Protecting your Company: 5 things to teach Employees

As the world becomes a global village through the advancements of technology, cybercrime has grown simultaneously. According to the Cyber Security Breaches Survey for 2018, it was reported that 43% of businesses around the world have faced some form of cyber-attack. The extent of the problem is so massive that in 2015, the estimated losses from cyber crimes amounted to $3 trillion. This amount has been predicted to double by the year 2021.

With the threat growing so rapidly, it has become imperative for businesses to safeguard against cybercrime. There are several effective ways to do this. Every sustainable practice, however, has to begin with the employees. They can play an important and equal role in protecting your business and its online data.

Here the five things you can teach your employees in order to protect your company.

1 – Begin by laying out the seriousness of the situation

While governments are passing laws and tightening regulations for digital usage around the world, businesses have a part to play on their own. Effective efforts from small entities will eventually combine to form sound movements. In this respect, the first place for companies, to begin with, is their employees. The workforce forms an integral part of the organization and they are the primary source and prey for cybercriminals.

This is an issue which needs to be addressed systematically. First and foremost is a company’s responsibility to explain the depth of the problem to its employees. 2018 saw one of the biggest ransomware attacks in the history of technology with giants like IBM, some major medical facilities and logistics companies etc. Ransomware is a type of virus which allows cybercriminals to encrypt sensitive business information and hold it for ransom. These programs gain access to company systems when employees inadvertently open random attachments provided in spam emails.

A recent survey brought to light the fact that Microsoft Office file formats are most commonly used in these activities. With office attachments being the most widely used in all forms of company communications, it is easy to fall for them. This is just one of the few things companies must layout before their employees.

2 – Training of employees comes next

Once the employees have been made aware of the threat, it comes time to train them to deal with it. There are several layers to this process. These training sessions may require one-time investments, but these are guaranteed to pay-back, in the long run, saving the company from considerable losses in case of a cyber-attack.

There are a few basic practices employees should be cautious of:

• Limiting the use of public networks: Employees who work remotely are usually connected to public Wi-Fi networks. These connections leave their devices vulnerable to potential threats. Public Wi-Fi is normally unsecured which means that any sensitive information or login credentials can be easily stolen by hackers using the same system. They can also employ practices like phishing. Here hackers create fake webpages which look legitimate and use these as bait to acquire login credentials from employees.
• Use stronger passwords and avoid writing them down: Employees must be encouraged to use strong passwords which are a mix of alphanumeric characters and symbols. Moreover, the practice of storing these on mobile devices or posted notes in diaries must be shunned.

Employees must be instructed with a sense of responsibility and ownership of company information. If they are carrying information which can be used to cause harm to the organization, employees must feel the burden on their shoulders.

3 – Focus on hardware and software equally

Cyber attacks focus on software but protecting a company’s hardware holds equal importance. This is something which duly applies to companies where employees have the freedom to work remotely. These portable devices must come equipped with the latest in security features. They must be protected by strong passwords, always have ‘Find my device’ programs installed and kept under watchful eyes. Data breaches through stolen hardware are quite frequent and organizations and employees must share responsibility for safeguarding these devices.

Protection of software and digital company platforms in crucial but so is the security of hardware containing sensitive information.

4 – Encryption and backups are key

Companies around the world are investing heavily in strategies and state of the art security measures to keep them secure from looming threats. An effective strategy in this regard is based on two things; preventing elements with malicious intent from gaining access to sensitive data and ensuring that data is unusable if it does fall into the wrong hands. There are a couple of processes which can ensure that these objectives are achieved.

• Encryption: Encryption remains the best fix for protection against cyber-attacks. Companies must ensure that their employees are using encryption software to encode information at one end when it begins transfer and then decodes it at the culmination. Data which is stored must also be encrypted to make sure it remains useless in case of any cyber threat.
• Regular backups: Losing crucial information to cyber attacks can cause millions of dollars’ worth of losses. Making individual as well as collective backups and storing them in separate locations can minimize the possibilities of this happening. Employees must be educated and trained to enforce the practice of making backups at specific times and then storing them in a secure location.

5 – Stress the use of endpoint security Software

It refers to the process of securing resources like applications and operating systems used by employees. There are several activities which come in this domain.

• Updating critical software patches and versions constantly: Using older versions of an application or software is like being left behind in the jungle by your group of trained travelers. It leaves a company susceptible to threats. Software patches and updates always provide updated security to company assets and employees.
• Using a VPN: High-quality products like Ivacy VPN for Business can provide a plethora of services like masking IPs, unlimited server switching, and internet kill switch to protect against potential sources of harm. Ivacy Business VPN can provide a boost to some already established security measures.

The threat of cybercrimes is quite real and employees are the first line of defence for every organization. Investing in them and making sure they follow these best practices, will translate into substantial returns for the company and safer airwaves for the digital community in general.

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