Cybersecurity Training – Cybersecurity

Top 10 Cybersecurity Awareness Pointers

Despite the best efforts of cybersecurity managers and IT departments, the wave of online attacks affecting the country shows no signs of slowing down.

As the risk of data loss and potentially becoming a victim of ransom intensifies, staff training is non-negotiable in 2024 and beyond.

If you have an existing cybersecurity training system in place or are still strategising, our list of our top 10 priorities for cybersecurity awareness will help you to focus on issues that deliver maximal security gains.

1. Phishing

The mainstay of online criminals remains the phishing attack and the reason is simple: users still fall for it. Staff training that focuses on analysing suspicious emails and not taking action until it’s approved by management will go a long way to mitigate the damage that can be caused by fictitious communications claiming to be from banks or clients.

2. Passwords

We’ve written several articles in the past imploring companies to set up strong passwords and make use of password management systems. Unfortunately, many businesses still use weak, passwords and codes which can easily be guessed. If you’re looking for a cheap, simple, and instant way to improve your cybersecurity, strong passwords are almost certainly it.

3. Removables

USB sticks and removable hard drives may be less common in the age of cloud computing, but many businesses still use them. Limiting the number of important files you keep on removable storage, password protecting and encrypting them, and deleting them on a regular basis are all important skills that all employees should be trained in.

4. Mobile devices

Smartphones and tablets that we all use every day contain some of our most valuable business and personal information – especially with the advent of smart wallets. But if they fall into the wrong hands, they can give criminals access to a company’s entire financial resources. Password protection and multiple factor authentication are not simply nice to haves anymore when it comes to mobile devices. It’s absolutely crucial that employees should be made aware of the necessity to safeguard their mobile devices.

5. Physical Cybersecurity

Keeping your files safe in the cloud and following cybersecurity best practices doesn’t mean much if your login credentials are still being written on sticky notes and left lying around the office. The physical aspect of cybersecurity, especially for businesses that transact with cryptocurrency and have login credentials related to their crypto wallets on paper, should be emphasised very strongly when training staff members.

6. Public Wifi

When traveling on business, it’s always useful to have access to public Wi-Fi, but this facility can be a double edged sword, especially when it’s not safe from hackers and viruses. Familiarising yourself with best practices when using public WiFi and discouraging your staff from connecting to it using work devices unless they’re convinced that it’s 100% safe are both good strategies.

7. Cloud Storage

When it comes to data security, almost safe is never good enough. The only way to be truly certain that your data is safe is to have it encrypted in the cloud using immutable storage. That’s exactly what our range of secure cloud storage packages for business will give you.

8. Social media

Social media networks have become a part of our daily existence. Unfortunately they’ve also become a prime way that cybercriminals use to gain our trust and perpetrate identity theft and fraud. Staff members should be well-versed in using Facebook, LinkedIn, IG, and other social media platforms responsibly, and look out for signs of fraudulent or criminal activity when they interact with other users.

9. Remote work

If your staff work remotely part of the time or all of the time, chances are good that they’re exposing both themselves and your business to unnecessary risks online. Every device that contains information related to your business, as well as the people who use it, needs to be operating at the highest level of cybersecurity.

Ensuring that your workers’ devices have the latest versions of firewalls, antivirus, and secure cloud storage installed, and that they know how to use devices responsibly and not allow authorised access by other people when working remotely will help keep your business safe.

10. Social engineering attacks

Impersonation attacks, social engineering, and other fraudulent tricks used by cybercriminals to gain access to your business information are on the rise. Your employees need to be primed to identify suspicious communications and trained to not execute any requests before they’ve been vetted and approved.

Keep your data safe with cloud storage

The dangers of doing business online may be increasing, but so are the opportunities to keep your data safe.

Our range of secure cloud storage packages for businesses of all sizes will give you peace of mind as you and your team use the internet to grow your enterprise. visit our product page today to get started.

Cybersecurity Awareness

Creating a Culture of Cybersecurity Awareness

In 2004, October was declared to be “Cybersecurity Awareness Month” – a time for the private and public sectors to work together in raising awareness about the importance of cybersecurity. With 89% of South African senior management and company directors saying they’re worried about their company’s data security measures cybersecurity is clearly one of the biggest concerns on the minds of executives this year,

While technical solutions including secure cloud storage can help to create a wall around your data, your company’s cybersecurity culture will determine who manages to climb over it – or even walk straight through an open door.

In this article, we take a step back from the tech aspect of cybersecurity to address the all-important question of company culture. Here’s how you can create an organisation that is data savvy and cybersecurity conscious to reduce the risk of a financially damaging cybersecurity incident.

Cybersecurity is a company-wide priority

The potential for cyberattacks is higher than ever before, with South Africa registering the greatest number of these crimes in Africa.

Despite the well-known threats of online fraud and data theft, cybersecurity is overlooked by many departments in the average company and is often seen as the IT department’s problem.

That is, until a cyber-attack occurs, and it quickly becomes everyone’s problem.

There’s no doubt that having an IT specialist trained in cybersecurity may give your business an edge when it comes to threat detection and prevention, but that’s not all it takes.
In order to create an effective company-wide, best practice cybersecurity policy, the top management of your business will need to lead from the front.

Making cybersecurity a priority in the boardroom and setting an example for teams and employees is the first crucial step in creating a culture of data savvy cyber safety in your business.

Cybersecurity can be fun if you do it right

One of the main reasons why companies have trouble implementing anti-cybercrime measures is that the training often seems technically complicated and boring to employees who don’t have a strong IT background.

