The pandemic has forced many businesses to consider and adopt remote and hybrid work models. Research shows 70% of employers are working towards adopting a hybrid work setup for employees, while a lower percentage are focusing on going fully remote.

While remote and hybrid work models certainly have their benefits, they have also exacerbated security challenges for companies and professionals whose core jobs are not IT-focused.

Some of these are existing issues, while others are new challenges resulting from remote work.

Non-IT leaders are still an integral part of preventing cybersecurity attacks, and solutions don’t have to be technical or complex to be effective. When businesses operate in an increasingly threatening online environment where attacks are costly and can have catastrophic consequences, cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility.

Here’s how non-IT leaders can make a significant impact on preventing ransomware and cybersecurity attacks.

Create a Company Culture Focused on Security Best Practices

The best cure is prevention, and the people who make up your business are often the biggest risks for your cybersecurity. If your employees and vendors don’t understand cybersecurity best practices, that’s creating an inherent risk that no amount of damage mitigation can change.

Employees need to be trained and educated about the role they play in a company’s security every day. Creating a company culture focused on security best practices can lower your risk for a cyberattack dramatically.

Preventative measures are much more affordable and effective than trying to mitigate damage and repair your company’s reputation after an attack has already happened.

In part, trainings should focus on identifying and avoiding phishing emails, regularly changing passwords and creating strong passwords, as well as password management best practices.

Understand Where Common Threats Originate

About 60% of cybersecurity threats originate from inside a company, partly from human error. One of the most common threats is phishing emails, which appear to be from someone inside the company and contain harmful links that release ransomware.

Malware in the form of an email attachment or link that employees can click on allows the malware to install itself to render the network useless and transmit data, which hackers can then hold at ransom from a company.

Understanding that the most common attacks on a business come from inside its walls can change the way non-IT leaders approach security and preventative practices for employees and vendors.

Have a Plan in the Event of an Attack

While there’s much to be said for training employees and preventing attacks, non-IT leaders must also have a plan in place in the event of an attack. Businesses have to assume an attack will happen—it’s a question of when, not if.

There should be a professional in charge of cybersecurity at your company. This person can organize and conduct trainings, create a plan should an attack happen, and have the authority to shut down systems and contact the appropriate authorities if necessary.

As part of this plan, there should also be a way to communicate if systems need to be shut down to ensure the problem can be handled as efficiently as possible.

Backup Your Data Consistently and Install Software Updates

Backing up your data is essential, and you certainly don’t need to be an IT leader to do this.

Attempting to restore your data after an attack has taken place without a backup can be challenging and costly. If you have a current backup of your information, especially of critical data, you can save time and money in the event of an attack.

In addition to backing up data, install updates or patches as available, especially if there’s a known security issue. You can set backups and updates to occur automatically to reduce risk.

Regular updates can help ensure your systems are as protected as they can be against attacks and prevent hackers from finding vulnerabilities they can exploit.

Remember You Don’t Have to Be an IT Specialist to Make an Impact

Non-IT leaders can help create a cyber security-conscious culture and implement best practices that reduce risk to create a safer place for remote and hybrid work models. All of a company’s procedures have the potential to prevent ransomware and cybersecurity attacks, so whether or not you’re an IT leader, you can make an impact.

Cyber attacks are growing in both frequency and severity, particularly against small businesses. Industry experts estimate that cybersecurity incidents will cost businesses over $5 trillion within the next five years alone.

Malicious hackers know the majority of smaller organizations are not prepared against network security breaches, making them popular targets for cyber attacks.

Smaller companies must implement a robust security strategy to defend sensitive information against ever-present cyber threats. In the past year alone, 47 percent of small businesses experienced a cyber attack—and out of those, 44 percent experienced more than one.

The average cost of a cyber attack has exploded from $34,000 to just under $200,000 per single incident, according to Hiscox’s 2019 Cyber Readiness Report. This is a setback that many small businesses can’t recover from.

