Top 10 Cybersecurity Awareness Pointers
Despite the best efforts of cybersecurity managers and IT departments, the wave of online attacks affecting the country shows no signs of slowing down.
As the risk of data loss and potentially becoming a victim of ransom intensifies, staff training is non-negotiable in 2024 and beyond.
If you have an existing cybersecurity training system in place or are still strategising, our list of our top 10 priorities for cybersecurity awareness will help you to focus on issues that deliver maximal security gains.
1. Phishing
The mainstay of online criminals remains the phishing attack and the reason is simple: users still fall for it. Staff training that focuses on analysing suspicious emails and not taking action until it’s approved by management will go a long way to mitigate the damage that can be caused by fictitious communications claiming to be from banks or clients.
2. Passwords
We’ve written several articles in the past imploring companies to set up strong passwords and make use of password management systems. Unfortunately, many businesses still use weak, passwords and codes which can easily be guessed. If you’re looking for a cheap, simple, and instant way to improve your cybersecurity, strong passwords are almost certainly it.
3. Removables
USB sticks and removable hard drives may be less common in the age of cloud computing, but many businesses still use them. Limiting the number of important files you keep on removable storage, password protecting and encrypting them, and deleting them on a regular basis are all important skills that all employees should be trained in.
4. Mobile devices
Smartphones and tablets that we all use every day contain some of our most valuable business and personal information – especially with the advent of smart wallets. But if they fall into the wrong hands, they can give criminals access to a company’s entire financial resources. Password protection and multiple factor authentication are not simply nice to haves anymore when it comes to mobile devices. It’s absolutely crucial that employees should be made aware of the necessity to safeguard their mobile devices.
5. Physical Cybersecurity
Keeping your files safe in the cloud and following cybersecurity best practices doesn’t mean much if your login credentials are still being written on sticky notes and left lying around the office. The physical aspect of cybersecurity, especially for businesses that transact with cryptocurrency and have login credentials related to their crypto wallets on paper, should be emphasised very strongly when training staff members.
6. Public Wifi
When traveling on business, it’s always useful to have access to public Wi-Fi, but this facility can be a double edged sword, especially when it’s not safe from hackers and viruses. Familiarising yourself with best practices when using public WiFi and discouraging your staff from connecting to it using work devices unless they’re convinced that it’s 100% safe are both good strategies.
7. Cloud Storage
When it comes to data security, almost safe is never good enough. The only way to be truly certain that your data is safe is to have it encrypted in the cloud using immutable storage. That’s exactly what our range of secure cloud storage packages for business will give you.
8. Social media
Social media networks have become a part of our daily existence. Unfortunately they’ve also become a prime way that cybercriminals use to gain our trust and perpetrate identity theft and fraud. Staff members should be well-versed in using Facebook, LinkedIn, IG, and other social media platforms responsibly, and look out for signs of fraudulent or criminal activity when they interact with other users.
9. Remote work
If your staff work remotely part of the time or all of the time, chances are good that they’re exposing both themselves and your business to unnecessary risks online. Every device that contains information related to your business, as well as the people who use it, needs to be operating at the highest level of cybersecurity.
Ensuring that your workers’ devices have the latest versions of firewalls, antivirus, and secure cloud storage installed, and that they know how to use devices responsibly and not allow authorised access by other people when working remotely will help keep your business safe.
10. Social engineering attacks
Impersonation attacks, social engineering, and other fraudulent tricks used by cybercriminals to gain access to your business information are on the rise. Your employees need to be primed to identify suspicious communications and trained to not execute any requests before they’ve been vetted and approved.
Keep your data safe with cloud storage
The dangers of doing business online may be increasing, but so are the opportunities to keep your data safe.
Our range of secure cloud storage packages for businesses of all sizes will give you peace of mind as you and your team use the internet to grow your enterprise. visit our product page today to get started.