The Future of Cybersecurity
With an increase in “Remote Workers” expected to continue to rise so are Cyber-attacks which have increased over 2019 exponentially. Phishing, Ransomware, DDoS, and password-based attack vectors are all in play significantly. Joining the top tier are compromised business emails and IoT and AI-based attacks.
We already knew that attacks on businesses are trending up compared to attacks on individual consumers, so the first additions should not surprise anyone. As for the latter two, both areas continue to rapidly grow with 5G expansion. As the IoT grows and AI development expands, so do correlated cyber threats. Escalation is constant in cybersecurity, and you should approach it accordingly.
Here are some top ways to maintain and improve cybersecurity in your life:
1. Multifactor Authentication
Hopefully, you already use two-factor authentication for most secure logins. It takes few seconds of your day and packs a heavy security punch. You are already used to it! For those with access to sensitive business and client information, multifactor authentication is a simple way to add extra protection.
2. Education
You cannot protect your data or devices if you do not understand the threats. It takes only one weakness to break a company’s password. With business email compromise expected to rise, can you confidently say that every person in your organization follows the bare minimum in security practices? What about three months from now? They need cybersecurity training, and not just during new employee onboarding. Make it regular, make it thorough, and make sure your team pays attention.
3. Prevention Over Containment
The current norm in the cybersecurity industry is containment. When prevention efforts can save more than a million dollars per attack, why on earth would three-quarters of cybersecurity professionals focus on containment instead? Because it’s more accountable. Prevention is too hard and does not give you exact numbers to be dropped into a report to the board.
Audit your network and website for weak points so you have an idea of your attack surface, make patch management a priority, put resources into a cybersecurity team that can supervise and enforce employee security protocols. Prevention efforts can save a business over a million dollars per attack. Keep in mind how common attacks are, 2019 averaged 2,244 attacks each day.
Covid-19 created a hacker’s paradise. Cyber fraud jumped to 20% just in the 1st quarter of 2020. Then Coronavirus email scams said, “Hold my facemask,” as spear-phishing attacks skyrocketed 667% from March 1st through the 23rd.
4. Default Security Settings
If it is connected to the Internet, it is hackable. If we have not scared you enough, Google “baby monitor hacked.” How many of your smart devices have you actively checked and updated the security settings? Factory default settings are rarely strong.
5. Strong Passwords
If it is connected to the Internet, it is hackable. If we have not scared you enough, Google “baby monitor hacked.” How many of your smart devices have you actively checked and updated the security settings? Factory default settings are rarely strong.
6. Web Cautions
You should take some general precautions when browsing the Web, including the following:
- Avoid unsecured sites. If you don’t see a closed padlock on the far left of the URL bar, then get out. You need to secure your website.
- Don’t click suspicious links or download attachments from unknown email addresses. Don’t trust the name in your inbox, check the address.
- Limit the percentage of personal information you share. It is stored, and it will be used against you. Even if you delete your Facebook account, your data will remain on their servers.
- Use a VPN! A VPN makes a private network from a public Internet connection. Consider it your seatbelt for the Internet car. As in, it’s not the only safety feature you should have, but it’s one of the most important. To close out, let’s look again at the DNC hack.
We all know the rest of the story. Once the stolen files were shared and published online, containment was out the window in terms of saving face. How many of the basic cybersecurity protection practices outlined above could have mitigated the hack’s effect? The abundant lack of communication, patch management, and basic cyber threat awareness makes the DNC system incredibly vulnerable.
Adding basic cybersecurity techniques to your routine is easy. Coming back from an international incident of cybercrime isn’t. Your data might not be as blockbuster as a Presidential candidate’s in an election year, but it’s still valuable to hackers. Work hard to protect it.
Clarity is proud to have been providing Network Security Services and Firewall Systems to the Americas for many years including clients Worldwide offering our unified communications platform. Clarity Technologies Group, LLC surpasses expectations!
Call Clarity at 800-354-4160 today or email us at [email protected]. We are partnered internationally around the globe and we are open seven days a week 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM EST/EDT. http://45.33.92.219 and https://dotmantech.com.
[mc4wp_form id=”314″]