Every Organization Is at Risk to Experience a Breach

Small businesses across all types of industries are vulnerable to security breaches. As IT infrastructures become more complex to support the growing digital demands of today’s companies, security measures need to evolve to support these sophisticated setups.

Cyber criminals are already way ahead of the curve, so much so that virtually every organization will experience a breach at some point. For small companies today, it’s not a matter of if a cybersecurity incident will happen, but when.

Making small business network security a priority is a must as cyber attacks continue to grow. Unfortunately, most organizations of this size aren’t yet on track.

With cyber criminals exploiting network vulnerabilities companies may not even be aware of, developing an approach based on your particular risks is key to successfully mitigating these devastating attacks. Many organizations have no type of plan in place in the event of a breach, let alone the necessary protection to prevent an infringement in the first place.

For Small Businesses, the Damages Are Difficult to Overcome

Could your business handle a $200,000 security breach? What about multiple breaches?

The damage, for most of these smaller companies, can quickly add up.

This is particularly true if a threat infiltrates a system and goes undetected—which is entirely possible when network monitoring and automated threat detection mechanisms aren’t in place.

In addition to monetary damages as the result of cyber attacks on small businesses, these companies also have to shoulder legal fees, compliance penalties, loss of reputation, and loss of customers.

These consequences can easily bankrupt a business. In fact, an estimated half of small businesses close within six months after a cyber attack.

Organizations are constantly at risk and need to adopt a comprehensive security strategy to prevent a cyber threat, mitigate damage should an incident occur, and adopt risk management policies. By doing so, these companies can protect their assets and make it easier to recover after an attack.

Enhance Your Network Security

Taking a multifaceted approach to cybersecurity is your best bet to avoid a cyber attack. Most small companies house sensitive information, and so are at risk of being targeted by malicious hackers.

Here are a few steps you can implement as part of a more extensive strategic approach to augment your small business network security.

While cyber attacks on small businesses can originate inside or outside a company, employees are often considered the biggest threat to smaller organizations. A reported 43 percent don’t receive regular cybersecurity training, and eight percent have received no security training whatsoever.

But the mindset that employees are responsible for helping to maintain network security is crucial to preventing an attack.

All personnel at an organization should receive cybersecurity training every few months to stay current on the latest attacks and do their job to prevent a breach.

Whether it’s recognizing and reporting a phishing email or identifying when something isn’t right in the network.

Need Help Implementing the Right Approach?

Implementing the right cybersecurity approach for your business can feel difficult if you’re not an IT professional. But that’s not an excuse to ignore the protection you need in the event of a cyber attack.

Contact us at Solvere One today to learn more about how we can help your small business implement the best approach to comprehensive network security!

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. With the vast majority of businesses facing a hacking attempt as the result of mistakes by internal personnel, cybersecurity training your employees to be aware of dangerous links, simple passwords, and phishing emails is crucial.

Many employees dread cybersecurity training. It generates boredom and fear, making them resistant to learning the skills necessary to spot risks and avoid unsafe practices to protect the company from an attack.

Make It Fun

It can feel tedious to try and make a training fun for employees, but research shows that these methods might actually help your cybersecurity training message stick with personnel.

To do this, you can use games and contests to make information stick. Whoever wins can get prizes such as gift cards, a coveted parking space, free clothing, and more. These incentives can help teach employees about staying safe online.

Making cybersecurity training fun can also help your trainees feel more at ease with security instructors. Employees tend to feel cornered or fearful with the current methods being used in such trainings, which can prevent them from retaining information. Making traditional training methods more personal and entertaining can make your staff more likely to engage and learn.

Have Employees Lead the Training

In order to rethink how you train your employees in cybersecurity, have fellow employees teach the training rather than security professionals.

This not only helps people in the cybersecurity training feel much more relaxed, but it can also make the message very relative coming from a coworker or friend at work rather than a corporate professional.

Here’s how it works—employees who have little to no background in security are trained in cybersecurity, enough so that they can explain it to someone else. These employees can get incentives to help their coworkers learn about cybersecurity through trainings.

