for within emails, to decipher whether or not it is legitimate. Make sure your employees aren’t opening any attachments unless they verify the validity of the email.
If anyone asks them to buy something, make sure they confirm with the source, directly outside of email. They should also be checking the email address of senders. If it looks like it’s coming from someone within the company, make sure the spelling of the name and the grammar within the email is correct. If it’s not, it’s probably a phishing email.
Always think before you click! An MSP can offer your team Security Awareness Training as well to educate your team as to what they should and should not open or click on.
Password Practices
Changing your password every 60-90 days is an easy way to keep things secure. Most company’s have a password policy in place that requires employees to update their passwords on a specific schedule. Although these policies are great for privacy reasons, if your team isn’t using the right kind of password it kind of defeats the purpose.
A strong password is typically a random mic of letters, numbers, and symbols that has no discernible meaning. It is important to avoid using any personal information that can be found on a social profile, such as; your birthday, wedding anniversary, phone number, or hometown.
Password Managers are a big help for employees who struggle to create passwords. It is important to use different passwords for different accounts, no matter how challenging you may think it is – the consequences are worse.
Lock Your Devices
One final tip for your employees is to make sure they’re locking their device any time they are not in use. Most people think that stepping away from a screen for five minutes is harmless, but it is actually enough time for sensitive information to be compromised.
Keyboard Shortcuts speed things up and make it easier for your team to lock their screens. Along with that, they should be setting the auto-lock settings to 2-3 seconds instead of the standard 15. It’s important to educate your team on how serious leaving your device unlocked is. Knowledge is power and your team can’t succeed unless they know how to.
Are you looking to educate yourself more on how to keep your cyber environment as secure as possible? Contact The TNS Group today for more information.
Categories: Managed Service Provider, MSP Blogs
