As people all around the world adjust to the “new norm” of increased digitalization in the wake of the pandemic, hackers have not stopped looking for ways with which they could take advantage of the crisis and uncover flaws in our electronic systems; hence why strategic cyber solutions are a must if you own a small to medium-sized business.

If you’ve recently asked yourself any of the following questions:

 

  • Am I or my business vulnerable to cyber-attacks?
  • Can my and my employees’ data be stolen?
  • Are my business’s finances in danger through such attacks?
  • I haven’t thought about or invested in cyber solutions; is that bad?

 

Then you may need strategic cyber solutions sooner than you think!

 

As we all know,  thousands of Americans have switched to remote work in recent months. As a result, cyberattacks naturally pose a unique danger to private information and company-wide infrastructure and threaten to bring down unprepared businesses. As a result, every company must adopt essential security precautions. As we still face the outcomes of the Covid-19 health crisis, here are ten strategic cyber solutions and tips to protect your company online:

 

1. Avoid Phishing Scams

Phishing Email from Amazon

Strategic cyber solutions #1-Please be careful of phishing emails. If you need special software or training to help avoid phishing scams, we would be happy to help you out.

The best opportunities for social manipulation come during times of crisis. Many security organizations have observed increased phishing attacks directed at remote employees, with specialized campaigns designed to steal passwords and distribute malware. Workers are likely to fall prey to an assault and compromise their personal and their firm’s security when they are no longer inside the protective bounds of the highly secured workplace network.

 

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

 

Make sure that everyone’s business accounts have two-factor authentication (2FA). 2FA significantly minimizes the chance of data theft. Also, let them know that they should not open links or click on attachments if they are unsure of the source.

 

2. Install A Dependable VPN

Strategic cyber solutions tip number 2 involves VPNs.

Strategic cyber solutions tip #2-We suggest using a VPN. If you’ve never used a VPN, they are easy to set up and operate, the ROI is through the roof, and they aren’t just for downloading movies and music anymore!

Many businesses utilize a virtual private network (VPN) to provide workers access to company apps and resources without exposing their system to the open network. However, it is crucial to remember that the VPN’s reliability is vital. If a cybercriminal gets his hands on the VPN details, he’ll obtain access to the company’s network. That’s bad news for you and your company; we say that as an understatement.

 

To prevent unauthorized access to your company’s network, securely encrypt your VPN with two-factor authentication.

 

3. Make Use of a Safe SSO Platform

Single sign on platform

Strategic cyber solutions tip #3-Single sign-on solutions and 2FA can work side by side to keep your data safe and secure.

For their everyday operations, many businesses depend on a variety of cloud services and internet platforms. As a result, workers must maintain passwords for many accounts, which adds to their overall workload. Moreover, as the quantity of passwords grows, so does the risk of human mistakes and security breaches.

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SSO ( Single Sign-On) Solution

 

Use a reliable authentication platform via an SSO portal. An SSO portal allows workers to log in to all their accounts with a single username and password, reducing the danger of data theft.

 

4. Keep Updating Regularly

Regular updates are important

Strategic cyber solutions tip #4-Keep your systems updated and ensure you’re running the latest OS for your system.

Every IT staff member understands that keeping operating systems and apps updated and fixed is critical to any security strategy. Many companies automate the procedure to minimize having to depend on employee knowledge. For example, Microsoft Active Directory allows system administrators to push updates remotely to every employee’s device. However, with staff working remotely, such automatic updates and centralized policies are more complicated when it comes to implementation.

 

IT departments should have processes to ensure that all workers have access to necessary patches and that their devices and apps are updated regularly.

 

5. Examine Your Privileged Access

Control who can see what

Strategic cyber solutions tip #5-Controlling who can see what and who has access to what is a must for security.

Conventional workplace security focuses heavily on keeping cybercriminals out of a company’s network. However, in this pandemic era, every worker’s home has become part of the business network, making perimeter security considerably harder. This necessitates a shift in mindset and a greater concentration on every user.

