5 Cyber Security Tips to Keep Your Data Safe
During Cyber Security month (October), we shared with our newsletter subscribers some useful tips to help protect their data and to become more cyber aware. We regularly share quick tips and fun facts to our subscribers and our social media followers so be sure to check out our channels and subscribe to our newsletter to stay in the loop!
Don’t worry though, we’ve also created a blog post to share these tips with you and hope they help you to safeguard against hackers, and attacks on your business.
- Keep your software up-to-date: Ransomware attacks are one of the most common types of malware attacks today and often result in negative publicity and reputational harm. Ransomware denies legitimate users access to their systems (login to computers, email access, access to files etc.) and requires a payment, or ransom (a hefty sum) to regain access. To help protect against a ransomware attack, make sure to turn on automatic updates on your computer and systems (try not to keep postponing to a later date!); and make sure to use web browsers with automatic security updates.
- Use Antivirus Protection and a Firewall: Antivirus software is probably the most successful tools to fight malicious attacks. Antivirus software protects against malicious viruses and blocks malware from entering the system. A firewall also plays an important role in blocking viruses and malwares from entering your system. A good firewall will stop hackers, block malware, and other malicious viruses before you ever see them. ACS partner with Trend Micro and SonicWall for their superior products and solutions for AV software and firewalls.
- Use strong passwords! We know how annoying it can be to have a different password for every app, site, and portal you log in to… but, strong passwords are critical to keeping hackers out of your data.
- Use two-factor authentication: Yes, we know it’s also an annoying one to have to continually enter a code from your phone to access a site or app. But again, it’s for your own safety and the safety of your data.
- Educate yourself on Phishing scams: We’ve purposely left this one til last, as it is the most common type of cyber security attack a person, business, or company will experience. And, unfortunately, it comes from people not being cyber aware. Phishing scams are responsible for 90% of ransomware attacks.
We hope these 5 cyber security tips will help you to be more cyber aware. The bottom line is, to deploy software from a trusted partner that will block most malware and malicious viruses. Educate yourself and your staff on the vulnerabilities and if you feel like you may be subject to an attack, give us a call, and we will do our best to get you back up and running with as little damage as possible.
Remember: prevention is better than any cure!