October is marked globally by various countries and organisations as Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The overarching theme for 2022 is “See Yourself In Cyber.”
At iSite Computers, we’ve dedicated this month to publishing a four-part series aimed at creating awareness of fundamental cybersecurity practices for small to medium-sized businesses in South Africa.
Share this article series with your employees to stress the critical basics of IT security in order to keep your business protected from dangers like ransomware and hackers.
This is Part 2 of 4.
***
There is a seemingly endless news cycle dedicated to cybersecurity mishaps and concerns.
And with this onslaught of negative news, it can be easy for businesses to become overwhelmed and to feel powerless in the face of the “insurmountable” threats posed by cybersecurity. But in actuality, nothing could be further from the truth.
There is a longstanding misperception that cybersecurity is beyond typical employees and that it should be left to senior management and professionals only.
But this just isn’t true. In fact, everyone has a huge role to play in cybersecurity threat prevention, detection, and remediation.
For example, according to IBM, 95% of breaches have human error as a main cause. Therefore, everyday technology users are very much the first line of defense when it comes to thwarting cybercrime. Unfortunately, though, many individuals are not aware of some of the best practices for boosting cybersecurity and how easy they are to use.
With that, here are a few key best practices that everyone can implement to enhance their own cybersecurity and create a more secure business world for everyone:
Watch Out for Phishing
Phishing – when a cybercriminal poses as a legitimate party in hopes of getting individuals to engage with malicious content or links – remains one of the most popular tactics among cybercriminals today.
In fact, 80% of cybersecurity incidents stem from a phishing attempt. However, while phishing has gotten more sophisticated, keeping an eye out for typos, poor graphics and other suspicious characteristics can be a tell-tale sign that the email or message is potentially coming from a “phish.”
In addition, if you think you have spotted a phishing attempt be sure to report the incident so that your IT service provider can remediate the situation and prevent others from possibly becoming victims.
Related:
Be on the Lookout for Phishing, Vishing, and Smishing Scams
Update Your Passwords and Use a Password Manager
Having unique, long, and complex passwords is one of the best ways to immediately boost your cybersecurity. Yet, only 43% of the public say that they “always” or “very often” use strong passwords. Password cracking is one of the go-to tactics that cybercriminals turn to in order to access sensitive information. And if you are a “password repeater,” once a cybercriminal has hacked one of your accounts, they can easily do the same across all of your accounts.
One of the biggest reasons people repeat passwords is that passwords can be tough to remember. Fortunately, by using a password manager, you can securely store all unique passwords in one place. Meaning, employees only have to remember one password. In addition, password managers are incredibly easy to use and can automatically insert stored passwords when you visit a site.
Enable 2FA
Enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) – which prompts a user to input a second set of verifying information such as an OTP via SMS or to sign-in via an authenticator app – is a hugely effective measure to drastically reduce the chances of a cybersecurity breach. In fact, according to Microsoft, at least two forms of authentication are 99.9% effective in blocking account compromise attacks. Therefore, it is a must for any individual that is looking to secure their devices and accounts.
Read More:
Two Factor Authentication Can Save You Thousands of $$$
Activate Automatic Updates
Making sure devices are always up-to-date with the most recent versions is essential to preventing cybersecurity issues from cropping up. Cybersecurity is an ongoing effort, and updates are hugely important in helping to address vulnerabilities that have been uncovered as well as in providing ongoing maintenance.
Therefore, instead of trying to remember to check for updates or exiting update notifications, enable automatic update installations whenever possible.
Book A Free #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth Consultation for Your Business
iSite Computers is a specialist Managed IT Services Provider. Our expert-led cybersecurity team helps small to medium-sized businesses in South Africa proactively prevent, monitor, and mitigate data breach threats across their organization.
Start the conversation with us today to learn more.
Book a free 30/60-minute consultation and we’ll assess your current cybersecurity posture with no further obligation. Call us directly on 031 812 9650 or email rd@isite.co.za.
0 Comments