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How secure are the existing cyber security standards?

28/09/2021 20mins
Prasobh V Nair

BUSINESS

The chief executive at Hiscox Insurance in 2016 revealed that “cybercrime cost the global economy over $450 billion, over 2 billion personal records were stolen and in the US alone over 100 million Americans had their medical records stolen,". Ransomware, phishing, malware, and denial of service attacks are concerns for companies and individuals that need to secure sensitive systems.

Though larger enterprises would have more data to be compromised, small and medium businesses will have less secure networks, making it easy to breach. Small businesses may even run out of business if they suffer a cyber attack as they would not be able to recover from the intrusion. Traditional cyber security standards can be safe but there are a few things that you should do to make things safer for your organization.

Use Cybersecurity Best Practices

Softwares should always be updated as older softwares are vulnerable to cyber attacks. This is a good way to bolster your defenses against cyber threats. This would also include ensuring that antivirus programs, operating systems, and other softwares you use are updated on a regular basis. Make sure you watch downloads and are aware of anything that seems out of the ordinary.

Identifying Risks

An organisation should conduct risk assessment to study cyber security risk to organisational operations , organisational assets and individuals. You should identify the risks to your organization and work to ensure that these systems have the required  protection in place to limit potential threats. ISO/IEC 27001 which is ISMSs or the international Standard for best-practice information security management systems. It is comprehensive and helps preserve your information. It can be applied based on the risks that your organization faces and implemented to best suit your needs.

Better Password Protection

It may not be enough to have a simple password to keep you safe. Consider using multi-factor authentication or two-factor authentication. This can require an identification code in addition to the password. This can be accessed by an app or a text message. By using two-factor authentication, you’ll have better security measures. If someone has your password, it’s still going to be very difficult for them to get into the system. If you use the cloud, you should also ensure that the particular system is secure. Also ensure that the provider has the right security measures in place. Multi factor authentication, and a  proper encryption, is ideal if you want to store information and transfer information to and from the cloud.

Avoiding Attacks Like Ransomware and Other Attacks

Ransomware locks a user’s system or data till they pay a ransom. You should be abreast with all the latest cybersecurity threats and be ready to respond to these attacks with updated softwares. According to researchers there has been a decline in ransomware compared to other cyber security threats. Yet this threat poses a major risk. Many companies are too busy to pay attention to new threats and this can leave them vulnerable to the risks these threats pose. You should be actively engaging cyber security measures to be alerted on  top threats that could damage your business.

Summary

The best approach to cybersecurity is to be proactive and to keep your systems updated. Existing cybersecurity standards can keep you safe, but it’s up to you to ensure that your company remains as safe as possible.While it is important to prevent as many attacks as possible, there remains numerous  possibilities for your data to be breached irrespective of the precautions taken. There are a number of active measures you can take to ensure that your system doesn’t fall victim to cyber threats. Make sure you have backups and that they are stored in separate locations. Checking your backups regularly and ensuring its functionality is also important .

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