As anyone who runs a business knows, connectivity is vital. No matter how big or small your organisation is, everything is not available to anyone at any time, both internal and externally. We’ve reached a level of accessibility and connectivity unlike anything that has been seen before, which is great as it means your customers can get what they need when they need it from you, but it also means that your business is open to new threats.
Corporate cyber attacks cost business all over the world billions each year and are only increasing in frequency as time goes on. This makes it vital for organisations to take a good, hard look at their current cybersecurity measures and identify the steps that they can take to better protect themselves against a cyber attack if they ever find themselves targeted.
Know the Value of Your Data and How to Safeguard It
Access to data is vital within the workplace, from HR and payroll through to senior management who may need to be able to quickly locate a specific person. For large companies that operate in multiple locations, it becomes even more important that this data can be accessed by everyone as and when it’s needed. Unfortunately, amassing all this data in one location makes it much easier for cybercriminals to gain access to, which can have catastrophic consequences if it ever falls into the wrong hands. As a result of this, it’s crucial for organisations to carefully balance data accessibility and its overall security.
While the use of a distributed ledger database isn’t a cybersecurity solution in itself, it does allow your organisation to store and share large amounts of data in a much safer way. Platforms like the one offered by Gospel Technology make it possible to upload sensitive data to the cloud, without compromising its safety. It offers the capability of sharing sensitive data with users both within an organisation and with external partners, while retaining full control of the shared information.
Invest in Cybersecurity Training
Often the biggest risk to cybersecurity in any business is a lack of training at staff level. Some industry estimates hold human error responsible for a staggering 95% of corporate cyber attacks, which shows the true value of proper training. Lack of awareness can be a costly oversight for companies both big and small, as even if you have the funds to hire a dedicated IT team, it won’t protect your less-knowledgeable employees being targeted by cyber criminals.
By investing in training, however, you can ensure that all members of staff have at least a basic understanding of what the main cybersecurity threats are and what they can do to guard against them to prevent successful breaches and minimise the damage of those attacks.
Implement Regular Cybersecurity Audits
The large majority of corporate cyber attacks can often take weeks to detect if they are noticed at all, by which time it is far too late as sensitive data has already been compromised. By implementing regular assessments and audits of your organisation’s current security measures and network, you can increase the chances of catching a cyber attack as soon as it happens, or in some cases even prevent them by spotting vulnerabilities in your cybersecurity processes, then rectifying them before they ever become a problem.
In the case of exceptionally large, multi-national companies, audits should be stepped up a level in order to improve security. This can be done by contracting an external team of cybersecurity experts to really put your current security measures through their paces, using mock cyber-attack simulations such as phishing attempts, and audit your internal security process to ensure that it is up to scratch against the latest online threats.
