The human element of a company is often the largest security risk for a business. Without the proper training and strong cybersecurity habits, people can click on phishing attacks or leave themselves open to attack when they forget to update their apps and devices. On the other hand, when every member of a company is taught the best cybersecurity habits, a knowledgeable person can make the difference between a close call and a successful cyberattack. In this post, we want to go over a few simple cybersecurity habits that could save personal and company information from being stolen!
Keeping Software Up to Date
Updates for your operating system and applications can seem never ending. Closing a frequently used service or restarting your system can cause interruptions in productive workflows, but these updates are extremely important. A single device on a network that has not been updated can offer malicious actors a viable attack surface, and if the vulnerability is severe enough, then there can be huge consequences if devices are not updated quickly. Though it may be inconvenient at times, running system updates immediately can patch up gaps in a company’s cybersecurity quickly and efficiently.
Strong Passwords/Password Managers
In the modern work environment, employees need to create and remember strong passwords for a large number of accounts. Making sure your passwords are varied, secure, and strong can become difficult if your work requires a large number of login credentials, but good password hygiene is an essential employee habit. To generate and store strong passwords, workers can use password managers in order to avoid writing passwords down or repeating the same one. With strong passwords in place, it becomes much more difficult for malicious actors to move through a network, even if one of your accounts becomes compromised.
Staying Secure When Working Remote
It is not uncommon for large numbers of employees to work remote, and working from public places can be convenient and relaxing, but strong cybersecurity habits become essential when away from secure access to the company’s network. When not using a VPN, for example, a user’s information can be intercepted on a public Wi-Fi network and stolen by anyone else on the network, and you would often never even be able to know. Malicious actors are not always on the other side of the globe, so workers should be sure to secure their network access whenever they are not in the office or on their private, secured connection.
Summary
Good cybersecurity habits can go a long way in making a company more secure, so everyone needs to take their cybersecurity practices seriously. Any small business looking to help their team members build strong cybersecurity habits should look for effective training material and a trustworthy managed service provider that will give them the tools they need to operate securely. Here at Robinett Consulting, we value providing small businesses the training and services that best meet their unique needs, and our security specialists are always ready to hear from you!
