Laptop Security Tips | Security

Keeping your laptop secure

There’s hardly a business in operation that doesn’t own numerous laptops and IOT devices. But what some business owners don’t consider is that mobile productivity devices – and laptops in particular – can be a major cybersecurity vulnerability.

If you and your team use company laptops, you need to take steps to secure them. Let’s have a look at the risks involved in managing your portable devices and how to mitigate them.

Your laptop is the door to your data – Keep it locked

Take a moment and consider just how much sensitive information there is on your work laptop. From email passwords to internet banking credentials and highly confidential company documents, you’d be guaranteed sleepless nights if your device was stolen.

Considering how much crucial information is stored on laptops we’re always worried when clients tell us that they haven’t secured their devices yet. Here are some ways you can keep your laptop safe from cybercriminals.

Location Finding

Setting up and enabling a location-finding service can be a big help if you ever lose your laptop, but it can also be a slight privacy risk. It’s a trade-off between how much you value your laptop vs your privacy as these location apps can also track you.

Passwords and encryption

If you haven’t set a password on your laptop yet, take a moment and get it done now. You’ll be taking one of the biggest steps on the journey to predicting your data.

In addition to a password, you’ll want to encrypt your hard drive and password protect important files so they can’t be read if someone steals your laptop or uses it without your permission.

Password protected screensaver

We all need to take a break from our laptops every now and again or get side-tracked by someone or something else happening around us, leaving our devices open and exposed to snoopers. To ensure that others don’t have access to your laptop make sure that you activate an automatic screensaver that requires a password to exit.

Screen guards

Have you ever sat down on an airplane or at Starbucks and felt a strange presence, only to find the person next to you reading your laptop screen? Your typical screen reader may just be an innocent, busybody, but guarding your personal information is still hugely important.

A laptop screen guard makes it difficult to read your screen from the side, helping to endure data privacy when you’re traveling or working remotely.

Virtual private network (VPN)

Public Wi-Fi spots are everywhere and unless you hotspot your own mobile device or carry a router with you your security can be easily compromised. Data traffic on public connections is usually not encrypted and you never know who might be monitoring the connection you are linked up to.

Here are some of the things you can do to stay safe when a public connection is your only option.

Use a VPN that encrypts your data
Disable Wi-Fi auto connect
Don’t login to sites that are password protected such as online banking, social media etc

Data Backup

It’s always a smart idea to be ready for the worst-case scenario. If your laptop is stolen, you need a place to store and retrieve your business data. That place is the cloud.

Laptop Security and Cloud Storage

Soteria’s range of secure cloud storage solutions for businesses and households offer fully encrypted backup to ensure the safety of your files. Browse our packages today to find the one that suits your needs.

How to create a cloud security policy that is all-inclusive

The world has gone digital in recent times and those who don’t get on board with a solid cloud security policy will be left behind.

The Pandemic spurred the world into home-working, and while it seemed like a limitation at the time, for many – including the digital landscape in South Africa, it’s been a blessing in disguise .

As a business owner, there are more digital complexities to deal with than ever before. With employees working from home or using personal devices for business purposes, you need to think about protecting your company networks, data, and devices from possible risks. Recent surveys tell us that 96% of businesses use cloud-based services in one way or another.

If you’re operating in the cloud, now is the time to take stock of your digital security policies and ensure that you have update them.

protecting your business in a digital world

There are several protection strategies you may already be aware of, such as:

Setting up a communication archive system that is thorough and well-protected
Hiring the correct specialists with experience in cybersecurity systems and security auditing
Registering (and keeping up to date with) cyber liability insurance
Training staff members on cyber-best practices and educating them thoroughly on all the latest cyber risks and how to avoid falling prey to them
Setting up a cloud security policy and ensuring that it is regularly updated

what are the 5 most common major threats to cloud security?

Human error, negligence, choosing the wrong cloud storage provider, and weak security systems often bring cloud-based businesses to their knees. That said, these are the most common threats to cloud security for all businesses, big and small.

Data breaches
Account hijacking
Service traffic hijacking
Data loss
Insecure application program interfaces

creating a legitimate and strong cloud security policy

There are complex scenarios that need to be taken into account when creating a cloud security policy. Still, there are basic steps that you, the business owner, need to follow to ensure that your cloud security is all-inclusive and of the highest possible calibre.

