In today’s business world, almost everything we do is online. We interact with clients and potential customers, we make payment transactions, and we store lots of data. So, with so much going on in the virtual world, it makes sense that the number of threats to our technological infrastructures is increasing by the day.
The hard truth is that while there are many benefits to the internet, it also brings an increased number of threats. Every system connected to the Web is prone to hacking. And these attacks have the potential to bring your business to a halt.
Nothing is immune to cyber attacks, and it is vital to stay ahead of these cyber threats. Here’s how:
1. Understanding your risk level
Keeping it totally transparent, there are some companies, networks, and business applications that are more valuable than others. High-value targets in the cybersecurity world are those that handle financial transactions, move large amounts of data, have access to personally identifiable information or have a recognizable name. Hackers go after these systems because there is a lot they can gain from them. To bolster your cybersecurity stance, you need to know your risk level. The more of these valuable assets you have, the higher your risk level is. And the higher your risk level is, the more diligent you have to be about locking down access to your critical systems and data.
2. Perform regular risk assessments
Knowing where you’re the most vulnerable is key in preventing cyber security threats and attacks. While locking down your IP address to allow only verified access is one way to mitigate risk, it’s not a guaranteed failsafe by any stretch of the word. Conducting regularly scheduled risk assessments by a professional will help you identify vulnerabilities in your network while also magnifying certain conditions needed to infiltrate and exploit them. When your team becomes aware of certain exposures, you can be proactive in remedying them and keeping your network safe.
3. Be prepared for an attack
Will you shut down your entire network? Will you stop all transactions? Will you notify customers? How will you recover any lost or stolen information? No network or system is 100% secure from cyber attacks and security threats, so having procedures and policies in place is critical to ensure your business doesn’t potentially lose more revenue, or arguably worse, a hard-earned reputation.
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4. Train and educate your team
Your team has access to critical information, and each day they’re utilizing that information to access important data. But they’re also subject to forwarding a fun email or perhaps even loving a good meme like the rest of us, and downloading it to their desktop. Taking a few extra moments each month or quarter to update your team on cybersecurity best practices or components to be on the lookout for could make all the difference in keeping your valuable data secure.
5. Know your network and monitor your activity
One of the best ways to stem the tide of a cybersecurity threat is to regularly monitor your network. At a minimum, you need to know what “normal” traffic and usage levels look like and be prepared to spot any abnormalities. We have a bank of monitors in our workspace designed to oversee the systems critical to our client’s businesses. Additionally, we use tools that provide automatic alerts around the clock to our IT team whenever issues arise. The goal of our team is to be able to spot a problem with a client’s systems and networks before it is noticed by the client and before it becomes a problem.
Interested to learn more about cyber security? Aventis School of Management offers both Graduate Diplomas and Master’s programmes in cyber security. Find your possible pathways here !