The cybersecurity landscape has evolved greatly over the past several years. Cybercriminals are using more advanced techniques and tools. The FBI reports that cybersecurity incidents rose by 35% from 2015 to 2016, and that cyber-attacks cost companies $400 billion per year. While no business is immune to cybersecurity threats, there are proactive cybersecurity measures you can take to reduce your company’s risk profile. Here are five ways you can implement these proactive cybersecurity measures:
1. Conduct Risk Assessments on a Regular Basis
One of the many crucial steps in implementing cybersecurity measures is conducting an accurate risk assessment for your business. A risk assessment allows organizations or individuals to identify potential risks within a cybersecurity environment. A risk assessment will help a business determine where its cybersecurity weaknesses lie and how to fix them. To prevent cyberattacks, it’s essential that organizations have accurate cybersecurity risk assessments in place when they develop security plans for cybersecurity measures.
2. Maintain Accurate Security Documentation
While cybersecurity measures are designed with the future in mind, the most effective cybersecurity plans look back at history to predict future events. In order to do this accurately, you’ll need detailed documentation of your current cybersecurity situation. If an organization needs to show compliance or legal liability for past situations, keeping thorough documentation can prove extremely valuable down the road. Maintaining comprehensive records also provides an accurate roadmap of past cybersecurity failures within your company so that you can learn from them and improve your cybersecurity measures.
3. Educate Employees on Cybersecurity Threats
Everyone in an organization should be aware of cybersecurity threats, but cybersecurity training for employees is often overlooked. It’s important to let employees know about cybersecurity protocols within the company, as well as how they can help prevent cybersecurity incidents. Employees are near-constantly connected to technology these days, so it makes sense that they could be targeted by cybercriminals via their devices. This also means that they could inadvertently infect other devices through social media, downloads, or emails containing malware links. Security awareness training helps employees understand cybersecurity risks and what might happen if cybersecurity protocols aren’t followed correctly.
4. Back up Critical Data Regularly with Automated Scheduling
The cybersecurity landscape is constantly changing. Cybercriminals are continually developing new attack methods, which can leave businesses susceptible to cybersecurity breaches if they aren’t equipped with adequate cybersecurity measures. Having an automated backup system in place can help protect critical business data against potential cybersecurity incidents. Automated scheduling minimizes the risk of having security patches or updates accidentally skipped, and ensures that cybersecurity measures are always up-to-date.
5. Utilize Security Software Proactively
While cybersecurity software cannot prevent cyberattacks entirely, it does provide another level of proactive cybersecurity measures for organizations who choose to implement it into their cybersecurity plan. Backing up your data regularly and properly maintaining security documentation will also provide an extra line of defense against possible cybersecurity threats down the road.
By taking these five cybersecurity measures, organizations can take incremental steps towards becoming fully cybersecurity-compliant. If your business is looking for cybersecurity professionals to help implement cybersecurity measures, TeamLogic IT can help. Visit their website today at www.teamlogicit.com to learn more about how they can help protect your business from the many cybersecurity dangers it faces on a daily basis.
