In today’s world, all organizations no matter what the size need to make cybersecurity a top priority. According to a recent survey, a network outage costs around $5,600 per minute. If a cyberattack disables your computer network, the ramifications might soon become out of hand.

What are some best practices that your organization can take to help prevent cyberattacks and save your company time and money? Here a few recommendations.

Don’t Use Weak Passwords

The recent shift to cloud-based applications and remote working had provided cyber criminals with additional opportunities for attacks. In many cases, they can get into an account because the owner uses a weak or easy to guess password.

Make sure that your employees update their passwords regularly. They should avoid common passwords. Instead, use long and complex letters and numbers of upper and lowercase.  A simple password makes one vulnerable to many hackers that can quickly enter your computer and make changes to personal and confidential files.

Utilize Multi-Factor Authentication

Even with a strong password, it’s not impossible for cyber criminals to use tricks such as phishing attacks to steal login details from users.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) can provide an additional barrier by requiring the user to respond to an alert to confirm it is the actual user trying to attempt to log into their account.

Don’t Delay Implementing Security Patches and Updates

Cyber Criminals often take advantage of cybersecurity vulnerabilities in applications and software. Operating systems will usually release security updates to fix any security vulnerabilities. Outdated software is responsible for more than 80% of cyber-attacks.

A security patch will assist in protecting your systems but only if the update is applied.

Anti-virus Software and Firewalls

Antivirus software can help protect computers from cyber threats including malware and ransomware. Software is often bundled for free with popular operating systems. There is also an option to install a product from a dedicated antivirus software vendor.

Cybersecurity Training

Make sure to have cybersecurity training in place for your organization. Absolute Performance Inc has their employees take a cybersecurity course to help educate their employees on the best practices to avoid a potential cyber-attack. Training should be a priority for new and current employees.

Train your staff to be cautious before clicking any links in an email. If an doubt, have them call IT to help before opening any suspicious email.

Back it up

It is important to produce regular backups of your organizations data. In case a incident occurs that brings your network down, you will have a recent copy of our data that can be restored. This allows you to quicker return to normal if an attack should occur.

Don’t Leave Your Network Unmonitored

Installing tools and controls to help prevent cyberattacks is useful, but you can just ignore them and hope for the best.

Someone in your organization or an outside company should be responsible for monitoring activity on your network for potential harmful behavior. Also, it is necessary to make sure that all those devices are protected with the right updates.

Develop a Cyber-Response Strategy

Every second counts when there is a data breach. Ensure that your organization has a cyber-response strategy in place and that employees are trained appropriately.

Your plan should identify the person in charge of the response, encourage employees to disconnect affected devices immediately, and offer emergency contact information, such as your managed IT service provider.

How Can API help?

API offers a variety of services to help your organization be prepared for a potential cyber-attack. We can provide recommendations on solutions for your organization. We also over 24/7 monitoring services to give you peace of mind as we watch over your networks to identify any unusual behavior. Need an assessment on where your weak points are within your organization, reach out to API and we can provide our expertise on areas of improvements. We know that all organizations cannot afford to have their network down at any time. We are here to help. Contact us today.