We challenge you to find us a business without an online presence. You’d have to go to a remote town and visit a family-run shop that still has the great Grandma behind the till.
What we’re trying to say is that most businesses are online, and all are as vulnerable as the next to a cyberattack. According to the latest statistics, 23% of all business happens online.
There aren’t statistics about how many brands don’t have online presence, but we would guess it has to be less than 20 % now. Anyway, what does all this online activity bring? Cybersecurity risks In Einem Studium, 50% of businesses experienced a Cyberattack, and the average cost of a cyberattack in the US is $9.48 million, up from $9.44 million in 2023. And even with entitlement management access and restricted access, attacks are common.
Businesses need cybersecurity policies, and we’re here to help. Read on for five tips for creating the most robust policies.
Identify Your Biggest Risks
Start by identifying the biggest risks.
Conduct a comprehensive risk analysis to identify potential threats. That will entail looking at your current systems, knowing where attacks could come from, and analyzing how likely and severe different cyber threats are. External cybersecurity teams can do this for you.
Commonly identified risks include phishing attacks, ransomware, social engineering, and many…many more.
These dangers are capable of causing great losses amounting to millions depending on company size and the extent of the attack.
Another important thing is keeping informed about new opportunities for cyber attacks. Cybersecurity is a continuously evolving area that sees new ways of undermining security appearing regularly almost daily. Well, that might be an overreaction, but it feels that way.
Digital Assets Identification
Once you know your main risks, it’s time to think about what assets are vulnerable to said risks. You should be thinking about information systems or hardware, without which the company can’t function effectively.
Examples also include customer data, financial records such as bank statements, and business applications. If anything, we’d put customer information as a bigger asset than hardware and information systems. Establishing an inventory based on priority levels and sensitivity forms part of this process.
Knowledge about worthiness and vulnerability levels provides insights into suitable safety measures taken by firms. For high-value items such as intellectual property that need added protection against cyber attacks, employing various layers like encryption facilities, access controls, and backups at regular intervals is essential.
Establishing Guidelines
It is essential to have clear rules in any cybersecurity policy. These define the acceptable use of company resources and security protocols and guide behavior.
Develop an acceptable use policy that outlines how employees should use company resources like email or internet access. It needs to include things like using the corporate internet, handling confidential information, and so on. To avoid ambiguity, make these rules specific and actionable.
And if there’s one thing you definitely need to be sure of, it’s to set up a password system for managing passwords on key activities. A staggering 86% of breaches involve stolen credentials, and credential issues account for over 60% of compromise factors. Do you see how essential it is now?
Make it mandatory for all accounts to always have strong, unique passwords, not their favorite pet.
Reaction Protocols and Cybersecurity Management
Responding swiftly to a cyber attack is only possible when there are effective cyber management policies.
Proactive measures include using a robust cybersecurity framework involving regularly updating systems on your computer, vulnerability assessments, and penetration testing.
Software and systems must be kept up-to-date with regular updates to prevent known vulnerabilities like privilege escalation – click here for the definition of privilege escalation. Vulnerability assessments and penetration tests help identify weaknesses before they are exploited by hackers.
Businesses need thorough reaction protocols to have a well-detailed incident-response plan. This strategy should outline actions to take immediately after security failure. This could include isolating affected systems, estimating the extent of the breach, and engaging with relevant parties.
A Policy People Understand
One of the most significant aspects of a successful cybersecurity policy is ensuring that everyone in the organization understands it.
Begin by using clear and simple words. If possible, use non-technical terms and provide definitions and explanations for necessary jargon. Utilize examples and simulations when explaining key ideas so that workers can relate their everyday activities to this rule.
Make it more interactive and fun if you can. A video is far more effective than paper policies. Statistics show that in under one hour, employees forget 50% of the information they read.
Cyber security training has to happen regularly. Yes, it’s boring, and yes, your employees might not listen to it all. But it’s better than nothing.
These sessions should highlight the main components of the policies, such as safe conduct rules or protocols, how they follow these instructions, why security is paramount within their workplaces, etc.
It’s the standard stuff you’d find in cyber security policies, but not everybody reads and follows them because businesses make them 1000 pages long and boring—brands must find ways to make them readable.
Robust cyber security policies could save you. The rise in cyber threats calls for more robust policies regarding information protection than ever before – you can’t ignore the statistics we mentioned in the introduction.
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