10 Cybersecurity Tips for your Employees

By Business Training Media

In today’s age, almost everyone is familiar with the term, hacker. This is someone who is capable of breaking into a personal computer system, phone, server, and any other electronic device or network one has for whatever purpose they want. Usually, the reason is nefarious.

There has been one example after another in recent times that demonstrate this threat. Companies such as Target, Equifax, Macy’s, Sears, Kmart, Delta, Best Buy, and Whole Foods have all been subject to hacking, and that is just the tip of the iceberg. Even the U.S. government has been hacked.

Along with breaking into an electronic device or network comes the unfettered access to things such as bank accounts, social security numbers, trade secrets, and even classified information. Considering most of today’s world is digitally connected in one way or another, it’s not inconceivable that a person could lose control of everything from their savings account to their own home (if wired as a smart house). The amount of possibilities are almost limitless to think about.

Much of anyone’s life is up for grabs, to include their business/company. Security in the realm of the Digital Age has become the most important security of all, in many ways.

Lock it Up

Instead of worrying how one can lock up the intruder of the system, the first step should be to worry about how to lock up the system itself. Much like the lock on the door to a home, electronic devices and systems need to be kept safe and secure from entry. Here are 10 tips that can help:

#1. Do those Updates

Many people shrug off updates. Luckily, in many cases, we have them set to automatically happen, especially in regard to a company system controlled by an IT staff. This is a good thing. Updates make it harder for cyber criminals to gain access. When an update occurs, everything a hacker was working on changes and they must start over.

This means users have to pay attention and act on all of the notifications for updates, whether it’s for anti-viruses, firewalls, or web browsers. Without these constant and routine updates, the defensive wall begins to break and show light that a criminal will pursue.

#2. Password Protection

This is one that gives most people a lot of heartache. Many systems, especially those of a large company, are set up to achieve complicated passwords. The more complicated, the better, is the usual mantra. Understandably, this makes it harder to figure out. However, it can be overwhelming trying to come up with all those numbers, symbols, capital letters, and the required number of digits that usually range from 8-14. Doing so can be a password that opens the floodgates of frustration. One method employed, as an alternative, is to utilize a phrase for a password.

Some examples would be thisissecure, or iliketoreadthis, or cybersecurityisawesome. These phrases will be hard for a hacker to get through because the possible combinations of what a person could generate as a phrase are nearly endless and are personal to the user. Additionally, frustration is reduced because a phrase is very easy to remember, unlike symbols, numbers, and 14 digits. Phrases can also be created fast.

#3. White Hat Hacker

These individuals are a huge benefit to the cyber world. This is a security professional who can be hired as a part of the IT department or even for personal use. A hacker wearing a white hat is just like the bad guy trying to break into any system. The difference is they will tell their employer what they found and provide departments and individuals with valuable information about vulnerabilities that could one day be attacked.

#4. Employee Training

Associates/Employees need training. No one knows all the ins-and-outs of how to conduct digital work safely in today’s world. There is just too much out there to keep up with and it’s changing all the time. The training should be routine and contain the latest information available. This might seem like a drag on productivity time, but the alternative is well worth it when hackers cannot steal information which could cost a person or business a lot of money.

#5. Clean House

When applications, logins, and user credentials start collecting virtual spiderwebs, it’s time to get rid of them. Why? Because these are old files – a.k.a. access points – that typically have a lack of protections and updates due to no longer being used and considered obsolete. To a hacker, unfortunately, anything can be a doorway into a system, especially if it has not had any attention paid to it recently.

Clean house and make sure everything that stands in the way of digital thieves remains up-to-date and in use.

#6. VPN

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is being used more and more by companies and private individuals. A VPN will mask an IP address (or internet location) on a device. Such cloaking makes it much harder for an intruder to gain access, if they can’t find it to begin with.

#7. Look at the Sender

Companies and individuals receive fake emails all the time offering something that looks legitimate, perhaps even as if it’s from within the company. This usually comes with a request to click on a link or attachment, which is actually a program that will gather information or launch a virus into the system. It’s important to view the sender’s address to see if it looks legitimate. If in doubt, contact the IT department or a professional for help.

#8. Back it Up

One favorite tactic of hackers is to collect important data and then hold it for ransom by encrypting it or literally taking it away. The victim must send money to a certain account, or their information remains encrypted or gets deleted. The best recovery tool that can be set up for this event is to constantly back up all information on some type of storage, even an external hard drive.

#9. Sharing is not Caring (for Criminals)

Stop sharing sensitive information out in the open. Think about what is posted on social media channels and networks. Criminals use bits and pieces of this personal information to eventually figure out a way to hack into a system.

#10. Anti-Virus Software

Yes, this is still needed. And, it must be updated to reflect the most recent version. Many people get a version installed and then don’t update it, ever. This is just another door for hackers. Keep up with anti-virus software. The better brands out there are Norton and McAfee.

Cyber security is an absolute necessity and it's better to take protective measures now than tomorrow, or cyber assets might not see a tomorrow.

Copyright 2023 - Business Training Media

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