Cybersecurity Tips for the Workplace - Basic Cybersecurity Tips

Don't underestimate hackers' interest in your company!  It is important to educate your staff and keep up-to-date with training so everyone is more aware of cybersecurity threats.

Below are some security tips, as well as online safety tips including best practices for browsing, email security and other online activity. 

1. Lock Up Devices, assets and data storage. Lock your device if you leave it alone, and make sure that services are configured to aggressively time out when not in use and that devices auto-lock while idle. This also holds true for spaces or places of storage that house devices or information that should be kept private.

2. Use a Password Manager. For every website and service, password managers create special, complex passwords. Use a different mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and other characters whenever creating a password, and avoid using the same password across various websites. Sure, there is typically a minimum recommendation of eight characters, but if you adhere to that guideline, you make it simpler for hackers to decipher your password. Always use twice as many characters as required, if not more.

3. Use Multi-Factor Authentication to give you peace of mind and extra security.  make sure important accounts aren’t easily hacked if the passwords are cracked. Preferentially use non-SMS-based MFA options.

4. Encrypt your data, to add an extra layer of security should your data ever be compromised.

5. Back up data often. A secure data backup is the best way to have a chance of hanging on to that data if you are hacked!

6. Monitor your network for suspicious activity, so that you can catch on to an attack early so you can reduce the damage.

7. Be wary of external devices, such as hard drives, smartphones, and flash drives, as they can infect your computer when plugged in.

8. Never share sensitive information with an unauthorized party. Although it may seem simple, too frequently, when someone else requests for information, employees feel some sort of social pressure (this applies to people within your organization too). Say no and ask management for permission if you are unsure.

9. Don’t underestimate hackers’ interest in your company because it’s smaller or just a start-up— breaches and attacks affect businesses of all sizes, including start-ups and small businesses. Many offensive security tools indiscriminately scan the Internet for vulnerabilities in services, remote access, and web applications.