Rules for businesses to ensure they are cyber secure
According to a 2021 report from IBM and the Ponemon Institute, the average cost of a data breach among companies surveyed reached $4.24 million per incident in 2021, the highest in 17 years. Businesses need to be aware of the risks and obey the key rules to staying cyber secure.
Effective cyber security can save your company millions; small habits can keep you, your business and your staff safe. These habits be used in tandem with developing an efficient cyber security plan.
Romero Insurance Brokers continues our focus on making sure your company is protected against growing cyber threats. These are the Golden Rules of staying cyber secure:
1. Just. Don’t. Click.
Risky email link, don’t click.
Suspect website with no ‘s’ in the URL (e.g. Http://), don’t click.
Pop-up box, don’t click.
Java/Adobe update, don’t click.
If you don’t expect it, don’t click it. Malware or Ransomware can access your device after receiving permission from one disguised option to click. 2020 saw 5.6 billion malware attacks worldwide, the year before saw 9.9 billion according to statistics.
Make sure you and your people are aware. 73% of ransomware attacks are successful once they have your information, so act to reduce the risk.
2. Passwords the word
Ensure another user or criminal cannot read, change, delete or share your data without knowing your password. Your password needs to be something only you know and can remember or work out. It need more than just letter to be fully secure, it needs numbers and a symbol.
Password managers are a great solution to encrypting multiple program access behind a secure door. Password managers will synchronize your devices and also generate secure passwords for you.
Set up two factor authentication, now mandatory on many new devices. This is a useful backup plan and helps keep you cyber secure.
3. Testing, Testing, 123
When major incidents happen, it’s important that you have a plan. There is nothing that can make bad things worse than decision making on the fly. You need to be absolutely sure you have a plan and that the plan is up to date, taking into account any changes made since the plan was last tested.
Penetration testing, or a pen test, is a simulated cyber attack against your computer system to check for exploitable vulnerabilities. This can include sending fake phishing emails to your staff or testing the firewall. Ensure you are cyber secure by testing your systems frequently.
4. Keep up with Updates
Updates are essential to staying protected. Cyber criminals are always coming up with new ways to attack your computer systems, and IT companies are required to update their systems to counter them. Protect your data by checking for regular updates to your operating system.
By keeping up with your updates you limit the amount of time that hackers have to find and devise new ways to penetrate your system, app or device and you take advantage of any exploit fixes that the developers have found and incorporated into the new updates.
The Importance of Staying Cyber Secure
Cybercrime is up 600% due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cyber security threats have never been so prevalent.
Here at Romero Insurance Brokers, we truly want to help your business stay cyber secure. While cyber insurance will help avoid a financial fiasco, you should always consider risk management too.
Take a look through at these three crucial areas, and check out our cyber security insurance information. Your businesses should always remain protected.
For more information, or to speak to our risk management team, please get in touch.
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