A comprehensive cloud security policy will require you to engage with leadership roles in your company and possibly even seek outside assistance from professionals. Below are a few steps you need to consider.

Meet with senior leaders in the business and talk frankly about the requirements for a cloud security policy – all role players must be on the same page.
Set security goals in place and develop a timeline to follow.
Make sure that your security team is well versed in cybersecurity and has the relevant qualifications and skills.
Be sure to check in with management at all points of the project to ensure you’re not missing important issues and to check that the system will be easy to implement in the daily business model.
Consult with legal professionals to review the policy and provide helpful feedback.
Once the policy is in place, ask your IT department to do an internal audit and review the policy.
The policy should not be set in place until all senior leadership members have carefully read through the proposed policy and provided their input and feedback.
Once the policy is approved by management, present the policy to all staff members. It is important to set up a training session to go through the policy with staff members to ensure they have read and understand it.
Review your policy every six months to one year.

key characteristics of a great cloud security policy

If your cloud security policy is well designed, it will:

Reduce weak points in your network and systems
Set multiple measures of protection around your company’s most sensitive and valuable data
Demonstrate a security-first mindset to all of your team members, from the secretary on the front desk to the CEO of the company
Provide training that supports the requirements of the policy
Provide protection against human error, mishaps and employee poor online behaviour
Be consistently updated

last word on cloud security policy

Creating a cloud security policy isn’t something that can be whipped together overnight. There should be no hesitation to outsource skills in the IT department in the name of increased security for your business. If your cloud security policy isn’t in place yet, today is a great day to start working on it.

5 Key Security Controls for IoT Devices

Cybersecurity should be at the forefront of every business owner’s mind. How often do you think about the devices connecting to your network and consider that they might put your systems and data at risk? How do you even begin to keep networks safe, especially as it seems that every device nowadays appears to be an IoT device? When last did you think about the security impact of using the Internet of Things (IoT) devices?

And consider this. Any hardware device that is embedded with sensors, software, and technology, that allows it to connect to other systems and devices over the internet and exchange data is a hackable IoT device.

protecting your networks, devices, and data is your responsibility

With a global shift toward remote working, cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important. While you can limit and control the use of devices and online behaviour at your work premises, it’s a little more complicated if your staff members are on the go or working from home.

Don’t wait for something to go wrong before you make cybersecurity a responsibility.

When smart devices connect to networks and cause disruption, it’s already too late. As a business owner, you may not know where to start but there are several ways that you can protect IoT devices, the systems they connect to, and sensitive data.

how to best protect IoT devices & connected networks

Protect your business from cyberattacks by keeping staff up to date on cybersecurity measures and updates IoT devices and networks in the following simple ways:

Change the default password

Devices and routers come with default passwords – if you have never changed that password, your network and devices are at serious risk. IP addresses and default passwords are readily available on the internet. There’s no time like the present to change that password!

Regularly accept and install updates

Often, software companies and network system manufacturers release updates (also known as patches) that aim to improve the security features of their existing products. Ensure that you regularly install the updates/patches available to ensure that you always have the latest security components. Every time you skip or delay an update, which we all have a tendency to do, you are putting your system security at risk.

Set up limitations to avoid flat networks

Flat networks are networks that don’t have any segments or separations imposed. Instead, all devices have access to the same data and system controls. Of course, if an infected or risky device connects to the network, they have access to everything – which puts data at risk. It’s important to set up your network so that IoT devices don’t have access to data and that each staff member is limited in terms of what his/her devices can access on the network.

Carry out periodic network inventory

You or your IT manager should regularly do an inventory check of the devices connected to the network. Ensure that they are authorised devices and that you know what they are doing on the network. Often, businesses overlook possible threats because they assume all connected devices are meant to be there. Months can pass while a device gathers information without anyone even noticing it. If you cannot confirm the authorisation of a device on a network, it shouldn’t be there.

Set Bluetooth devices to “non-discoverable” mode

Bluetooth devices are notorious for cybersecurity weaknesses. Hackers target Bluetooth connections because of this. You should set all Bluetooth devices connecting to the system to “non-discoverable” mode for increased security.

last word

While there is no “one size fits all” cure for cybersecurity threats, there are always things you can do to protect the integrity of your networks and keep your IoT devices and data safe. If you’ve had a security risk with an IoT device before, you know just how much damage it can do to your business. Don’t be caught out without the right measures in place – get your online backup package sorted today.