In 2019 we saw a 54% increase in the number of reported breaches when compared to the first 6 months of 2018. There were 3,800 publicly disclosed breaches and 4.1 billion records exposed, this is because cyber criminals have become more sophisticated and as a result our personal data has been put at risk.
There is hope for a brighter 2020 where we can work smarter, use stronger passwords, enable 2FA and MFA, restrict access to certain data and implement a multi-layered approach to your cyber security.
Types of data breaches
Cyber criminals use different methods to steal your company data, from malware to ransomware and phishing and employees are your weakest link. Cyber criminals will often sell your data on the dark web which can result in other crimes such as identify theft and fraud and with ransomware, they bully you into paying a ransom for your data back. It is so important to to educate your teams on what to spot when it comes to cyber crime, so they are prepared and your business is at less risk.There is also always the small chance that a malicious employee may steal your data and put it in the wrong hands.
Steps to help prevent data breaches
Cyber threats are continually evolving and are ever more sophisticated which is why it is so important you implement a multi-layered approach to your IT security to give you high levels of security and peace of mind. At the heard of our solution is a FireWall Device which is installed on all of your PC’s, laptops and servers to check for suspicious behaviour. Intrusion Prevention System, Gateway Anti-Virus, Data Loss Prevention, WebBlocker, APT Blocker and Application Control are among some of the features of our Cyber Security Solution. If you are in need of a Cyber Security Solution, learn more here.
implement a Password Policy within your business
It’s a good idea to implement a password policy within your business to ensure your team are using strong/ difficult to guess passwords which are hard for cyber criminals to crack, rather than being hacked in a matter of minutes with “password1234.” Educate your team on what makes a strong password with our tips below.
How to create strong password?
It is suggested that your password shouldn’t be less than 15 characters long and you’ll need a mix of upper-case, lower-case, numbers and symbols. Avoid using actual words and common phrases as this makes it easy for the hacker, instead replace symbols for some characters. A good way to create a new memorable password is to think of 3 random words, for example: Satsuma, green and blossom. To make this password into a strong one…
