An enormous global movement toward remote working environments has made it easier for cybercriminals to operate. No company, regardless of size, is safe. Small and medium businesses (SMBs) appear to be increasingly targeted, which is why it’s crucial for companies to strengthen their security posture. Companies’ business-critical data can be protected against cyberattacks. The following nine tips will help improve resiliency against cyberattacks:
- Conduct Security Risk Assessments – Recognize the most critical threats to companies, including system failures, natural disasters, and malicious human behavior and assess the potential impact on companies.
- Train the Employees – Inform users about common scams and phishing schemes by conducting employee awareness training throughout the entire workforce. Ensure the training materials are relevant and frequently updated because cybersecurity threats are ever-evolving.
- Use Multi-Layer Protection – Ensure the networks and endpoints aren’t vulnerable to attacks by implementing password policies that require strong passwords and monitoring employees’ accounts for breach intel through technologies. Implement mandatory multi-factor authentication, ongoing network surveillance, and hard drive encryption.
- Regularly Update Software – Software that is unpatched or outdated will allow threats to breach companies’ security. Cybercriminals use various tactics to exploit software vulnerabilities to access computers and data. Using remote monitoring and management tools, managed service providers (MSPs) can automate this for companies. Remember to keep cell phones updated.
- Develop Cybersecurity Policies – Create and distribute a concise set of guidelines and standards about cybersecurity practices for employees. The guidelines will be different for each company, it can include policies on using social media, BYOD (bring your own device), and authentication requirements.
- Backing Up Data – Data loss or corruption resulting from security breaches needs to be recovered by using daily (or more frequent) backups. With the assistance of MSPs, implementing a data protection tool that can perform incremental data backups periodically throughout the day can prevent data loss.
- Enable Uptime – Select a strong data protection solution that supports the “immediate recovery” of data and applications. 92% of MSPs said that clients with business continuity disaster recovery (BCDR) products in place are less likely to experience sizable ransomware-related downtime and are quickly back up and running. Companies’ ability to generate revenue can be greatly impacted by application downtime.
- Know Where the Data is Located – Data is more likely to be accessed by unauthorized people if it’s spread across multiple locations. Using data discovery tools to locate and properly safeguard business-class data. Applications that offer software-as-a-service (SaaS) allow corporate data control.
- Control Access to Computers – Limiting employee access to the data they require to perform their jobs will reduce the risk posed by each access point. Additionally, only trusted employees need to be granted administrative privileges.
By following these cybersecurity tips, MSPs can help their clients protect their most sensitive information against cyberattacks. Additionally, it’s important for MSPs and their clients to remain alert of the current threat landscape and implement strong cybersecurity practices to enhance their security posture. At SpearTip, a partnership allows MSPs to maximize client relationships by integrating our toolset into their offerings as an enhanced security solution.
SpearTip offers a premier cybersecurity solution that allows MSPs to focus on their clients’ core IT objectives while providing industry-leading protection against malicious cyber threats. ShadowSpear, our future-proof detection and response platform, was built to protect MSPs’ business and their clients by optimizing visibility. Partnering with SpearTip allows MSPs to defend recurring revenue while gaining scalability for themselves and their clients and effective protection against all cyber threats.
If your company is experiencing a breach, call our Security Operations Centers at 833.997.7327 to speak directly with an engineer.
