A lot of companies and their employees enjoys a cyber-secure summer a much-needed vacation from their jobs as well as routines during the summer. However, even though it’s a time to relax for many, cybercriminals are able to profit from this time of year by targeting vulnerable information and devices.
The truth is that cybercriminals and cyber threats are constantly present and could become riskier when employees aren’t working. They may not be on their devices, or checking their emails, or checking their online activity.
The impact of a data breach can have major consequences for an organization’s short-term revenue streams as well as its potential growth. In the report, 2020 Cost of a Data Breach Report that was conducted by The Ponemon Institute on behalf of IBM, The global average cost of data breaches in 2020 was $3.86 million.
There’s good news: that companies can take advantage of the security-awareness training and identify best practices to ensure the organization’s cyber security posture is strong all year round – whether employees are working at their desks, at home, or on the beach.
Four Steps Everyone Should Follow Before putting down the computer for vacation
Security protection is a must. Some key steps all employees of the company should follow before departing to go on vacation.
Change your passwords and save them in a safe place like an application for managing passwords. Do not write them down on paper.
Securely save your electronic documents in a secure business file sharing platform or drive instead of storing them on your desk or laptop. If you do this, it makes it easier for someone else to take over or steal your data. Be careful not to send documents from work to personal emails or access sensitive data on devices that are not used for work.
Paper documents that are sensitive to destruction or send them back at the workplace instead of leaving them at your empty home.
Set up out-of-office notifications for only internal senders. If you have to notify outside senders, restrict notifications to just those who are on your contact list. The fewer people are aware that you’re not in the office, the less likely you’ll be the victim of malicious activities.
Visit our blog post on strong passwords for more information on how to secure your online accounts by following the guidelines recommended by Terranova Security in-house CISOs.
Beware of idle devices.
It is not a good idea to leave endpoint devices (PCs and laptops, tablets and mobile phones) in use, and not being used when you are away can cause problems.
While a device that is idle is less vulnerable to an attack that requires users to open an email, however, the good news does not stop there. This is because idle devices remain vulnerable to being compromised by zero-day vulnerabilities or vulnerabilities that aren’t patched.
Even more troubling, it could be a few days, weeks, or even more time before the user is back at work and discovers that an attack on their computer occurred.
To avoid this, employers should insist on employees shutting off their devices prior to leaving to go on vacation. After returning, the employees must ensure they have up-to-date security patches and updates prior to accessing email or surfing the Internet.
Cyber Security Best Practices for the Whole Family
If you are traveling with your family members, keeping basic cyber security best practices in your mind will ensure that everyone’s sensitive data is secure. In addition to a secure password Here are some general guidelines to make sure you are safe on your trip:
Check all messages you receive and downloaded apps. Pay close attention to any warning signs of possible criminal activity. Always download apps and other files from reliable sources.
Make sure that your device’s software is up-to-date to plug security loopholes hackers are able to take advantage of. Make sure you’re running the most current version of the applications you interact with regularly or on a regular weekly basis.
Give personal information out with caution, even if you are doing it as part of the check-in process in a restaurant or hotel. Only share confidential information if you’re confident of the receiver’s identity and the way they utilize or use your data.
For additional cyber security tips, the entire family could benefit from, head onto Cyber Security Hub. Cyber Security Hub.
How can organizations build Cyber-Secure Culture?
Managers play an important part in ensuring that their employees and businesses are secure from cyber-attacks. They are able to:
Inform employees of the mandatory best practices, such as the four checklists for pre-vacation mentioned earlier in this blog article.
Implement rule-application mechanisms to ensure that the rules can be used consistently across all organization activities and departments.
Request employees to keep devices that contain sensitive information in a secure location at the office of the company or their homes offices.
Install security patches on unattended devices that are connected to the network but disabled.
In the end, managers should inspire their employees to unplug when they’re away from the office and enjoy the time off without interruption. The less pressure employees are under to work during their vacations and the less often they’ll feel pressured for them to access the corporate network via an unsupervised device on what could be insecure Wi-Fi.
If working at home or while on the move is not an option, Employees can use the Working From Home Kit available on the Cyber Security Hub, which includes an interactive course and tools for security awareness in the home.
Finding Cyber Security Support from smaller teams
Whatever the time of year, the smaller companies might be struggling to convince employees to consider cyber security seriously.
It begins with the support of executive management. Make sure that the leaders of the company understand the fact that cyber security is critically important for the entire organization and that each group, whether small or large, each one has a responsibility to take on. The process begins from the highest levels.
It is essential that staff possess a minimum knowledge regarding IT security, which includes the fundamentals of computing infrastructure as well as the applications and systems that are being utilized and the network that connects them, as well as the most important security protocols, which are currently in use.
A significant part of this understanding must consist of formal education and training in the form of self-study or instructor-led, whether online or in person. Good Cyber security training, which is managed and delivered by a trained professional, could be a crucial element in this process.
The business should also take the time to evaluate the risk they are taking to other risks, such as:
Data leakage: Find out whether your company is at more risk of having data stolen access due to data stored on devices that are not managed as well as cloud service.
Data loss: Find out whether your company is at a higher chance of losing data due to the fact that it’s not kept in a secure place, for example, a server located behind a firewall on the network and regularly backed up.
Unmanaged devices: Determine whether your company is at risk of acquiring virus infections because of using devices not monitored by your company’s IT department. These are personal devices that employees connect to Wi-Fi of the corporate network (BYOD) and USB devices like thumb drives.
Unauthorized software: Determine which software employees are able to access and what software they use for tasks that may result in leakage of information or data.
Implementing cyber security awareness training by using simulations to evaluate the company’s cyber security risk and adhering to a few best practices, companies can keep their systems and employees safe, whatever the season is.