As governments and businesses around the world continue to deal with unprecedented numbers of security breaches in their networks, cybersecurity has become a top priority for many organizations. These breaches cost companies billions of dollars each year, and they can also take a toll on a business’s reputation. Learning how to improve cyber security now is crucial for preventing devastating loss, and fortunately, there are many ways to do it.
Get High-Quality Training
It is difficult to improve cyber security and prevent breaches or attacks if individuals are not familiar with the latest tools and technologies. The very first thing an organization should do to improve cyber security involves investing in high-quality training and educational resources for employees. The vast majority of the significant breaches affecting major organizations occur because a single employee unknowingly opened the virtual doors to a criminal or hacker through a link or some other means. Fortunately, Cypfer offers this sort of training for companies of all sizes, and performs penetration testing to help ensure the quality of your organization’s network security, as well.
Use the Right Security Features
Once employees are properly trained in various ways to protect the organization’s network, the next step in enhancing cyber security involves ensuring that a business is utilizing the right technologies and security features. There are a variety of these available, but some stand out as vitally important.
- Business-Class Firewall – – A firewall, also known as a network security appliance (NSA) is the first line of defense against a cyber security breach. In order for anyone to access any information within an organization’s databases or network, they must first get through the firewall. It’s a simple and effective way to immediately boost cyber security.
- Effective Antivirus and Malware Programs – Viruses and malware can be detrimental to a business, so it’s important to prevent them. Businesses need multiple layers of cyber security and protection from intrusion, including protection in real time. Systems should also be programmed to remain updated with the latest definitions and updates since these can change daily.
- Web Filtering – Not all websites are what they seem, and sometimes visiting what appears to be a perfectly safe URL can create a massive cyber security breach. Web filtering technology blocks these leaks, blocks unauthorized access to organizations’ websites, and also puts strong user permissions into place.
- Two Step Authentication – Requiring a password to access the network is a great idea but moving to two step authentication is even better. This requires each authorized user to verify his or her identity in two different ways, making it a necessary cyber security feature.
- Better Password Guidelines – Passwords should be virtually impossible to guess, and they should be changed regularly. This is one of the oldest but still best ways to boost cyber security.
Utilize Effective Backups
Though backups do not prevent cyber security issues, they can make recovery much simpler. One of today’s biggest cyber security threats is ransomware, which essentially holds databases or networks hostage until a ransom is paid. Cybersecurity companies report that many companies simply pay the ransom and move on but having backups can make this unnecessary. In fact, effective backups should already be part of every company’s continuity plan, not just for cybersecurity purposes, but also in the event of natural disasters, fires, and more.
Cybersecurity consulting firms can offer analyses and make recommendations on the best ways to enhance security in any organization. Investing in these services and technologies now could save many organizations from serious and potentially devastating cyber security breaches in the future.
