Featured article by Gwen Bleidd
Cybersecurity threats are nothing to scoff at. In today’s world, being hacked means being vulnerable to other equally serious security issues, such as identity theft, loss of personal information, monetary theft, and the list goes on.
The same could also be said true to businesses. Especially that businesses hold money and information of clients, which can lead to huge damages and losses that may result in shutting down the company and a long list of lawsuits. That’s why, aside from pushing sales upward, business owners must also think of ways to keep their data under lock and key.
To help you out, here are some cybersecurity strategies to keep your IT system secure:
1. Updates Are Your Best Friend
When you’re in a hurry because of an upcoming deadline, nothing’s more frustrating than a computer undergoing an automatic system update. Especially when it’s stuck in 30% and time seems to be on a standstill. The urge to turn off automatic updates is strong, but what exactly are these updates for?
System update is your computer’s way of ‘learning.’ It varies from learning newer functions, features, to other things that can improve its performance. One of which are security updates that ‘teach’ your computer about the newer cybersecurity threats.
Leaving your computer’s system outdated will cause it to become extremely vulnerable, especially now that cybercriminals are becoming more creative in engaging with cybersecurity crimes.
In most cases, automatic updates are enough. But, in businesses that shelter more confident data, having a centralized business unit can up the ante by ensuring updates are done, as well as running security checks, maintaining the IT infrastructure, and many other related processes. Nowadays, these can all be done efficiently through managed IT systems. If you’re based in Ohio, you may go here for Netgain’s managed IT services in Cincinnati or other similar sites.
2. Principle of Least Privilege or POLP
In today’s data-driven world, data is everywhere. A customer’s name, their time of arrival, the items they purchased, and even the items they bought can all be converted to data that can help the business in many ways. However, with the overflowing amount of data comes the risk of mismanagement, which may lead to cybersecurity threats.
This is why the management must adopt the principle of least privilege or POLP in regulating data access within the company. POLP, in simple terms, means making the data system in the company layered, and each layer can only be accessed by employees whose job requires them to.
For instance, Bert should only be able to access customer name and mobile number, as a member of the company’s concierge team. Any additional access to other information is already considered vulnerability, which weakens the company’s overall cybersecurity.
In addition, POLP also makes it possible for the management to trace footprints in case of a security breach. This is because data access is position-specific, thereby a compromised database of customer information should be traced back to people who’ve been given permission to.
3. Password Hygiene
Password hygiene is the general practice of individuals when it comes to creating their passwords. In the cybersecurity scene, password hygiene is encouraged, primarily because passwords serve as a key to the lock that is the system.
Generating a good password means creating a password that even you, yourself, will have difficulties typing. Passwords like these usually consist of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and other special characters. While creating passwords can be relatively easy, the devil lies in having them memorized.
That’s why people often make use of password managers that generate strong passwords for them and keep them in their system, which is usually encrypted. This is a better choice than jotting your password down a piece of paper, as it has the risk of being thrown away or being looked at by other people.
Aside from this, password hygiene also involves regularly changing your passwords. This adds another layer of security to the system by ensuring that passwords aren’t always the same. As a cherry on top, you can make use of two-factor authentication or 2FA to up your login game.
4. Cybersecurity Is A Culture
Security doesn’t just come from the IT department, managed IT services, or from an employee who’s familiar with good cybersecurity practices. It should come from everyone, because safety is everyone’s problem.
Making your employees understand why cybersecurity is important encourages initiative and participation, two crucial things in making your company secure. This is because people who are apathetic with cybersecurity are internal threats, and a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
Cultivating a workplace where everyone is aware of what’s at stake is already a security measure itself, and a strong one at that.
Final Thoughts
With the progress of technology, cybersecurity is more important than ever. And, as the world beckons towards a more digitized space, businesses must make sure that cybersecurity is given priority, as much as everything else.
About the Author
Gwen Bleidd has been working as an IT consultant for 10 years. He’s worked with major IT firms and helped both small to medium-sized businesses in reinforcing their IT systems. In his free time, Gwen can be seen reading or playing with his cat, Toby.
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