This era of technological advancements has changed the face of the corporate business world. Every other business has started dealing with their clients online with the help of the internet. Although the advancements in technology have helped several businesses to grow, they also have to worry about their cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity is the application of processes, controls, and technologies to protect devices, networks, systems, data, and programs from cyber-attacks. Cybersecurity aims to prevent cyber-attacks from happening and the unauthorized exploitation of technologies, networks, and systems.
Many people think that the threat of cyber-attack is a hoax, while others think that cybersecurity was not invented until the last decade. However, contrary to popular belief, cybersecurity dates back to 1971 when Bob Thomas created the first computer worm. The existence of this worm made the experts realize that every computer is at risk.
Not only do businesses need to improve their cybersecurity, but ordinary people need to be careful of improving their cybersecurity as well since hackers can steal all of your private information, including but not limited to your private photos and your social media passwords.
Here are practical ideas to improve your cybersecurity:
1. Create a plan
One of the most important steps towards improving your cybersecurity is to create a plan. But first, to create a plan, you will have to acknowledge that information and cybersecurity are a real threat as over 3.8 million records get stolen from all kinds of businesses daily.
Therefore, if you still think that cybersecurity is unnecessary, drop that mindset and focus on making a plan that can help you improve your cybersecurity.
It is quite important to create a plan for multiple reasons, including:
- You gain a deeper understanding of your risk.
- It enables early detection.
- It allows for a swift response.
- And it can help you detect insider threats.
2. Use two-step verification
Two-step verification is a type of security measure against hackers. After putting in your password in this security measure, it asks you for a different kind of verification.
For instance, Steam accounts are pretty famous for getting hacked. Recently, steam added a two-step verification where after putting in the password, it sends a code either to your email or to your phone.
Two-step verification is one of the best security measures against hackers because even after they have stolen your password, they cannot access your private information.
Although it can be frustrating sometimes to enter your code every time you log in, it is better than your confidential data being stolen.
3. Back up your data
Another important tip is to back up your data. Not having a backup of your data can be quite fatal for your business if your data were to get deleted under a cyber-attack. It is quite possible because a ransomware attack can delete all the data on your computer.
Just imagine all of your business or personal information and data getting deleted, and you can do nothing about it. It’s quite frustrating, isn’t it? Therefore, to make sure that you never have to face anything like this, it is essential to make a backup of your data.
Although, many software programs automatically backup data every other day, such as WhatsApp. It may be advisable to back up your data manually as well.
After making a backup, always remember not to store the backup data in the same computer with your original data as it defeats the purpose of creating a backup. It is wise to keep the backup in an external hard drive or even a flash drive. Make more than one backup in different external drives to be sure.
4. Get a CMMC
CMMC, also known as cybersecurity maturity model certification, was created to ensure that government contractors adopt cybersecurity practices and that all the information related to the government is safe. There are a total of 5 levels of CMMC that can help you improve your cybersecurity as a business, such as CMMC level 1, CMMC level 2, CMMC level 3, CMMC level 4, and CMMC level 5.
To achieve a CMMC level 1, you will have to demonstrate basic cyber hygiene and perform certain practices written in 48 CFR 52.204-21. Getting a CMMC will help you improve your cybersecurity. You will have all the necessary knowledge about cybersecurity and certain practices that must be done to keep your private data safe.
Cybersecurity is becoming a norm like regular security, an aspect that needs to be dealt with. With this, you should start improving your cybersecurity before your private information gets stolen, giving you a lot of stress and heartache.
