5 cybersecurity tips to protect your company against sudden attacks
The way we work is undergoing change. Partly due to the past two years, more people are (and continue to be) working from home, many organizations have moved their on-premises software to the cloud and themes such as digital transformation and cybersecurity are more popular than ever. And rightly so, because now that more of our communication takes place online, we also see an increase in cyberattacks. In this blog we share five tips that help improve (online) security within your organization.
Make working from home safe
Improving cyber security starts with remote working, or, working from home. Although a large part of the population is returning to the office, there is still a significant number of people who prefer to work from home. It’s therefore important for your organization to ensure that employees can work from home in compliance with laws, regulations, and safety standards. Allow employees to work exclusively on their work laptop and (if in use) work mobile devices. This allows them to securely log in to the organization’s server from home. Extra tip: only store documents and vulnerable information in the server, never locally or on a USB. That way you avoid the risk of leaking documents, or worse, losing the USB with information.
User administration and authorization
Another tip to improve the online security of your organization is to (selectively) assign administrators and access rights. Not everyone needs to access specific systems or applications. If you allow everyone to know everything or if you do not act responsibly, you run the risk that cyber criminals can easily gain access to the system. The more people who have access rights, the greater the risk.
Update your software!
Another update already? Nowadays it seems like there is a new software update for your mobile or laptop waiting for you every day. But that’s for a reason. Complex software must be updated from time to time with new security software to minimize vulnerabilities. Got some updates to catch up on? Don’t wait too long!
use secure passwords
This one might sounds obvious, but you’d be suprised at how neglected this tip is. Did you know that the most common password is “123456”? Not exactly safe. If you want to set a secure password, we recommend that you at least take the following advices to heart:
- Use a password of at least eight characters.
- Use letters, numbers and symbols. Preferably preferably interchangeably.
- Do not use obvious information, like for example your last name, or the name of your cat.
- We know it’s tiresome, but change passwords regularly.
- Set up a two-step verification to log in, for example via SMS or confirmation email.
- Tricky, but very effective when one of your passwords does get hacked: never use the same password in multiple places.
Having a hard time remembering all these different passwords? You can use apps that keep the passwords safe for you. Think of LastPass or Roboform, for example.
Want more tips for creating a password? Read our tips on creating rock-solid passwords here.
Secure mobile devices
Last but not least, secure your mobile devices as well. This is not something a lot of people think about. But if your mobile phone isn’t secured in any way, it’s only a matter of time before things go wrong. Especially when it’s a work device. You can already secure your own mobile devices in a simple way with a few simple steps:
- Use an access code for your mobile devices
- Perform a software update, which often includes new security measures, on these devices as well.
- Back up the files on your mobile devices. That way, should you lose your device, you can be sure that you have all important documents in another place.
Well begun is half done. And with these tips you’ll lay a good foundation to protect important documentation and information within your organization. Want to know more? Then contact one of our experts!
