Cyber attacks are growing in number every day, but they are also becoming more sophisticated. This obviously creates a whole host of different problems in society, not least for companies that process sensitive files and information.
The market for these types of attacks is multi-billion dollars, giving cybercriminals strong incentives to continue developing and spreading their devastating software and social engineering attacks.
Therefore, both you and your employees must know how to protect yourselves and the company in the best way.
Research shows that 1 in 3 employees unknowingly click on phishing links
New research from KnowBe4 shows that 1 in 3 employees will click on a phishing link if they have no previous experience or training, which can create major problems for individuals and businesses.
The study analyzed over 9 million users from over 30,000 organizations worldwide, where over 23.4 million simulated phishing attacks were carried out. The result was terrifying.
They also found extra-large security gaps in industries such as health and finance, two industries where a breach in a computer system can cause significant damage to both organizations and their customers.
What can you do to make sure your employees and your business are as safe as possible:
Train your employees regularly
One of the most important points is that you train your employees on a regular basis. Cybercriminals are constantly updating their methods, which means you and your employees need to stay ahead of the curve.
One tip is to make this a fun event. Take them to a fun conference where you also educate yourself in cyber security. Make sure that even those who are not interested understand how important it is to protect themselves on the internet.
If you want to get the best protection possible, it is recommended that you hire an external security company to carry out the training. In this way, you minimize the risk of missing or forgetting something.
Use multi-factor authentication
Always use multi-factor authentication. This means that you must verify yourself in more than one way, e.g., via password and a code sent through email or SMS. In this way, the protection becomes significantly stronger, and even if the cybercriminals get hold of a password, it is not certain that they will be able to access the account.
This can be activated for most types of accounts and is something that absolutely cannot be missed if you want the company and employees to have the best protection possible.
Secure passwords are essential
Creating strong passwords is the foundation of good online security. Fortunately, it’s very simple but creates significantly better protection than a regular or more general password.
There are many things that you should consider when creating a password, but below are some of the most important points:
- Use as many characters as possible, at least 12;
- Mix both upper and lower case letters, not just the first or last letter;
- Also, use numbers and symbols;
- Avoid common words, e.g., hello, password,1234, and the like.
You should also never use the same password for several different services. If one of these services is hacked, you also risk your other accounts if you use the same password, which is very unnecessary.
Use a VPN
The best VPN USA protects against many types of cyber attacks, including phishing. Here, all traffic between the device and the rest of the internet is encrypted. The result is that the cybercriminals find it significantly more difficult to penetrate the system but also to eavesdrop on the data packets sent between the device and the servers it communicates with.
A big bonus is that you also become completely private on the internet, which means that authorities, organizations, and companies cannot see who you are or where you are.
The best VPN services also include other types of functionality, e.g., additional protection through a malware removal program. You also get the opportunity to bypass any geographical restrictions because you can connect to different types of servers worldwide.
