We can all agree that cyber-criminals are terrible people and the fact that there is a 30% increase in the average number of ransomware attacks in December compared to other months only reinforce this. Whilst everyone else sees Christmas as a time to wind down and spend some time with family, cyber-criminals see Christmas as the perfect opportunity to launch a cyber-attack, and worryingly it is…
Nevertheless, we don't want you to enter the festive month with a spirit of fear rather than joy, we just want to make you aware that cyber-criminals do take advantage of this season. In this blog, we'll take a look at some easy-to-implement ways you can keep yourself safe over the Christmas period
Make Sure You're Using The Latest Updates
With employees slowly winding down for the holidays, it’s easy to forget to update your systems with the latest software. However, it’s critical that you always maintain the latest versions of your operating systems, as using an outdated version can lead to security risks.
Cyber-criminals can spot open vulnerabilities, in fact, with your devices updated and patched you are less likely to be affected by a cyber-attack, as around 70% of cyber-attacks exploit known vulnerabilities. An updated or patched server or PC is less susceptible to malware and other viruses, so it’s key to have a patch management strategy in place, so your devices are always updated, stable and secure.
A VPN is an Easy Way to Browse Safely
If you use your own computer for remote work, get a VPN to secure your connection and encrypt your data. With a VPN your traffic can't be accessed by anyone you don't want to. This allows you to work from virtually anywhere securely. Home, cafe, or even the pub, any network you connect to will be encrypted.
If you partner with a reliable MSP they will likely be able to set up a strong VPN for you. This can be put on any device in or out of the office, giving you peace of mind when it comes to the thought of a wifi based attack on your business.
Back Data Up Before the Holidays
Data backups should be a semi-regular process anyway but with the increase in attacks over holiday periods, there is no better time to back your data up than now. Cyber-attacks are on the increase and a recent report by the Institute of Directors revealed that 56% of businesses wouldn’t be able to survive a cyber-attack. Can you afford not to back up your data? Having a good disaster recovery and backup strategy is strongly recommended to help your business potentially survive a cyber-attack.
Be Extra Cautious Against Phishing Scams
Phishing accounts for more than 80% of reported security instances!
Around the Christmas season, I'm sure many of us notice our inboxes get flooded with countless emails offering everything from Christmas deals, to free prizes. Whilst many of these are likely to be harmless advertisements some of these emails will certainly be phishing attempts hoping to catch you out.
These cyber-criminals are looking to steal your passwords, account numbers and other important data. Obtaining this information means criminals could gain access to banks, emails, or other accounts in turn causing a data breach, and with a study by IBM finding the average recovery cost of a data breach to be approximately £3.1 million, allowing this to happen would be catastrophic.
Be Wary When Using Public Wi-FI
Cloud computing is great for many reasons; flexibility, accessibility, and minimising the cost of IT hardware, to name a few. additionally, public wi-fi is a great way to work in a nice warm coffee house, while you send your last few emails or complete your last bit of work for the day.
However, always be vigilant when using public wi-fi networks, as it is a haven for potential cyber-crime and a prime spot for phishing attacks and sensitive information can be easily captured for malicious purposes. When using public wi-fi always try to avoid making bank transactions or accessing and sending sensitive data.
Increase Employee Awareness
Employees are the weakest link in a business's cyber security chain and all it takes is one uninformed employee to download or click a malicious link or attachment for the security of your entire organisation to be compromised.
A proactive way to counter this threat is to put staff through security training. For example, Usecure is a tool which simulates phishing and social engineering attacks/emails.Usecure is the one-stop solution that evaluates, educates, and calculates its way to a security-savvy workforce improving cybersecurity hygiene in your business. Usecure offers useful features such as planted phishing emails that test employees without the risk of a data breach and security awareness training.
You can also be given password hygiene reports for your employees that let you see who in your office is at high risk, due to using weak or overused passwords. This is great for medium and large businesses as they have lots of employees which previously were near impossible to manage.
Stay Cyber-Safe Over Christmas
As we said we don't want you to enter the festive month with a sense of fear, we simply want to make you aware that cyber-criminals are cruel and know that the Christmas period is a time when people's guards are down.
If you want to know more about how you can harden the security defences around your IT systems, please get in contact on 0330 002 0045 or email enquiries@entrustit.co.uk, to be put in contact with one of our experienced consultants. 