October is Cyber Security Safety Month—How To Keep Your Business Secure Online.
Threats Continue to Increase. Unless You Take Specific Steps, Your Business Is in Jeopardy.
Staying safe and secure online is becoming more difficult all the time. Cyber criminals seem to be everywhere, waiting for any weakness in your IT network.
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM), and has been since 2003 when the National Cyber Security Alliance and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security worked to raise awareness about this increasing threat to our nation’s security.
Cybersecurity Threats Are Increasing.
There’s no doubt that the prevalence of confidential data stored online tempts cybercriminals. Protecting IT is no longer optional – It’s a requirement.
Even with all the focus on security over the past few years, few are truly prepared to respond quickly and effectively in the event of a data breach. With governments now imposing stringent requirements for data-breach notifications, it’s imperative that you stay up-to-date, educate yourself, and comply with regulations—If not, your business and livelihood is literally at risk.
Having stringent cybersecurity guidelines in place may make the difference between an attack damaging to your business, or one that could strike a fatal blow to your organization.
Education is Key.
National Cyber Security Awareness Month stresses the need for education with a curriculum that spans five weeks:
Week 1: NCSAM encourages you to take steps to grasp the vast scope of cyber attacks that occur in the U.S. every year — More than 169 million personal records are exposed via both private businesses and government entities.
Week 2: They stress that you educate your employees at all levels by providing professional training to help them protect your organization from cyber threats.
Week 3: Combating cybercrime is the focus this week. Educate yourself and your team on the ways that cybercriminals obtain personal information.
Week 4: Our lives are increasingly interconnected, through the Internet of Things (IoT), and the need for cybersecurity professionals who can deal with today’s threats.
Week 5: NCSAM stresses the need for a hardened infrastructure to withstand all but the most brutal cyberattacks.
The Stop.Think.Connect.Toolkit
Cybercriminals target computers regardless of their physical location, or who they belong to. You’ll find resources on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) website to help keep your organization safe with the:
- Entrepreneurs and Small Business Tip Card
- Cybersecurity Overviews
- Social Media Guide
- Internet of Things (IoT) Tip Card
- Mobile Security Guide
These materials will help you educate your staff, and your customers, about how to stay safe online. Best practices such as changing your security passwords on a regular basis and making them secure and difficult to guess can be implemented with ease once your team understands the significant damage that can occur from hackers or other cybercriminals.
Our Shared Responsibility
The theme for 2017’s month-long event is “Our Shared Responsibility.” It highlights the important role each of us plays in keeping information safe. Whether its users who create a password that’s easily hacked or IT support staff that can’t keep up with critical patches for software, everyone must work together to create a culture of cybersecurity. Employee education, awareness, and ongoing training are the basis to promote positive security practices on an ongoing basis.
Corporate Oversight
Some business professionals indicate that security compliance measures are already in place and that they follow a C-suite level requirement. However, countering cyber risk requires oversight on all levels of an organization.
Understanding and mitigating these risks won’t guarantee that your business is safe from cyberattacks. However, it may help you bounce back from them with more resilience.
The costs associated with preventing a data breach are much lower than attempting to salvage business relationships with suppliers and customers in the event of a cyberattack – Not to mention the potential liabilities or claims that could occur.
Working with professionals in the cybersecurity industry is one of the best ways to ensure that you’re not only prepared for any eventuality, but that you have a solid plan in place and can start damage control immediately after an attack.
The team at Alliance Technology Partners understands these challenges. We’ll work with you to create a comprehensive security plan to protect your business in Chesterfield from data breaches, malware or other cyber threats. Contact our security professionals at (314) 391-9888 or info@alliancetechpartners.com to schedule your no-obligation consult.
