Common Sense Cybersecurity – 4 Scenarios You Can Avoid
Even businesses that have impressive cybersecurity practices in place get breached, however, it is SIGNIFICANTLY less likely than businesses that do not have any in place. Most breaches come from businesses that are missing common sense cybersecurity.
It’s easy to blame the IT company for this. “I don’t know anything about cybersecurity, and I rely on my IT team to tell me what to do!”
What a lot of business owners and executives do not realize is that IT and cybersecurity are 2 different scopes of expertise. Your in-house IT or outsourced IT company may be very good at fixing your printer problems, but the typical IT technician does not know the attack patterns of ransomware and hackers or what to look out for.
On the other hand, we have also come across businesses that do not implement what was recommended to them waiting for a breach to happen sooner or later.
For instance, multi-factor authentication blocks 99% of personal identity attacks, yet many businesses opt out when their provider makes this recommendation. Our banks already require MFA for your online banking: your business data is no less important.
Here are 4 scenarios in which MOST breaches occur that you can easily avoid:
1. Patches and updates are not being pushed out quickly enough – Think of these as holes being filled. If this is not done, your computers and network are filled with holes for attackers to sneak in!
2. Open RDP ports – Don’t worry about what this means, just know that an open port leaves your business open to the world. Ask your provider about this!
3. No Multi-factor authentication – This is a second form of authentication outside of your password. Taking 2 extra seconds when you log in could save you from weeks of downtime!
4. No GEO-IP blocking – Do you do business with China, Russia, or other countries outside of Singapore? If not, block those countries! It’s a force function that keeps a lot of hackers out and a barrier that will have them looking elsewhere for low-hanging fruit.
Cybersecurity gets complicated, yes. But at the end of the day, there are EASY common-sense layers you can put in place that will set you up to be resilient in this new cyber landscape.
Make sure you are covering the common sense items first, and if you have an engaged IT provider, make sure you are listening to their recommendations. They are most likely not trying to “upsell you,” but rather protect your business, your reputation, and their integrity and reputation as well.
If you would like a 30-minute level audit of the common-sense cybersecurity layers, reach out (HERE) and we will give you a call. Want to dive a little deeper? Read our E-Book The Executives Guide to Cybersecurity. No technical jargon, just the layers recommended and WHY displayed in an easy-to-understand chart.