This approach to cybersecurity training benefits both sides of the office, as employees feel more comfortable with coworkers and are more likely to learn, and the employee trainers get rewards. Plus, this effective training method can help minimize security risks, resulting in overall benefits for the company.

Use Positive Reinforcement

Rather than chastise employees for doing something wrong—and thus contributing to the apprehension they may already have about security practices at work—try using positive reinforcement to improve your cybersecurity training.

This includes giving your employees chances to practice what they know and then providing feedback. By doing this, you can reinforce behavior that may have sidestepped an attack instead of reprimanding them for making a mistake that many employees can and do make.

Despite the numbers of employees trained in cybersecurity every year, over 90% of cyber attacks come from an email with a dangerous link that an employee has clicked on. Making use of positive reinforcement can not only help your employees cultivate a greater awareness of these attacks, but can motivate them to engage in safer behaviors while at the office.

Training your employees on cybersecurity best practices is an absolute must for businesses of all shapes and sizes, but unfortunately, these trainings often fail to be effective enough to prevent attacks.

To help improve your cybersecurity training, take a different approach. Use incentives to help employees learn and engage. Enlist a few employees to conduct the training. And finally, use positive reinforcement to make the message stick.

You can make cybersecurity best practices just another day at the office for your employees. Scale back your risk for attacks with these tips!

Penetration testing should be done at least once a year to help protect your systems and keep your business compliant with your IT.

Although these tests are necessary, many people don’t know what to look for when hiring a vendor. Knowing how to evaluate these professionals can help you attain the best services for your money. Here are just a few questions to ask when hiring a penetration tester!

Tell Me How Your Penetration Testing Is Different

First, ensure your prospective company understands the difference between a penetration test and a vulnerability assessment.

Penetration testing takes the vulnerability assessment a step further by actually attempting to get information from your organization. Rather than just identifying weaknesses, penetration testers try to exploit these weaknesses to gain valuable insight into how your systems work.

Have your penetration tester tell you about their testing methods. How much of their testing is automated? No more than 20% should be automated; otherwise, you likely have a company that’ll solely utilize tools and scanners rather than actual techniques to get into your system.

Do Your Testers Hold Certifications?

The person you meet may not be the one conducting your penetration test. You want to make sure their employees are educated, experienced, and current on the most recent security tactics. Ask about what certifications they hold. Good ones to look out for are Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), and Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP).

Walk Me through Your Process When Performing the Test

Every company’s process for conducting their penetration testing will be different. However, core strategies should be relatively similar. Let them tell you about their outline and what methods are used during each step in the process. This will help you evaluate their techniques against other companies and determine which one best fits your needs.

The tools they use and why are crucial. If you have them explain their need for certain tools, you’ll get a glimpse into their expertise. Your penetration tester should always have concrete methods, not conduct random scans. Have them walk you through their general process for identifying and probing weaknesses in your system.

What Measures Will Be in Place for Keeping My Systems Available During Testing?

Penetration tests are exactly what they claim to be—attacks in an attempt to gain information. No company can guarantee that your systems will remain up throughout the test, but experienced testers should have some idea of whether a certain attack will hinder your system or service.

During penetration testing, your vendor should keep you updated and work to address these concerns and help keep your systems running. Monitoring progress is essential, although communication should be in place before the test starts about what measures will be in place to keep system availability on schedule.

How Will You Protect My Data?

Your data is vulnerable and will remain so during the exchange of information regarding what your tester finds during the process. You’ll want to make sure that encryption is used to protect data and ask them about how they’ll deliver results of the test.

This information should never be sent through email; encrypted email or an on-site presentation is best. How they’ll report findings is important, so talk with your prospective vendor about their methods for sending data.

When it comes to penetration testing, knowing the right kinds of questions to ask your vendor can help you secure the most experienced professionals. You should have a clear idea of the process as well as their methods and expertise after the interview. Penetration testing is an excellent tool if done correctly!