Cybersecurity in the Workplace: Best Practices

It’s National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), and every week in October is designated with a different cybersecurity awareness message. This week, it’s all about creating and maintaining a culture of cybersecurity in the workplace with the theme, “Cybersecurity in the Workplace is Everyone’s Business.”

When dealing with matters involving your company, you’re not just responsible for protecting your personal information. You and your coworkers are responsible for safeguarding your company’s information and network — and all it takes is one mistake from one person to compromise your company’s security. That’s why it is imperative to ensure that everyone on the team fully understands the threat of a security breach, and how they can minimize that threat as much as possible.

Today, we’re sharing a few tips for strengthening and maintaining cybersecurity in the workplace, inside and out.

  1. Create or revise your company’s security policy.

It’s hard for employees to know when they are violating the company’s online security policy, if it doesn’t have one in the first place. The lack of a security policy leaves your organization even more vulnerable to a security breach because employees are at risk of making a mistake they didn’t even know they were making.

Establish a set of guidelines for online behavior on work computers. Educate them on best practices for password strength, have them set up two-factor authentication, and go over common phishing scams and other threats so they’ll know which behaviors to avoid. Make the training simple and fun for employees, and be sure to update the policy when needed.

  1. Set up security benchmarks as needed.

After you establish a comprehensive online security policy and educate employees on best practices, the cybersecurity efforts don’t stop there. Continue the security awareness among your employees by designating specific days for security improvement measures like password changes, computer updates, and virus scans.

Have your employees changes their work passwords at least once every three months. Failing to update company computers can leave them vulnerable to malware, so updates should be run about once per month. The same goes for antivirus software — update your software every time a new update is available, or at least once a month, for optimal results. Run a scan every two weeks to make sure everything is in check.

Adding these important dates to your company calendar will encourage employees to take care of their computers and stay up-to-date with security practices. For further reading, here are our top tips for preventing viruses and safely recovering from a virus attack.

  1. Look into managed security solutions from IT pros.

Getting outside assistance from a team of expert technicians is an effective way to beef up your company’s cybersecurity efforts. A team of IT professionals can help you prevent security breaches as well as help you recover if, and when, one happens. The team at Integracon can help you identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities in your company’s system, and then develop an appropriate security plan tailored to your organization’s needs.

We offer a multi-tiered approach to security, ensuring your company is covered from all angles. Our flexible security services include:

  • Managed Antivirus Solutions
  • Security Patch Management
  • Web-filtering and Web Security
  • Internet Backup
  • Firewall Management
  • IT Data Vault Services (for Advanced Backup and Disaster Recovery)
  • IT Regulatory Compliance Services

Read more details about our IT managed security solutions here.

Minimize Your Company’s Vulnerability to Attacks

With the number of cyberattacks constantly on the rise, organizations should not have a false sense of security. Anything can happen, and it’s extremely important to be prepared if and when a security breach occurs. Follow the tips above to improve your company’s security levels from the inside-out. Should you need further assistance or want to schedule a free network assessment to see where your vulnerabilities lie, reach out to our team at Integracon.