Organisations often regard cyber security as an IT issue or thinking that they cannot do anything to prevent a breach from happening. The mindset of “We will deal with it when it happens” has to change. Here are five signals that increases your organisation’s odds of being attacked and ways to mitigate them.
- Not scanning your network regularly for vulnerabilities
It only takes one vulnerability for a hacker to gain access to your network. Hackers are able to access hundreds of new vulnerabilities every month on the web, hence hacking a network is as easy as a simple scan for loopholes. It is essential that organisations scan their networks regularly, but how often?
Most compliance require to scan networks on a quarterly basis but in actual fact, organisations should conduct a monthly scan on their networks to detect any vulnerabilities and fix them immediately.
- No experts to run scans and managing network security
We know all organisations, whether big or small face tight budgets when it comes to IT security. It tends to get left at the bottom of the priority list. However, the losses that an organisation will face from a breach will most likely exceed the initial spend on cyber security. Whether you hire a cyber security expert, employee or third-party vendor, your organisation should have a person responsible for the protection of your networks 24/7. No one knows when a breach will happen, it could happen in a split second the moment your network is vulnerable. The person in charge will also be updated on any latest changes and will be responsible for performing any updates and scans to ensure your organisation’s network is safe at all times. If you are a small organisation, you can work with a reliable third-party security firm on a regular basis. If you are a big organisation with bigger budgets, it might be worthwhile to invest in a team of IT experts or work on a retainer basis with a cyber security firm.
- No protocols for bringing personal devices to work
Do your employees bring their personal laptops to work or often send company emails from their smartphones? Your answer is most likely a yes. This could actually be a potential threat as most employees are not IT trained and more often than not, their devices are not updated with the latest antivirus or has no antivirus installed at all. If your organisation does not impose strict protocols on bringing personal devices to work, it will be an open invitation to spywares and viruses. Policies should be clear and indicate what sort of devices are acceptable at work, how much data will the organisation monitor and a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) cyber security audit should be conducted to understand where your team’s IT vulnerabilities and take on actions to avoid malicious attacks.
- Your employees have not undergone any cyber security training
We understand that your employees are not meant to be IT experts or have any knowledge on cyber security, and that is completely normal. Cyber breaches are not only happening to IT companies, but across all industries. You may think that running scans and installing antivirus softwares are enough, but by empowering your employees with basic cyber security training such as learning how to detect a phishing email can save your organisation a lot of money and trouble later on.
- No IT protocols set for employee termination or departure.
Although most employees will not think of doing harm to your organisation after their departure, you on the other hand, should not take that risk, especially if it’s due to a termination. Your organisation should always have a policy in place when an employee leaves, such as informing the relevant IT staff right away and revoking access to company data and systems. If your organisation does not have an IT department to implement such policies, start by creating an IT checklist for offboarding beforehand.
No organisation is completely immune to cyber breaches as hackers outsmart defence systems and find new ways to hack your network. By keeping your guards up at all times and working with a reliable cyber security partner, you will greatly reduce exposure to cyber risks.
At Pragma, we offer pragmatic solutions that caters to your organisation’s current cyber security position and provide incident response services should a breach occurs. Speak to us here