 

Review your organization’s safety rules to ensure they follow the principle of least privilege (POLP). Ensure that each user has only control of the assets and functionality needed to get the job done. This ensures that even if an account is hacked, the hacker would not be able to harm the entire system due to limited access.

 

6. Use Secure Collaborative Tools

Safe Zoom Calls

Strategic cyber solutions #6-Make sure that the tools your team uses are safe and not leaving your business wide open for an attack.

Because nowadays, workers cannot go to meeting rooms to discuss ideas and work collaboratively, the demand for online collaboration apps has grown dramatically. However, not all collaboration services are hermetically secured, and businesses must be cautious about the apps their workers choose to use.

 

Team up with your staff to understand their requirements and supply them with the appropriate collaboration tools your security team has approved. If you don’t provide them with the proper tools, they’ll most likely discover unsafe methods to communicate and exchange important corporate data independently.

 

ZOOM

 

Without any exaggeration, Zoom has become the most popular collaborative tool in the past two years. When it comes to secured communication, it offers end-to-end encryption that must be enabled, ensuring a safe communication route between the participants. If you are one of our VoIP customers, you will have access to 3CX WebMeeting, which you can use on your handset, smartphone, or computer.

 

7. Prepare a Backup of Your Data

Backup plans are for winners

Strategic cyber solutions tip #7-Make sure you are backing up your data and have a disaster recovery plan in place. There’s nothing worse than having to scramble to figure out what data you’re locked out of after a cyber attack.

The automatic backing up of company data was another critical advantage compromised due to Covid-19. As a result, your workers may lose access to your company drives periodically backed up by the IT department when working on their computers from home.

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Ensure that your staff members know the need for backing up data and have access to appropriate offline and online backup technologies. Also, double-check that your backups are up to date.

 

8. Prepare For Anticipated Helpdesk Needs

Ask an expert when you need help

Strategic cyber solutions tip #8-If you need help, ask someone. You never want to sweep anything under the rug, especially when it comes to cybersecurity.

There will be turmoil and unforeseen bends in the road, regardless of how well you plan for working remotely. Likewise, employees will have some unanticipated IT demands due to switching to remote work or, as we all call it, home office.

 

Pay close attention to the support staff. During times of transition, helpdesk personnel is essential for ensuring job continuity. Add more staff members to the helpdesk to avoid overburdening the current helpdesk staff. Simultaneously, strive to prevent issues that can be avoided, such as password recovery and renewing.

 

9. Encrypt Important Data

Encrypt you data

Strategic cyber solutions tip #9-Even if you don’t have employees working from home, it would be best to encrypt your data.

Data loss is more likely to occur when you work from home. This is because people misplace their notebooks and storage devices while carrying them. Again, this emphasizes the need to secure company data on staff devices.

 

Make sure all of your employees’ devices have encryption. Full-disk encrypting is supported by the majority of desktop and mobile software applications. Encryption is also possible on thumb drives. Encryption ensures that device loss does not result in data loss.

 

10. Teach Your Employees The Basics of IT Security

Security training for all employees is important

Strategic cyber solutions tip #10-Please train your employees or hire someone to do it. Many data breaches are due to employee error and could be avoided had they been appropriately trained.

Home networks lack the same level of security as enterprise networks. That might pose a significant danger to business-related resources. Therefore, your staff must learn strategic cyber solutions as they will not be looked over by the IT support team as precisely as in offices.

 

Now is the best time to teach users the fundamentals of security. Basic security measures such as safeguarding important corporate data, creating router passwords, and safeguarding smart devices may prove highly beneficial for protecting your long-term interests.

 

Final Thoughts

 

Now that most people are working from home implementing strategic cyber solutions is more important than ever to protect your company and workers from malicious online attacks and data breaches. If you need assistance with your business’s strategic cyber solutions, please leave a comment or message us on our contact page. Stay Safe!