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Posted on: 1 June 2022
Author: Karen Rogers
Making sure your Cyber Security is secure is imperative. Most of us now have multi factor authentication solutions within our business as it is considered a standard part of our armour against cyber criminals that are looking to break through our defences.
Multi Factor authentication is one of the best ways to keep the cyber criminals at bay, but like anything in life, it is not fool proof. Cyber criminals are constantly working to break through your perimeter.
Year after year independent sources, such as Verizon Data breach, are highlighting the fact that compromised credentials are the weakness that contribute to the majority of breaches and that MFA remains your best defence to deter this.
Implementing MFA decreases the risk of compromise by 99.9% – that is a compelling percentage if ever I have heard one. It is worth bearing in mind though that cyber criminals can break through the most robust defences – but why make it easy for them…
Here at Corbel, your IT experts in Ipswich, we want to highlight the measures you should be looking at:
Cyber Security
Keep your AV Updated
Protecting against viruses is just one small part of what your Anti-Virus software does. Ransomware can encrypt your data and will then demand a payment to restore it. Bots turn your laptops and workstations into a soldier in an army, ready to take part in a denial-of-service attack, or send out spam, or whatever the leader of the army demands. A Trojan horse can seem like a valid application, but their aim is to sneakily steal your private data. A good antivirus protects against these and many other kinds of malware.
To find out more about the different types of malware read here
In principle, you can set and ignore your antivirus protection, letting it buzz along in the background, download updates, and so on. In practice, you should check it over regularly to ensure everything is working as expected. If you see any warnings that are either amber or red you will need to follow the instructions to get yourself protected. Your IT Support Partner can manage this for you as part of their managed service for you, so this is always checked and resolved for you day in day out.
Whether you’ve selected a simple antivirus or a full security complement, you’ll also need to renew it every year.
Lastly, if your antivirus or security protection doesn’t have ransomware protection, consider combining a separate layer of protection.
Unique Passwords
One of the simplest ways hackers obtain information is by getting a batch of username and password combinations from one resource and trying those same credentials elsewhere. As an example, let’s say hackers got your username and password by hacking your email solution, they might then try to log into other sites, such as banking or ecommerce, using the same credentials. The best way to prevent a data breach from having a crescendo effect is to use a strong, unique password for every single account you have. This is hard to achieve without the use of a password manager.
If you would like a demonstration on how a password manager can help you manage this simply and effectively, have a chat with the Corbel team and we can run you through how this works in practice.
Train your Team
Provide Cyber Security training to your team and test how effective it has been with simulated phishing attacks that mirror recent vulnerabilities. As phishing emails grow more refined, these efforts can make a big difference in prevention. A conversation is where it all starts. But, continuous reinforcement through training on the importance of Cyber Security, and what to look out for, will really help your team keep you protected.
Monitor Breaches on your Domains
There are plenty of tools and services out there now that can monitor when your credentials are breached on the Dark Web and make you aware proactively by real time reporting.
Are you curious to what credentials are out there already – contact the Corbel team and we will run you a free report so you can see!
Review Email Security Tools
Ensure that you have considered all your options to prevent known attack methods including strong DNS record DMARC validation, anti-phishing filtering, DNS whitelisting and country blocking.
Consider an independent Cyber Audit
I have tried to keep this article as jargon free as possible but I would highly recommend with the increased level of risk against UK PLC due to the current situation with Ukraine and Russia – that you get in the IT Experts to undertake a Cyber Security Audit for your business so that you are fully informed of what your risks are, how they can be remediated and your roadmap to being fully protected.
This does not always involve huge expense as quite often your existing products can be tweaked as part of your overall strategy.
Develop a Cyber Security Culture
All cultures need to evolve and are generally not something that happens overnight, but if you have invested in the right solutions and led by example you’ll soon be able to create a secure environment.
This is largely broken down into four elements:
- Aptitude to change – It’s important to respond to what is going on in the world.
- Leadership – If your team see your managers sharing passwords – you are inadvertently sending out a message that it’s OK to not take security seriously. A robust culture should be embedded into everything you do.
- Celebrating Success – Ensure that your team see the results of your time and effort and where possible share reports on suspicious activity and potential breaches. Your team will see they can make a difference.
- Return on investment – Make sure you are spending your money wisely and in the right place by engaging with your local IT experts to guide you through how best to protect yourselves.
Implement a VPN
Any time you use the Internet using a Wi-Fi network that is not your own, you should use a VPN (Virtual Private Network.) Without this – It is a possibility that someone else is on the same network without you knowing and they could potentially steal your credentials.
A VPN encrypts your traffic, routing it though a server maintained by the VPN company. That means nobody, not even the owner of the free Wi-Fi network, can spy on your data.
Clear Your Cache
Never misjudge how much your browser’s cache retains about you. Saved cookies, saved searches, and web records could point to home address, family information, and other personal data.
To protect the information that may be loitering in your web history, make sure you delete browser cookies and clear your browser history on a frequent basis. It’s easy when you know how…. In Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Opera, just press Ctrl+Shift+Del to bring up a pop-up that lets you decide which aspects of browser data you want to clear.
Deleting cookies may cause issues for some websites—you may lose any personalisation you’ve configured. Most browsers let you list favourite websites whose cookies shouldn’t be removed.
Don’t Fall Prey to Click Bait or Phishing Scams
Part of securing your personal information is being wise about what you click. Click bait doesn’t just refer to captivating headlines. It can also encompass links in email, messaging apps, and on Facebook. Phishing links disguising themselves as secure websites, hoping to scam you into giving them your credentials.
Corbel based in Ipswich, offer IT Support, Cloud and Cyber Security services to businesses based in Ipswich, Felixstowe, and the surrounding Suffolk areas.
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