3 SIMPLE WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR COMPANY FROM HACKERS

All business owners know that a secure network is an important factor in keeping their business running. Getting hacked can cause loss of productivity and sales. Having up to date anti-virus software needs to be installed on every computer is important, but that is only part of keeping their organization secure. Many leaders aren’t sure of other ways to protect their business from cyberattacks.

Recently, the National Institute of Standards and Technology released the guidebook Cybersecurity is Everyone’s Job. It lists different ways organizations can protect their network. The guidebook is broken down into sections based on employee roles, like leadership, human resources, and sales. Here is the most important information that I found.
 
Leadership
Leadership needs to be actively involved in the organization’s cyber security. They need to understand cybersecurity to make sound decisions. Third parties should be engaged to explain cyber risks and how they can be stopped. Leadership should assist in developing and maintaining organizational security policies and standards. These polices should be developed from risk assessments, regulations, and best practices.
 
Sales, Marketing, and Communications
The Sales, Marketing, and Communications departments hold important roles in an organization’s cybersecurity strategy also. These teams need to communicate important cybersecurity matters within the company and to outside stakeholders. These communications could be an explanation of the security policy or making employees aware of new security risks. The communications team should be part of the incidence response team and assist in planning for the inevitable cyber incident.
 
Operations and Facilities
The operations and facilities teams should be involved in security planning and implementation also. They can identify physical security risks of systems and work with the IT to protect these systems. This could be securing a server room. Both teams should develop a physical safety plan. Operations should incorporate cybersecurity measures into their safety program. Employee training should include cybersecurity risks to the physical environment. They can partner with IT to develop systems for guests, which could include a restricted guest network and limiting physical access to systems.
 
Everyone
There are several things that every person in the organization can do to reduce cybersecurity risks:

1. Social media should be used wisely. Don’t share personal information over business accounts. Also, apply strong privacy setting on social media accounts.
2. When working from home, the home network should be strongly secured. Change the wireless key regularly. Strong encryption should be enabled on the wireless router. Use a VPN to access organization resources when possible.
3. Be careful what networks you connect to when you are traveling. Data sent over an unsecured network, such as those available in airports, can be read by others. Use a VPN when connected to public WiFi networks. If you can’t connect to a secure network. Tether your computer to your cell phone.

The entire guide book, Cybersecurity is Everyone’s Job, can be read at the NIST web site.
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