We hope that we give businesses the information they need to prevent these attacks from happening. As you continue reading this blog, we recommend grabbing a pen and paper to make some notes. Let’s dig into how you can prevent any attacks from happening in Nashville.
2-Factor Authentication.
Use it. Although this may seem like basic instruction, this is one of the biggest mistakes companies in Nashville make in the realm of cybersecurity. Whenever a system offers the option of a 2-Factor Authentication, the wisest choice would be to use it! Why? These are free options, and they will be essential steps to creating protection over any data you are trusting a system to use. 2-Factor Authentication also halts more than 95% of all attacks!
Companies not using 2-Factor, or multifactor authentication may not be able to get cyber liability insurance – in fact they may not even get a quote!
Backup your data – and test it.
It is the second mistake we see in the world of security. Companies do a data backup and call it day – but this omits important steps. You need to regular backups – how much do your business records change in six months if that is how often you back up? And you need to test your backups. Can you restore from them? Is the backup sufficient to resume operations if you are hit with ransomware? Also, do you maintain multiple copies of your backup files – and store one completely off the internet? Storing off the internet – call “air gapping” – protects your backup from hackers’ ability to encrypt backups stored online or even in cloud.
Finally, if you wish to secure cyber liability insurance, the underwriters will want to know about your backups – how often, how stored, and how fast you can restore operations.
Enable Endpoint Detection and Response.
While antivirus protection was the go-to security solution for most computer users for years, more recently hackers learned how to fool antivirus software. Today, businesses need to look into Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), which discovers and halts intrusions much faster than antivirus programs. While antivirus software seeks “signatures” – or symptoms – of known malware, EDR software detects anomalies as they happen – on the device where they are happening. EDR updates continuously, reducing the risk of an attack getting underway, and can offer the device user steps to perform an immediate remediation.
Antivirus software is slower to react because its programmers must send out new attack signatures in periodic updates. Businesses using just an antivirus program could experience a lot of damage from malware before it is caught.
EDR also is a requirement now for securing cyber liability insurance.
Are you “patching” your devices?
Patching is our fancy way of saying update. Most individuals get multiple updates a year. These updates prevent any malfunction or bugs in your device when it comes to device security/functionality. This is true whether your device is a phone, laptops, tablet or other computer. As tempting as it is to hit that “Remind me tomorrow” button whenever it comes up, updating as soon as possible will benefit you in the long run.
Last but not least, set up a password manager.
A password manager can be lifesaving and convenient. It often seems impossible to remember different passwords, so we tend to use the same two or three. When you download a password manager, it won’t let you reuse passwords. It will generate strong unique passwords for your team and keep them in your system.
Another advantage of a password manager is its auto-fill capabilities, which can speed up the login process by conveniently providing your user name and password when requested by a site.
Do your research and find out which password manager will be the most beneficial for your organization. Password managers offer business, individual, and family subscriptions.
Password managers also securely store passwords in a way that if the password manager Company is attacked, your passwords remain secure. Password managers are an important part of today’s cybersecurity measures against any cyber-attacks or ransomware attacks.
Image Quest can help you with your cybersecurity.
Here at ImageQuest, our dedication is to help businesses located in Nashville bring their cybersecurity to an ultimate level. We have served our clients and seen our team bring security to businesses before any cyberattacks have happened. Contact us today to schedule a phone call on how we can help!
ImageQuest is the top cybersecurity service provider in Bowling Green, KY, and supports more than 5,000 technology users in 29 states. Visit their website or call 502-400-3300 to learn more.