User awareness is key to improving cybersecurity in 2023 and beyond, says Alan Hayward, Sales and Marketing Manager at the network product company SEH Technology.
Cybersecurity is an ever-developing area of attention for businesses, with technology and organisational requirements evolving at a rapid pace. Alongside these advancing technologies, the volume of cyberthreats are increasing at a truly alarming rate – with an article by Forbes stating that nearly 80 per cent of senior IT and security leaders believe their organisations lack sufficient protection against cyberattacks. This further highlights the sheer urgency that companies must take to combat a potential organisational crisis.
When considering areas like cybersecurity, it can be natural to jump to extreme measures when evaluating whether or not an organisation’s systems are protected by employees. However, what if they are key to reducing the threat of cybersecurity as we head into 2023 and beyond? Harnessing an employee network could prove pivotal in ensuring the security of a business’ data.
Ultimately, an organisation could have the best cybersecurity system in the world, but if they have not trained their staff in cybersecurity, the organisation could still be prone to attacks. Phishing attacks can cause a significant amount of damage for an organisation, and depending on the type of malware used in the attack, can take a long time to fix, with no guarantee of the safety of data throughout the process.
While it may be commonly assumed that it is easy to avoid falling victim to a phishing assault, the attacks are becoming more and more advanced as time goes on, which unfortunately leads to an ever increasing number of victims. In fact, the UK Government shared that in 2021, 83pc of cyberattacks were phishing attacks, which goes to show the potential risks to businesses.
Informing employees on the importance of checking emails before opening them and to avoid anything that they don’t think looks legitimate can greatly aid in an organisation’s defence against cybercrime.
Password protection
The use of passwords may seem relatively obvious in the technology-filled world that we all live in, but they do play a big part in reducing the overall number of cyber crimes committed. Even if they do not fully mitigate a cyberattack, they can increase the time needed for a cybercriminal to complete a breach, which will hopefully allow more time for other security protocols to take effect.
When creating a password, there are a few things that employees should bear in mind. Ensuring that there is a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and a symbol in a password further complicates and increases the time needed for the password to be cracked. Avoiding using words such as names or workplaces, as well as encouraging employees to change their passwords every quarter further reinforce the strength of the team’s passwords, and as a result, the strength of a business’ overall cybersecurity measures.
Employee training
Cybersecurity is an evolving industry that is showing no signs of slowing down in the future. This prospect may sound incredibly daunting at first, but it’s pertinent to remember that there are always steps that businesses can take to put themselves in the best possible position when it comes to their information security – with one of these being to train their employees regularly.
If IT leaders are unsure of where to start when it comes to training their employees in cybersecurity, the National Institute of Standards and Technology maintains a list of free and low-cost online cybersecurity courses that businesses and their employees can sign up for. These courses cover all aspects of cybersecurity from training designed for novices to more advanced courses for cyber-aware employees.
There are, of course, a myriad of other options for courses and sessions which you, an organisation, can partake in to better defend their network against cybersecurity threats.
Looking to the future
It’s no secret that cybersecurity is a fast-moving field, with new threats and opportunities for attack being discovered regularly. While ensuring that an organisation has the best protection in place against cyber attacks, through both software and hardware solutions, there is great value to be found in educating employees about how to be safer when using technology.
It’s important for businesses to consider factors such as ‘phishing’, and the steps that they can take to mitigate its impact on the business, as well as the role that passwords play in protecting firms from cyber attacks. It’s also vital for companies to provide regular training for their employees to keep them up to date on the latest threats and best practices.
https://www.professionalsecurity.co.uk/products/cyber/phishing-dont-be-tempted-by-the-bait/