The fact that most cyberattacks take place through social engineering means that there’s usually a fascinating story behind them.

Engaging your marketing department to collaborate with IT or your cybersecurity consultant to create engaging materials and company-wide projects and campaigns is a great way to start. These efforts should encourage workers to take digital security seriously and identify the tell-tale signs of a cyberattack.

Keeping it clean

They say that change is as good as a holiday and changing bad cybersecurity habits within a company by creating a culture of awareness could just be the break you need.

Cyber-hygiene is a mindset but it needs to be taught and using examples of daring online scams and hacking incidents that have an amusing twist can be a memorable and creative way to build security-centric habits.

Investing in the right cybersecurity setup is essential

A security-conscious tech culture in your business needs to be paired with the latest cybersecurity defences in order to create a powerful barrier against online crimes.

Our range of secure cloud storage and backup packages for households and businesses run the latest generation of encrypted data storage software to help you stay one step ahead of the hackers. We also offer immutable storage as an extra layer of protection to help your sensitive files stay out of the wrong hands.

Zero Trust Principles | Data Security

Defining “zero trust principles”

There’s an old saying in business: trust but verify. When it comes to the safety of your data, “don’t trust until you verify” may be the safest policy your organisation can pursue.

The COVID pandemic instigated a hybrid work environment that required businesses to take a critical look at their cybersecurity policies and practices. Zero trust principles are at the heart of cybersecurity best practices. Let’s take a look at this powerful security methodology and find out how it can make your company data more secure.

Zero trust, zero worries?

At its core, data security is all about keeping information out of the wrong hands. For businesses and other organisations, this means restricting access to networks, files and folders so that only the people with permission to view them can access these resources.

To achieve this level of security it’s necessary to screen every potential user before granting them access to the data on your network.
Assuming that someone trying to access the file or folder from within your network is a trusted user could be very risky.
Hackers who gain access to your network could do untold damage before their presence becomes obvious.

That’s why it’s essential that you grant access to resources on a case by case, user by user basis.

secure your fortress

You wouldn’t allow someone into your business premises or home unless you knew who they were, where they come from, and what the purpose of their visit was.

Applying the same set of conditions to users who want to visit your network and access company resources can significantly lower the possibility of a data breach or hacking attempt and mitigate the risk of a data leak.

Practically speaking, this means setting up your network security so that every request to access files is screened according to several criteria:

User credentials
Geolocation and IP address
Permission to access the specific resource

If you’re ready to apply this strategy on your own network, secure cloud storage could be the missing link in your security chain.

the one thing you can trust: secure cloud storage

A zero trust data policy is an important step in keeping your information safe, and it works even better with encrypted data kept safe in the cloud. Place your trust in secure online backup by browsing our packages for business and home users today.

Mitigating Data Leaks | Part 2

How to Reduce and Mitigate Data Leaks

In the first article about data leakages, we took a deep dive into the causes and consequences that follow when private information from your business gets into the wrong hands.

Preventing unauthorised access to privileged information is essential for every company in the digital age. In this article, we take a look at some policies you can implement to secure your data and take you through a response plan that you can implement if a data leak occurs.

Plugging the leak before it happens

The majority of data leaks are not malicious. They usually take place as a result of human error, and it’s not easy to prevent your team from making mistakes no matter how well you train them.

However, it’s important and possible to implement systems that take away the potential for major data loss as a result of employees making simple mistakes.

Here are a few strategies you can employ in your business to secure your data against leakages

Train your team

IT security training is essential for all company employees in a modern business;
As part of this training, you’ll want to brief your team on secure email policy, how to identify risky behaviours, and why it’s important to never share sensitive company information with outsiders.

Implement zero trust security

Data leaks take place when the wrong person has access to your information;
Limit your team’s data privileges so that each member can only access files and other information that are essential to their tasks.

Automate your tracking and monitoring

There are many excellent types of software that will allow you to monitor suspicious behaviour like sensitive files being emailed outside of the organisation or unknown users accessing your folders.
Automatic alerts and access denials can be built in to help you respond swiftly to a data leak.

Mitigate data leaks within your organisation by further enforcing cybersecurity best practices, such as;

Controlling devices with a Mobile Device Management solution
Implement robust email security policies
Ensure strong printer controls
Enforce real-time data auditing

What to do if a data leak takes place

As with any security event, time is of the essence when you realise that a data leak has taken place in your business.

As soon as the leak is brought to your attention you should take the following steps to minimise the damage it may cause.

Identify the responsible party. This calls for a lot of honesty and trust between you and your team but it’s always better to admit your involvement in a data leak than trying to hide it.
Understand exactly what’s been leaked. By documenting the number of files that have leaked out of the organisation and knowing what they contain, you’ll have a good idea of what information could potentially be in the wrong hands.
Beef up your security to prevent future leaks. Once you understand exactly how the leak occurred you can take steps to ensure that the same chain of events never occurs again. This will help secure your company’s data in the future.

Secure cloud storage is an essential tool in preventing data leaks

One of the reasons why leaked data is so dangerous is that anyone can read it and use its contents to do harm. But if your data is encrypted and safe in the cloud, it’s highly unlikely that anyone will be able to access it – and even if they do it’ll be incredibly difficult for them to decode it and make sense of the contents.

A secure cloud storage solution could be your company’s secret weapon in the fight against data loss. To learn more, browse our range of packages and find one that suits your personal or business needs.