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6 Tips to Strengthen your Defences Against Cyberattacks in 2018


CYBERATTACKS ARE ON THE RISE!

Experts and analysts agree: 50% of businesses will likely be the victims of cyberattacks in 2018.

The headlines will continue to be captured by high-profile data breaches affecting enterprise organizations. Nevertheless, it is the small and medium-sized businesses that will suffer most. Firstly, up to 70% of cyberattacks target SMBs and, lacking enterprise-size resources, and pockets deep enough to mitigate losses incurred from comprised data, a single attack could be enough to force many smaller organizations to close their doors for good.

It is well-nigh impossible to budget for the types of expenses incurred by a successful cyberattack. From legal expenses and ransomware payouts to literal theft from company accounts, and more, the costs can be, and often are, catastrophic. This is the reason that 60 percent of hacked SMBs go out of business within six months of the attack.

The threats are real, but so too are the solutions. While hiring a cybersecurity firm to manage your data is one invaluable step, there are some do-it-yourself tips and tricks that you can apply to company protocol and policies that will buttress your company’s defences in this age of cybercrime.

The team at INTECH has compiled top tips in this blog post “6 Tips to Strengthen Your Defences against Cyberattacks in 2018.” Don't forget to subscribe!

1. Train your employees

First and foremost, every organization, regardless of size, should establish basic security policies and train employees to both protect sensitive business information, and avoid dangerous practices that subject your company to cyberattacks.

If you are able to implement only one of the suggestions in this document, then make it the training of your employees. Make sure your people understand how to use the Internet safely, which means:

  • They understand the risks of opening email attachments from unknown or suspicious sources

  • A link clicked is not the same as a link typed! Typing URLs into the search bar instead of clicking links is significantly safer

  • The importance and etiquette of unique and complex passwords for each account (and why your company is now adopting and enforcing a complex passwords policy)

Also, make sure the importance of cybersecurity is an ongoing discussion, and ensure everyone has easy and quick access to the policies governing it, including an acceptable use policy. Reward positive behaviours; outline and enforce consequences for breaches of your cybersecurity policies.

With all successful company-wide strategies, senior leadership should be the first to model and champion a new cybersecurity paradigm. If leadership demonstrates and follows the best-practices, then the rest of the company will follow—embrace security as part of your company culture.

2. Know your soft spots

Properly protecting your company from cyberattacks begins with a well-rounded, comprehensive understanding of the internal and external vulnerabilities your business faces. You’ll want to know the ways in which a hacker can gain entry to your system by identifying weak points. Known vulnerabilities can be addressed and mitigated. The best way to do this is by getting informed about the various cyber fraud schemes and threats -- phishing, malware and system hacking -- that businesses face, and by conducting regular IT Infrastructure Vulnerability Tests.