Need of the hour is to build a team of cybersecurity professionals
The month of October is internationally recognized as ‘Cybersecurity Awareness Month’. The first Cybersecurity Awareness Month was celebrated in 2004, which was a joint venture with the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). As threats to information technology and confidential data become more common, the purpose of this initiative was to help individuals and enterprises protect themselves online.
Enterprises became vulnerable to cyberattacks because of rapid adoption of digital technologies like cloud-based applications and the shift towards remote and hybrid work during the pandemic.
Over 55 per cent of large companies are not effectively stopping cyberattacks, finding and fixing breaches quickly, or reducing the impact of breaches, according to Accenture’s State of Cyber Security Resilience 2021 study. So, how can enterprises build effective cyber resilience and prevent critical data breach? It is equally important for companies to build their cybersecurity talent base while adopting a robust cybersecurity infrastructure, which is crucial.
This year’s campaign theme, ‘See Yourself in Cyber’, demonstrates that while cybersecurity may seem like a complex subject, it’s really all about people. The theme will focus on providing information and resources to help all individuals and organizations make smart decisions.
Let’s focus on the importance of cybersecurity:
So, why is cybersecurity awareness important? Especially with the adoption of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), cybersecurity events continue to grow at a rapid rate. As 88% of all data breaches are caused by human error, human beings are still the weakest link in any organization’s digital security system, according to researchers at Stanford University. So, cybersecurity awareness has to come in place.
Cybersecurity awareness helps in:
- Ensuring safety of sensitive data pertaining to customers and employees
- Preventing cyber-attacks such as phishing, malware, ransomware, etc.
- Building and retaining customers’ and partners’ confidence
- Being regulatory compliant and avoid hefty fines
- Being socially responsible as a business
Few tips to increase cybersecurity awareness amongst employees:
- Make cybersecurity everyone’s responsibility
- Conduct periodic cybersecurity sessions
- Carry out regular cybersecurity audits and drills
- Implement robust cybersecurity policies and procedures
- Ensure that the senior management regularly features in cybersecurity awareness sessions
Some must dos and don’ts that organizations need to keep in mind to build an effective cybersecurity infrastructure:
DO’s
- DO keep Hard-to-guess passwords or passphrases
- Choose different passwords for different accounts. If any password gets compromised, your other accounts remain safe
- Look with suspicion for any email from an unknown id/or email asking for personal information/emails offering you prizes
- Only use your own system for working
- Secure all servers by setting up two-factor authentication/administration authentication
- Scan for threats regularly
- Provide pre-secured mechanisms to exchange data
- Patch management of the operating system
Don’ts
- Don’t leave your system unattended or printouts of critical information around your desk
- Don’t install unauthorized programs on your work computer; it may cause a virus attack
- Avoid plugging in external hardware without prior information to the management
- Avoid using unsecured Wi-Fi for shopping, logging into social media, or banking on the Internet
- Never access bank logins from an email or a text message
- Don’t select ‘Keep me logged in’ or ‘Remember me’ options on your system, especially a public one
The working trends are changing and so are the methods of cyber criminals. Therefore, cybersecurity skills need to change soon. Thus, the need of the hour is to build a team of cybersecurity professionals and experts ready to prepare for any attack to win the cybersecurity battle!
Also read: Continuous education is essential to achieving success as a technology leader
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