We have an abrupt warning for you.
As the UK’s malicious cyber activity hits a record level of 65,000 hacks a day, organisations must start putting more precautions into place. Their livelihood is on the line.
Even if you believe that you are being careful online and are doing everything you can to follow basic cyber security recommendations… there’s more you could be doing.
The Importance of Cyber Security
The harsh truth is that recovering from a cyber attack is never easy. It’s an embarrassing, stressful, and overwhelmingly challenging time for your organisation.
Even if one, truly heartfelt, apology is enough for the majority of your customers to forgive you – cyber attacks do a lot of damage behind the scenes, particularly affecting the relationships you’ve worked so hard to build.
It’s up to you to repair the damage that has been done. On average, this comes with a bill of £2000-£7000.
Are You Cyber Secure?
Do you think your business is completely cyber secure?
More often than not, Keytech is approached by people who have made the innocent mistake of believing they are “doing enough”. Sadly, this is often not the case – leaving them vulnerable to data breaches.
See, cyber attacks can come from any direction and can happen at any time. They don’t operate on a 9-5 schedule. This makes it hard for you to predict issues and protect your digital ecosystem.
How to Evaluate Your Cyber Security
Luckily, by being aware of the world around you and dedicating time to assess your organisation’s security… we can fix weaknesses before they cause a problem.
Step 1. Map Your Technology
Although you should already have a list of the laptops and phones you’ve distributed to your employees, have you factored their personal devices into the equation?
Every day, teams are innocently accessing work files from unprotected sources… putting you and your company at risk. You need to figure out which ones aren’t secure.
- Do they have antivirus?
- Is their software up-to-date?
- How old is the equipment?
- What files have they got stored?
- What websites do they visit?
Step 2. Speak to Your Employees
To find the answers to these questions, you’ll need to speak to your staff members directly. When doing so, make an effort to quiz them on their cyber-awareness.
Anyone that displays some “red flags” will likely need additional training to get them up to speed. You don’t want hard-working Bertha to innocently click on an email link one day, opening the door to malware.
Step 3. Check Your Subscriptions
If you’re signed up to antivirus that should be covering your organisation’s technology, we have a question for you…when was the last time you checked that the payments were still going out?
Subscriptions lapse automatically all the time, meaning you might be less protected than you thought. Make the effort to ensure your service is still running and get it to scan your devices for any problems.
Step 4. Track Your Online Activity
In a digital world, there’s a probable chance that your employees will be accessing the internet every single day.
To be safe, you need to understand which websites and software they are using and whether those platforms are cyber-secure. If not, start looking for alternatives.
Step 5. Speak to Keytech
To get a better grasp on whether or not your organisation is cyber-secure, you can book a 1:1 with the experts at Keytech. We’ll be able to conduct a comprehensive audit and give you advice on improving the safety of your business and customer data.
