Cybersecurity, Cybersecurity Awareness Training, Cybersecurity Insurance

10 Cyber Readiness Strategies

1. Have a Cyber Readiness Plan

With headlines full of mentions of cyberattacks and security breach victims, it’s time to take risks seriously. The success and survival of your business will be determined by your ability to overcome security threats or breaches. You need a cyber readiness plan that includes prevention, continuity and recovery strategies.

2. Establish Strict Policies and Procedures

Policies and procedures regulate business operations and are essential for defining the standards and expectations of employee behavior and actions in the workplace. While establishing strict, security-focused protocols is necessary, a system of validation and enforcement is equally important. After all, rules without consequences are merely suggestions.

3. Keep Updates Up to Date

While updates often introduce new or enhanced features into your apps, programs and systems, they also install security and performance fixes known as patches. Undiscovered defects or flaws can leave your systems exposed. Hackers will exploit any vulnerability or security gap they find. Keeping your systems updated is vital for keeping your business cyber ready.

4. Force Authentication

One-level security is no longer enough. Even the most robust passwords are vulnerable to theft or exposure. Requiring more than one method to authenticate user identity or access permissions can reduce or eliminate the risk of stolen or unauthorized credentials being utilized.

5. Back Up Everything!

Data is the lifeblood of every business. Unfortunately, the risks and threats to the protection, privacy and usability of that data are endless. Follow the 3-2-1 method for backups: a minimum of three unique copies of your data, two available locally and one off-site or in the cloud. Ensure to test your backups often for functionality and integrity.

6. Don’t Neglect Compliance

Maintaining regulatory compliance is mandatory for many organizations. While navigating and satisfying the obligations can be complicated and stressful, achieving compliance is a critical component of having a cyber-ready business. Security and privacy are integral elements of compliance.

7. Security Awareness Training

Users are the weakest link in security, given a lack of education and experience. Instituting a security awareness training program for every member of your staff will significantly reduce the probability of user-related errors and exposures.

8. Combat the Password Crisis

Most hacking-related breaches are linked to weak, reused or stolen passwords. User credentials remain a top vulnerability for businesses. Balance convenience and security by monitoring the dark web for exposed credentials, implementing multifactor authentication and streamlining control of password management.

9. Don’t Skip the Insurance

Increasing risks of data breaches and ransomware, regardless of size or industry, have prompted many businesses to adopt cyber-risk insurance to protect themselves from catastrophic loss. Investing in a cyber insurance policy could save your business should you be the next victim.

10. Deploy a Multilayer Security Strategy

Security is asymmetrical. Where businesses must plan, prepare and defend against every threat scenario, cybercriminals only need to find a single weakness or hole in your defenses to carry out their malicious plans. Protect your data and your business by deploying multiple security strategies together as one.