Cyber security is a topic that’s always cropping up in the
business world; the dangers, the risks and how to protect data. In a modern
office - especially with the increasing number of offices going paperless
- cyber security should be of high importance with almost all data and work
stored and completed digitally.
In support of Nation Cyber Security Awareness Month, happening
throughout October, we’ve put together some tips and advice to ensure your
workplace is cyber-secure.
“It probably won’t happen to me.”
Wrong - it could. Reading news about hackers and
cyber-crimes can be shocking, but people often come away from the articles with
the attitude of doubting it will happen to them, and so little or no action is
taken. However it’s important to always be aware that it could happen to your
workplace, whether it’s a spam-attack or extremely-costly fraudulent activity; it
can happen to anyone.
Ensure that your employees are aware of the risks,
communicate and set guidelines on cyber security rules. Have regular meetings
which assess what’s in place, whether it’s working, and if more needs to be
done to keep the company safe.
Senior staff members should also be vigilant when using
technology, as they’re likely to be easy targets, holding large amounts
valuable information which if accessed, could be costly and damaging.
Any threat - no matter what size - is a serious one, so ensure
all employees are aware of the risks.
Passwords are important
Passwords protect everything, so ensuring all devices - from
laptops to photocopiers - have passwords is a good idea to protect them from
harm. The passwords should be strong and not easily guessable. Avoid using
company, department or employees names in the passwords and choose something
obscure but memorable for those who use them to avoid any difficulty or
confusion.
Encourage employees to lock devices when away from them and,
while using the same password for everything may be easier, differing them
slightly from account to account, device to device will be beneficial and extra
secure.
Scan & back-up
Make computer scans a regular occurrence, having a reliable
and thorough anti-virus programme installed on all devices. Again, make
employees aware of dangers and how to use these programmes to ensure they’re
kept free of threats and malware.
Make sure data is regularly backed-up on external storage
devices to again safeguard data. This way, if a cyber-attack were to occur, not
all is lost and data is still accessible.
Email caution
Your email account (either business or personal) is an easy
target for malware, so pay extra attention to potential threats here. If a
sender-address looks dodgy, look into it before opening anything to ensure it’s
legitimate, and be cautious when opening attachments and clicking links, as one
wrong turn could give a cyber-criminal access to your entire computer.
For more information on National Cyber Security Awareness
Month, take a look at their website.
Laura Sewell
An
aspiring journalist, Laura is our Content Writer. Pop-punk gig-goer and drag queen enthusiast,
Laura is working her way into the industry with a love of writing about
anything and everything in tow.
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