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Every business must pay attention to their security. After all, as long as businesses operate as entities designed to bring in revenue, it’s true to say that the equipment, inventory or data they use to achieve this will be valuable. For this reason, it’s not uncommon for even small enterprises to be targeted by those looking to steal or co-opt those valuable goods or tools.

Yet for some time now, we know that physical threats are hardly the only consideration we need to keep in mind. Data, sensitive financial information, and proprietary documents are all worthwhile targets in the mind of those thieves, and some use increasingly sophisticated methods to access them.

Cybersecurity threats are no joke. Even large international brands like Sony have fallen victim to hacks before. What matters, then, is learning how to keep up to date while deploying the most stringent prevention and response measures necessary.

However, while a competent IT Support firm can provide you with the best defense, it’s important to recognize that human error is often the most vulnerable aspect of this. For this reason, teaching our staff the correct security protocols is key. In this post, we’ll discuss several elements of how you may wish to achieve that, for reliability in the long term:

The Regular Changing Of Passwords

It’s important to note that while passwords can seem like a relatively basic and foremost example of account security, they are no less important to get right. Every 90 days,it’s important to encourage staff to change their passwords after logging in, in order to make sure old, repeated passwords cannot be found out and used indefinitely.

Healthy password protocols are also essential to get right. For instance, you’ll often find that capital letters, numbers, and special characters combine into a password that cannot be brute forced as easily. Training our staff how to properly generate a password like this, without using identifying information, can help them practice good habits going forward.

Spam Emails

Phishing emails are often the most successful consideration when it comes to usurping essential data voluntarily from an employee. It’s important that your staff are trained in how to identify phishing emails (they will often ask for data or personally identifying information), as well as how to report them to your IT support crew.

This way, good practice can be held up, even if the inbox spam filters do not pick up problems in a given message. This also means taking steps to verify the identity of those consumers who look to onboard with your service, be that through a payment provider check or requiring personally identifying information via your services form.

Filling Out Reports

Cybersecurity threats adapt quite regularly to the changing demands put upon them, but this happens more slowly if they are regularly observed and understood before they have the chance to do damage. Filling out reports can be the perfect first step for such a measure – be that explaining to your manager how you noticed a report, what the identifying information may have been, and the extent to which it caused damage.

For instance, you may find that someone has tried to access your email and ‘recover its ownership,’ sending an automated security message into your inbox. Sending this to the relevant department can help them look at it, identify the scope of the threat, and formulate a response if necessary. A robust reporting system can help you avoid burying your head in the sand when issues present themselves.

Multi-Factor Authentication

Passwords are hardly the only means of security for modern accounts, in fact, 2-factor authentication is an essential component to keep them safe. This often means providing a secondary code to your email address, phone or authenticator app when logging in, after getting the password right.

However, some companies also require the use of MFA (Multi-factor authentication), as this gives them the chance to double up on security. Some may require a biometric login like a fingerprint or face reading, for instance, while others may need a security key plugged into a device before it can operate as normal. This way, a combination of precautionary measures can prevent any one staff account from being taken over – saving the need for any form of unwarranted damage.

Device Preparation & Protocols

It’s healthy to think of the device preparation and protocols required before you happily loan your staff their laptops or phones subsidised by your business. For instance, it may be that stripping a given laptop of third party apps and installing an intra-network VPN in order to access the internet can keep them the safest online, restricting any possible backdoors and forcing staff into a secure process before they surf the internet or connect to your network. 

With so many staff members working from home, a system like this could be the best way to remain secure, rather than allowing staff to constantly bring in their own personal devices you have no say over. This may be more costly, but you’re sure to see just how effective it can be from a safety standpoint.

Renewed Threats

As mentioned above, security threats rarely stay static. We’re well past the days where we have to worry about computer viruses as the only threat we need. For this reason, it’s essential to make sure that staff have a brief each week about the potential cybersecurity threats they could face, be that a link sent through a spoofed mobile number to their work phones, or a phishing email that seems to be doing the rounds.

This trains staff to remain on guard and to never slip in their diligent precautionary measures. It can also be worth looking at case studies regarding businesses that were less lucky, enabling you to constantly reaffirm just how important security is. This prevents you all from being complacent, which is often all it takes for those looking for a way in to find it.

With this advice, you’re certain to keep your staff up to date with cybersecurity protocols, in  a manner they can understand and manage sustainably. Over time, this is likely to thoroughly reduce your chances of being successfully targeted.