Quoting the Holiday carol, “It’s the most vulnerable time of the year.” Your chances of becoming a cyberattack victim might rise since cybercriminals don’t go on holiday. Before you plan your 2024, keep Cyber Security at the top of the list.
The holiday season is a prominent time for criminal activity. Around this time of the year, businesses start closing and operating with drastically lesser staff, which might leave such organizations vulnerable. Malicious cyber actors commonly use weekends and holidays to attack and disrupt vital networks and systems.
Is your current cybersecurity posture prepared enough for cyberattacks during the holidays?
There is no denying the value of having a business community strategy. Getting corporate operations back up and running as soon as possible after a crisis is essential. No industry is exempted from potential threats, despite how big or small your company is.
Ensure you have a plan in place with all the necessary aspects to stay ahead of cyberattacks. From securing your website to training your workforce, it’s time to take an in-depth look at your organization’s cyber security.
1. Preparing a Plan
Planning can keep you ahead of emerging attacks. One of your planning approaches to safeguard against attacks is having a Managed Security Services Provider.
Companies typically use managed security services with complex IT environments that need to ensure their data security. A managed solution will typically include the following:
- 24/7 monitoring of all systems and applications in place, including antivirus software, intrusion detection and prevention technology (IDS/IPS), web application firewalls, perimeter protection devices such as routers or switches, etc.
- Access control lists (ACLs) restrict the ability of users within specific roles or departments to access sensitive data.
2. Implementing Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is the most effective way to protect your accounts. You can use a physical device or an app to provide two-factor authentication for remote accounts such as email, cloud apps, and virtual private networks (VPNs).
Two-factor authentication requires someone who knows the password and some other form of identification to access your account. For example, if you have an email address associated with your social media profiles but don’t remember the password for that account—which happens all too often!—You can use text messages via SMS or voice calls via call forwarding services like Google Voice instead.
3. Keeping Software Updated
Antivirus that provides real-time and ongoing protection is essential. You may be thinking, “I don’t need antivirus software. I already have a security suite!” You should still ensure that your current security software is up-to-date and provides real-time protection.
You should also ensure it can detect and remove malware from your computer before it gets worse if left unchecked for a long time. Antivirus programs are great at detecting adware, which can cause problems on both Windows PCs and Mac devices, as well as mobile devices like smartphones/tablets.
4. Having an Incident Response Plan
An incident response plan is a document that helps you respond to security incidents. You should update it regularly. Additionally, it should include procedures for reporting and responding to security incidents, as well as handling your network/system breaches.
Also Read: Business Continuity Plan (BCP): What Is It?
For example: “In the event of an intrusion into our network, we will notify the appropriate authorities immediately.”
5. Understanding Cybersecurity Awareness
Your employees need to be aware of the risks and threats. They also need to know what is safe and what is not. The damage caused by a lack of security awareness in your employees could put your network at risk. Hence, they must understand how they can help secure themselves and their own accounts.
If you still need to understand cyber security at work, now would be the perfect time to go back through your policies to update them as necessary (and ensure everyone understands them).
Ensure You Have Cybersecurity Measures To Keep Yourself Secure Online In 2024
Cybersecurity is an essential topic for any business, but it can also be challenging to understand and implement. You can keep yourself secure online during the holidays with a bit of planning.
- Make sure your employees know what they need to do when it comes to cyber security. If you don’t have a policy already, create one now! Everyone at the company (including contractors) needs to know the exact expectations about protecting our data from hackers and other threats online.
- Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on all your accounts so only authorized users can access them. This makes logging into someone else’s account much more secure even if someone hacks into your account password, there wouldn’t be anything available for them unless they had physical access too!
It can be challenging to balance work and play, but you must do it. You don’t want to leave your network vulnerable or make yourself an easy target for cybercriminals. ACE Managed Security Services can help you take the proper steps to keep yourself safe from these threats and ensure your business runs smoothly this year. Just one consultation with our security experts will show you the way.
Connect today to understand our discounted pricing for advanced security in place!