news : business How to Create a Cyber Security Culture at Your Company

Smaller firms with limited resources may find it difficult to determine the right security measures to take. BT offers some helpful hints for getting started.

Read for 4 minutes on November 16, 2021.

Cyber-attacks are more common, widespread, and damaging than ever before. There has been a steady growth in the volume of attacks in recent years, from huge occurrences that dominate front pages and trigger geopolitical clashes to the scourge of scam emails that businesses and individuals deal with on a daily basis. According to industry statistics, a cyber-attack occurs every 45 seconds on average in the UK, and BT has experienced a 50 percent spike in malware traffic in only the previous six months.

As a result, rather than being a problem for IT departments to deal with, cybersecurity is now an issue that all businesses are thinking about on a daily basis. With the tremendous changes in our professional and personal life since the beginning of 2020 radically changing established security models, it's now considered as the most critical corporate factor after COVID-19. As a result, businesses of all sizes are being forced to either reconsider their cyber strategy or execute one quickly if they haven't already

Finally, cybersecurity must now be at the heart of all organizations' strategies and decision-making processes. Despite the fact that many large corporations have entire security teams dedicated to them, many smaller firms with limited resources are unsure of the best ways to secure themselves. You can accomplish this by

following a few important steps:

Understand the dangers - it's critical to understand the many sorts of cybercrime and how to spot them, as they can result in anything from sensitive data being stolen to your website going down to blackmail and extortion. Take the time to learn about the types of cyber-attacks to which you are most exposed and how to avoid them. The Small Business Guide from the National Cyber Security Centre is full with useful information.

Get the basics in place, such as making sure your operating system and programs are up to date to protect against the latest threats; installing anti-virus on your devices; creating a unique strong password for each account you use; and enabling multi-factor authentication (a combination of multiple log-in steps) where available. Here is a link to more information.

Make a data backup — Every organization, regardless of size, should make frequent backups of their critical data that can be quickly accessed and restored. You'll be far less vulnerable to ransomware assaults if you do it this way. Determine what information is most important to you.

Back up your data — All businesses, regardless of size, should make frequent backups of their critical data that can be accessed and recovered quickly. You'll be much less vulnerable to ransomware assaults if you do it this way. Identify the data you can't live without and make sure it's backed up in the cloud or on a device separate from your main computers.

These measures are critical, but you must also consider the security behaviors and culture you establish throughout your organization. Human error can (and does) damage even the greatest security processes and technologies, so ensuring that your people think and behave securely is critical. Make sure that everyone on your team understands the importance of their individual actions and the appropriate procedures to take, such as how to recognize a phishing email and what to do if they accidentally click on a harmful link or notice a cyber security issue.

You can't, however, build your security on the assumption that your personnel will always get it right. As cyber-attacks become more complicated and difficult to detect, mistakes will inevitably occur. Never punish users who make mistakes because they are afraid of retaliation. Users who are afraid of retaliation will not report errors soon, if at all. Instead, create a culture where users can report phishing links, since this can give you a leg up on scanning for malware and changing passwords before you're hacked.

People are your first and greatest line of defense, and many of the most serious cyber threats are still the consequence of individual actions. It's critical to cultivate a culture in which each and every one of your employees feels accountable for security. Training is an apparent approach to educate your employees, but it's more than just telling them what they shouldn't do. You must emphasize the value of thinking securely, as well as how it benefits them as people and the firm as a whole.

The stakes are enormous - not only in terms of dangers, but also in terms of rewards. You'll not only be more secure, but you'll gain a true competitive advantage if you can ensure that security isn't just a barrier or inhibitor, but rather an enabler that allows you to safely implement new technologies and procedures.

news : business How to Create a Cyber Security Culture at Your Company