Cyber Security Guidance for Organisations

Cyberspace has revolutionised how many of us live and work. The internet, with its more than two billion users, is powering economic growth, increasing collaboration and innovation, and creating jobs. Protecting key information assets is of critical importance to the sustainability and competitiveness of businesses today. Companies need to be on the front foot in terms of their cyber preparedness. Cyber security is all too often thought of as an IT issue, rather than the strategic risk management issue it actually is.

Every day, all around the world, thousands of IT systems are compromised. Some are attacked purely for the kudos of doing so, others for political motives, but most commonly they are attacked to steal money or commercial secrets. Are you confident that your cyber security governance regime minimises the risks of this happening to your business?

Companies benefit from managing risks across their organisations; drawing effectively on senior management support, risk management policies and processes, a risk aware culture and the assessment of risks against objectives.

In the course of last few years, malware or malicious software has been a serious threat to businesses. In fact, in terms of frequency, it occupies the top most position. A program that is designed to copy itself and propagate, it can spread when you download files, exchange CDs, DVDs and the USB sticks or copy files from the server. You can also get a virus attack in case an employee opens an infected email attachment. Application specific hacks, blended attacks, unsecured wireless networks and disgruntled employees pose other security threats. Fortunately enough, there are several steps you can take to protect business of internet security threats. Let us take a look.

Know the Threats

Cyber security preparation starts with complete understanding of the external and internal vulnerabilities capacitated to affect business. Make sure to know about the different types of security attacks you may fall prey to. Identify the things that will harm you most in case it falls into the hand of your competitors or some other malicious party. As soon as you identify the information, it’s time to find the tools you will require for protecting the valued details.

Take Protective Measures

Make sure that all the computers that your employees use are protected by firewall, anti-spyware and antivirus programs. There are a few solutions that address all three levels of protection. Make sure it offers protection from spam, identity theft and phishing scams.

Opt for Updated Security Programs

New threats are emerging every day. You need to keep your security program updated to remain guarded and keep your infrastructure perfectly secure. The security solutions will fail to be effective in case they are not updated. Fortunately enough, most of the security solutions get updated automatically. Make sure you update soon after you get the alert.

Ensure Better Protection for the Wireless Networks

One of the prime concerns for the users of wireless networks is keeping the router and the network secure. With the aid of a powerful antenna and a few hacking software, the hackers seated close to the installation or driving by can easily scan the data that is flowing in your network.

You can take a few steps to secure your wireless network.
• Set up a unique password
• Use WPA2 encryption
• Alter default SSID name
• Change router default
• Bring down the range of wireless network
• Use complex passwords

Restrict Access

Make sure that each employee can access only the requisite data. You can create a separate account for each employee and protect the account using strong passwords. Remember that strong passwords must be made combining letters and numbers. The passwords should not be shared or displayed.

A significant percentage of security breaches do not take place owing to technical vulnerabilities but relies on social engineering as well as the willingness of people to trust others. In most of the organizations, either the employees share everything or nothing. None of these approaches are desirable. There must be an element of trust among the employees, but data sharing needs to be checked. This is possible only through running an awareness program. It is not enough to tell the employees that opening email attachments of unreliable sources are not right. You must tell them what can take place in case emails of an unreliable source are opened.

A secure network is a robust network. Cyber-attacks can happen in minutes and are often very hard to detect. Make sure that you take all essential steps to prevent security breach.