Modern businesses operate under the constant threat of cyberattacks that can undermine their operations and expose their customers and employees. Proactive defensive measures are crucial, and with that in mind, let’s explore seven steps all companies should take.

Employee Training

As cyberattacks became more prevalent, employees and contractors have often been weak links in the chain. Typically, this isn’t because of negligence or purposeful actions. It’s due to a lack of awareness. Cybercriminals know this and try to exploit it with phishing and other techniques. Don’t keep employees out of the loop. They should very much be in the loop. Use employee training to protect against threats, establish and reinforce good cybersecurity habits, and create awareness about your cyber defenses.

Segment Your Network

Network segmentation is a networking infrastructure technique through which businesses can compartmentalize their data and other resources. Some of the major cyberattacks in history occurred because the attackers were able to reach the core system through ancillary nodes. The goal of segmentation is to prevent access based on the point of entry. If a hacker compromises an employee’s laptop, for instance, they wouldn’t have access to central databases.

Update Your Software

Still, many cyberattacks are successful because the hackers compromise known vulnerabilities in widely used software, such as operating systems. This kind of threat is likely not going away anytime soon, so it’s integral that companies incorporate it into their core philosophies. Automatic updating of third-party software is a must. Bigger companies need a dedicated team to asses those updates and continue to reassess the third-party tools used.

Implement Honeytokens

Honeytokens are false resources that appear to hackers as the real thing. There’s an art to making these tokens appealing enough without setting off red flags. Done well, honeytokens work like tripwires. They alert a company to a potential cyberattack long before actual sensitive data is at risk. Cybersecurity specialists can use the information from honeytokens to expose criminals, help capture them, and better understand how hackers are trying to exploit them.

Third-Party Cybersecurity Audits

Many companies now have their own cybersecurity teams and departments. This is an effective use of resources, but it can also lead to systemic weaknesses. The best way to find and challenge those soft spots is to have a third-party cybersecurity firm audit your system. Your team can then study the findings and make updates based on them.

Secure Physical Assets

As companies have focused more on cyberspace, physical assets have sometimes become a blind spot. While the risk is not as high in a physical location, the risk is real and worth protecting against. You must protect all network infrastructure, including routers and ethernet cables. Failure to do so can quickly undermine all of the other measures you have in place.

Moving Forward

Companies must also recognize that cyberattacks are an ever-evolving threat. That means that your defenses must be ever-evolving as well. Continue to assess and challenge your defensive measures with each passing year and continue to update them.

Published by: Khy Talara