Balancing a Proactive and Reactive Approach to Cyber Incidents

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Is your business prepared for a cyber incident? These malicious security events can range from data breaches and system failures to malware attacks and phishing scams. They can severely hinder productivity, revenue growth, and customer satisfaction. 

A cyber incident can have severe consequences for a business, including data loss, downtime, and financial loss. In some cases, a cyber incident can also cause business interruption. 

This blog will explore how to protect yourself from online attacks. We’ll discuss proactive and reactive approaches to keeping your information safe and what to do in the aftermath of a hack.

By taking these proactive steps, you can help protect your business from the devastating consequences of a cyberattack:

Routinely update your passwords

By being vigilant and taking proactive steps, you can help safeguard your business from the disastrous fallout of a cyberattack.

Here are a few tips on how to create a strong password: 

  • Use a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols 
  • Avoid using easily guessable words like your name or birthdate 
  • Use a different password for each account 
  • Don’t reuse passwords

Use a virtual private network (VPN)

A VPN can be an excellent tool for securing your company’s data. By encrypting your data and controlling who has access to it, you can help prevent data breaches and protect your company’s information. But, first, selecting a reputable provider with security experience is essential.

As a business leader, you are responsible for keeping your company’s security awareness training up-to-date and engaging. Educating end users is essential to protect your business from potential threats in today’s digital age.

Run regular phishing tests

Phishing is a malicious online activity that seeks to acquire sensitive information or install malware by deceiving users. Although phishing attacks can be highly sophisticated, regular employee security training can help identify vulnerabilities to this type of attack. Additionally, users can protect themselves from becoming victims of these cybercrimes by being aware of the warning signs of a phishing email.

Reset access controls regularly

It is vital to regularly reset access controls to stop people from getting into places they’re not supposed to. A regular process to do this helps make sure that only people who are allowed to have sensitive information can get it. You can reset access controls yourself or use automated tools to do it.

Use multifactor authentication (MFA)

Multifactor authentication requires employees to provide more than one form of identification when accessing data. Examples of this could include a password, a security token, or a fingerprint. Requiring multiple forms of identification reduces the chances of having unauthorized access to your data.

Reactive Steps to Remember

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) reactive incident response framework covers the following five phases:

Identify

Start by identifying security risks to develop an effective incident response plan. Consider threats to your technology systems, data, and operations. Understanding these risks allows you to respond to incidents more effectively and reduce the impact of security breaches.

Protect

To protect your company, you need to develop and implement appropriate safeguards. Security measures to guard against threats and steps to ensure the continuity of essential services in the event of an incident are examples of safeguards.

Detect

Detecting anomalies, such as unusual network activity or unauthorized access to sensitive data, are needed to limit the damage and get your systems back up and running faster following an incident.

Respond

A plan to respond to detected cyber incidents is critical. This strategy should include breach containment, investigation, and resolution strategies.

Recover

To minimize disruption, you must have a plan to resume normal business operations as soon as possible after an incident.

Implementing the above proactive and reactive steps requires time, effort and skillsets that are possibly beyond what you can commit to at the moment. However, you can still accomplish this by collaborating with an IT service provider like us. Our experience and expertise may be just what you need. Feel free to reach out to schedule a consultation.

Also, to walk you through incident prevention best practices, we have created a checklist titled “Cyber Incident Prevention Best Practices for Small Businesses,” which you can download by clicking here.

Cyber Incident Prevention Best Practices

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Organizations of all sizes are vulnerable to cybercrime. Although the media tends to focus on attacks against large businesses, small and medium-sized businesses are also prime targets for cybercriminals. Don’t assume that your organization is too insignificant to be a target – all businesses are at risk.

Follow these cyber incident prevention best practices

While there is no silver bullet for preventing all incidents, some best practices can help reduce the risk of falling victim to a cyberattack.

1 – Ensure your cybersecurity policy supports remote work.

When implementing a cybersecurity policy supporting remote work, consider the following:

  • How will employees access company resources off-site?
  • What security measures should be put in place to protect company data? 
  • How will remote employees collaborate and share data? 

As more and more employees are working remotely, it’s essential to have a cybersecurity policy that considers their needs. In addition, this policy should identify support mechanisms to help employees struggling to adjust to remote work. Considering these factors, you can create a productive, seamless, secure work environment for everyone.      

2 – Provide cybersecurity awareness training for employees

Today, more than ever, it is critical to implement a security awareness training program for employees. In addition, with the constant threat of digital attacks, businesses must do everything they can to protect themselves and be prepared.

3 – Deploy software patches

As technology advances, so do the threats to your network security. It is, therefore, crucial to keep your software up to date with the latest security patches.

There are two ways of doing this: setting your software to update automatically or manually checking for updates regularly.

 4 – Have active antivirus and antimalware protection

Many different types of antiviruses and antimalware software are available, so it is essential to choose one that is right for your company. Consider factors such as the size of your company, the type of data you need to protect, and your budget.

Once you have selected a solution, it is vital to follow through with it. One example is installing antivirus and antimalware software on your company’s computers and keeping it up to date.

5 – Implement multifactor authentication (MFA)

An extra layer of security, multifactor authentication requires users to present more than one form of identification when logging in or accessing data. Variations can be something they know (e.g., a password), have (e.g., a security token), or are (e.g., their fingerprint). As a result, implementing multifactor authentication reduces the chances of unauthorized access to data.

6 – Use a virtual private network (VPN) 

A VPN can help protect your company’s data from being accessed by unauthorized individuals. By encrypting the data, you can control who has access to it. A VPN can help prevent data breaches and protect your company’s information. When choosing a VPN provider, select one that offers robust security features.

7 – Deploy single-sign-on (SSO) and password management

The login process can be painful, especially when remembering multiple usernames and passwords. But thankfully, there’s a solution! Single sign-on systems allow users to log in to a central system and access all the other applications and systems they require. A single sign-on makes the login process much more efficient for users.

There are many benefits to using a Single Sign-On (SSO) solution, but one of the most impactful is simplifying the login process for users.

8 – Encrypt your data

Data encryption refers to transforming readable data into an unreadable format and protects information from being accessed by unauthorized individuals. Data encryption is a critical element of cybersecurity, as it helps to reduce the risk of data exposure and ensure compliance with data privacy regulations.

9 – Have backup and disaster recovery solutions 

Backing up your system data is key to avoiding disaster in system failure. Make sure to look into all the options available and find the best solution for your company. Then, test them regularly to ensure that your backup and disaster recovery solutions are effective.

Partner with us if you’re worried about cybersecurity for your business. We have the experience and expertise to help you build a digital fortress around your business, protecting it against potential cyber threats. Contact us today to find out more.

In addition, click here to download our checklist titled “The Secret to Responding Effectively to Cyber Incidents” for a deeper dive into the concept.