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Bolstering workplace cybersecurity

IT is estimated that 55,000 devices were compromised by ransomware every month during 2016.

Poor cybersecurity could represent the biggest threat to your business, and with the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) arriving in May, there’s no excuse not to sure-up your workplace’s cybersecurity.

Northampton-based IT solutions provider ACS offers ten brilliant tips for protecting your business from cybercrime.

1. Install business-class antivirus

One in ten people will open an attachment or click a link within an email, and they’ll do so without considering the implications.

This is just one way viruses can creep into your business, but with business-class antivirus, web filtering and firewalls, you can ensure infections are quickly detected and eradicated.

2. Keep IT up to date and apply patches

The operating systems for your business devices and the software you rely on daily should be regularly patched to keep hackers at bay.

Always turn on automatic updates and schedule regular update checks for business critical systems such as EoS and CRM.

3. Back up regularly

You can’t have too many back-ups. Ensure you back up daily to removable disks and complement that routine with an automated cloud back-up service.

Your Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and Recovery Time Objective (RTO) will define how you respond to data disasters. Do you know them inside out?

4. Keep users fully trained

With 58 per cent of workers accidentally sharing information, keeping users fully trained in secure IT practices is vital to mitigating cyber crime.

5. Be vigilant: is it really your colleague emailing?

99 per cent of cyber attacks are email based. Is it really the financial director emailing you? Is the person behind the request for payment really your colleague?

6. Formalise security and app policies

There’s roughly 80 per cent unapproved Software as a Service (SaaS) usage within businesses, which is why formalised security policies are so important.

Make sure your staff know what they should and shouldn’t be using to get work done.

7. Implement robust password policies

On average, it takes 286 days to detect a cyber intrusion.

Limit the chances of your business having to deal with the consequences of such an event by implementing a robust password policy and ensure multi-factor authentication is used.

8. Invest in best-of-breed anti-spam

On average, it takes just four minutes for an email-based attack to infect a business network.

The best anti-spam systems will provide a near impenetrable first form of defence.

9. Utilise Information Rights Management (IRM) to protect data

IRM protects sensitive documents and emails from unauthorised access.

Do you have full control, ownership and management capabilities for your important information?

10. If in doubt – turn off and seek qualified assistance

With 80 days taken on average to contain the damage caused by cyberattacks, it pays to call on professional help. ACS has spent over two decades helping business like yours be vigilant against cybercrime.

Call the acs team on 01604 704000 for further advice

Companies mentioned in this article

Bechtle

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