Increasing security breaches and incidents of data theft have forced businesses to take cybersecurity on priority. Unfortunately, many organizations are just concerned about compliance and regulatory requirements, instead of being proactive about cybersecurity. There is no way to completely mitigate all risks, but with effective measures in place, it is easier to keep cybercriminals and hackers at bay. These hackers often use backdoor exploit, such as a weak password, to access resources, which are later used in various ways.
One of the biggest concerns for cybersecurity is insider threat. Companies often do not realize that employees, executives, and managers are on the frontline of ensuring cybersecurity, and they have to be involved. In this post, we are sharing some of the practices that will make employees and people within the organization more aware of their roles with regards to cybersecurity.
Educate on cybercrimes, security breaches
Unless an employee knows what malware or ransomware attacks are all about, it is hard to explain why better and safe browsing practices matter. In simpler words, educating employees and managers on security breaches, cyberattacks and data theft incidents is necessary. Get cybersecurity experts from another organization, if need be, but conduct workshops and training sessions on a regular basis.
Discuss password protection
There are a few basic password protection measures that go a long way in ensuring cybersecurity –
- Encourage employees to create long, strong, and complex passwords
- Ask them to use a password manager
- Make it mandatory to change all default passwords and usernames right away
- Encourage employees to report incidents
- Inform them about network segmentation, use of firewalls, and antimalware software
It is also necessary to inform employees about the consequences of a security breach. Don’t scare them, but they need to be responsible, aware and understanding of their actions.
Access control & management must be clear
Who has access to what resources & network assets at what time? – The answer to this question must be transparent & clear at all times. Access management tool, if need be, can be deployed, to keep track of access rights. All access rights must be revoked, edited, granted and updated immediately, as needed. Also, it is also wise to keep an eye on privilege users, who are often the weakest link in ensuring cybersecurity.
An aware organization with trained teams can manage cybersecurity better. Also, consider using cyber insurance to mitigate losses in case of a security incident.
