It is more important than ever to protect yourself and your business against the threat of cyber-attacks. Cyber Security mistakes are often the reason for the data breaches that you read about in the news.
We have compiled five common mistakes which are easily rectified.
Passwords
We talk about passwords a lot!
But with good reason. Weak passwords are one of the most common cyber security mistakes that lead to data breaches.
It is worth considering using a “password manager.” Password Managers – 4 Reasons Why You Should Consider One – Bury St Edmunds IT Services (bse-it.co.uk)
This will assist you in ensuring that all passwords are unique and strong.
Education on Phishing
When training your employees, you may not have considered IT Security.
However, this is vital to your business.
Phishing emails: emails that are sent to users mimicking others to cause harm or gain information such as phone numbers, bank details, logins, and much more.
Employees should be shown what to do when dealing with attacks. Forwarding any suspicious emails to your higher-ups or IT partner is an effective way to make others aware of the attempts that are taking place and even block them at the source
Neglecting Updates and Patches
They can be annoying, inconvenient and at times they can temporarily make your life that little bit more complicated.
However, we cannot stress enough how important software updates are.
Each time you click ignore, you are telling your computer to stay unprotected and open to viruses and cyber-attacks because you are too busy.
Those updates contain valuable fixes that your computer needs. This can include things such as adding new features or removing older ones, updating drivers, bug fixes, and most importantly, fixing security holes that have been discovered.
Public Wi-Fi Dangers
Be careful when using public WIFI.
It may be free and it certainly helps when you are trying to work on the move, but you must be aware that it is not always secure.
Try not to work on sensitive information when using public WIFI and ideally use a VPN to hide your location from prying eyes.
Leaving Devices Unattended and Insecure
Treat your devices the same as your own precious personal belongings. Leaving devices unattended like your laptop could be considered the same as your wallet or purse containing a lot of money or personal information.
The information your laptop contains or has access to is important and could be used to inflict harm on your business or used to gain access to accounts.
When out and about do not leave your computer or phone our of site and ensure that a password or fingerprint ID has been enabled for access.
Contact us at www.norfolkcs.co.uk or 01953 857980 for a free audit and friendly discussion on how we can help.