In our increasingly interconnected world, solid and secure cybersecurity and data protection practices are more important than ever.
The last few years have shown a frightening rise in phishing scams – surging 58.2% in 2023 compared to the previous year. This is a clear reflection of the growing sophistication and reach of scammers, aided by voice phishing (vishing) and deepfake phishing attack increases – where attackers harness the powers of generative AI tools. Cybersecurity expert Michael Marcotte predicts that this year, these are set to play a more significant role than ever before.
Here are the best practices to carry you into the new year – protected against such malintent.
Regular software updates
Keeping your company’s tech up to date is one simple but key way to protect against cyberattacks.
Ensuring that your operating systems, software, and hardware are regularly updated constructs a shield around your business. Cybercriminals are always on the lookout for vulnerabilities that can be exploited, and these are much easier to find in outdated systems.
The Microsoft Windows BlueKeep security vulnerability in 2019-20 demonstrates this. The vulnerability allowed attackers to remotely execute code on unpatched systems. Once the vulnerability was publicized, it did not take long for cybercriminals to begin targeting systems that had not applied the patch. Those who had not updated were left open to significant risk.
The cybersecurity landscape constantly evolves, and new threats occur every day. It is important to stay as many steps ahead of these cybercriminals as possible. An easy way to ensure this is by keeping your systems as up-to-date as possible.
Multi-factor authentication and strong passwords
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) and strong passwords add another layer of security.
MFA consists of a series of security factors – something you know (a password, PIN or security question), something you have (a physical device such as a phone or smartcard), and something you are (biometric identifiers such as your fingerprint or your face). Combining these factors greatly reduces the chances of unauthorized persons accessing accounts and systems.
However, MFA shouldn’t be used as a fail-safe solution, as not all MFA solutions are created the same, with some more effective than others.
Hand in hand with MFA comes the importance of strong passwords. Everyone knows not to use pins like 1234 or your birthday, ditto using the name of your celebrity crush or first pet. However, truly strong passwords go deeper than that – including a M1x of cH4r@ct3Rs and avoiding common or predictable words.
Businesses should also consider implementing a password manager to generate and store strong and unique passwords. That way, employees don’t need to learn complex passwords by heart.
Employee training
This is the most important factor in improving cybersecurity in your business. Your employees should be educated about the signs and dangers of phishing, social engineering and good practice for cybersecurity. Michael Marcotte advises that companies not forget this vital step as they reach for new AI cyber defense systems.
Employees should be briefed on good cybersecurity practices upon hiring, and the team should have regular updates and ongoing training to make sure the information they have is up to date in the changing cybersecurity landscape. This way, employees are encouraged to consider cybersecurity in every action they take, creating a cybersafe culture within your organization.
In this era of ever-developing cyber threats, these are suggestions on proactively staying at least one step ahead of the hackers. These measures will protect your business and help construct a resilient and secure environment for your clients and employees.
Here’s to a cybersafe 2025!
