Since the beginning of 2022, the number of identified cyber threats has increased by 20%, particularly the number of spyware and spam emails. At the same time, not only government institutions and corporations, but also small and medium-sized enterprises fall under the crosshairs of criminals. While large companies have full-fledged IT departments to respond to threats, the corporate networks of smaller enterprises are insufficiently protected, making them an easy target for cybercriminals.
In this regard, ESET specialists recommend checking the effectiveness of corporate network protection and strengthening the company’s cybersecurity with the following steps.
How to enhance security?
Step 1. Apply the necessary updates.
The basic rule of data security is the regular updating of the operating system on laptops and computers. Since timely remediation of vulnerabilities reduces the risk of devices being infected with malware. Pay attention to update requests and promptly install available patches or configure automatic updates for applications and software.
Step 2. Ensure remote access protection.
The company’s cybersecurity strategy should also include measures to protect employees who work remotely. In particular, to securely connect to the corporate network, such employees should use a VPN. This helps prevent the interception of confidential data by malicious actors.
Moreover, one should not forget to use complex passwords for accessing devices and logging into accounts and applications. To enhance login security, two-factor authentication should be implemented, which, in the event of user credential theft, will prevent attackers from accessing corporate resources.
Step 3. Take care of the security of confidential information.
One of the key goals of cybersecurity for companies of any size is to protect confidential data. Since the loss of certain files can have quite serious consequences for the further functioning of the business. To avoid such incidents, regular data backups should be performed, allowing the restoration of necessary documents at any time.
Another important tool for the security of corporate files is encryption, which ensures that data is unreadable without the appropriate key. First and foremost, encryption should be used to protect the intellectual property and innovative developments of the enterprise, as well as other confidential data.
Step 4. Prevent data leaks and raise employee awareness.
According to 2021 data, about 60% of small businesses experienced at least one data breach, and 44% paid between $250,000 and $500,000 to cover the losses. To reduce the risk of such incidents, companies should proactively ensure the security of confidential information with a DLP solution.
Such a solution prevents data leaks, protecting the company from the consequences of human errors and intentional malicious behavior. Thanks to comprehensive behavior analysis, the product effectively identifies and responds to internal threats before they cause incidents. Moreover, the DLP solution helps protect confidential data, manage employee performance, and contributes to increased work efficiency.
It is also important for the company’s cybersecurity to inform employees about current threats and ways to protect against them. Since, according to research data, 82% of data breaches in 2021 were indeed related to human factors. Therefore, the company’s management should ensure the regular conduct of information security drills, possible methods of attacks using social engineering, and ways to recognize them. In addition, it is necessary to determine the course of action that employees must follow during security incidents.
Step 5. Protect corporate email and cloud resources.
Email remains a common attack vector for cybercriminals. In particular, from January to April 2022, the number of malware distributed via emails increased by 37%. Preventing infection from such threats can be achieved through enhanced protection of email and storage, as well as collaboration applications.
While preventing the infiltration of ransomware and zero-day threats into the company’s environment can be aided by an advanced threat analysis tool. This solution ensures active detection of new malware by checking all submitted suspicious samples in an isolated and powerful cloud sandbox.
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