Your network security isn’t something you should be setting and forgetting. Organizations can regularly take steps to improve their efforts, keep hackers out, and reduce the threat of breaches. Here are some steps you can start taking right now to improve your network security.
#1 – Use a Password Manager
One change organizations can make when it comes to their network security is opting for a password manager. The program we regularly suggest to our clients is LastPass, as it has a number of features and benefits that can ensure your team members aren’t putting your business at risk accidentally. Storing your passwords in a managed, protected and encrypted manner can help push forward best security practices that your team may have forgotten about.
For example, passwords should be changed regularly, yet many employees forget to do that. LastPass not only reminds you that you should change your password, it gives you scores based on the password you chose and ensures it’s not something you’ve previously used. A low score means that it’s lacking in security.
LastPass also delivers Dark Web monitoring. If yours or your teams’ information, passwords, or data is compromised, LastPass sends individuals an email letting them know. You don’t have to wait until you’re breached to discover your information has been stolen.
Failing to use a password manager could put your organization at risk. Your team members are likely using unsafe passwords – no matter how many times they’ve been told not to. “Password123” is still a very common choice, and brute-force attacks make those walls easy to break down. They’re also likely to share passwords with their personal accounts. If their Facebook account and their work email share a password, for example, a breach into their Facebook account could equal a breach into their work email and into your organization.
A password management system like LastPass is one of the best ways to ensure everyone is on board with strong password strategies. Plus, it will improve your network security overall.
#2 – Add More Layers of Protection to Improve Your Network Security
There are always areas where organizations can add more layers of protection to their work. Some ways you can keep moving your security and protection forward include:
- Password management
- Using virus, malware, and spam protection
- Regularly reviewing current security technology
- Threats change overtime, so companies have to ensure their security tech can keep up with new threats
- Network-monitoring software
- Implement security policies and procedures
- And regular reviews of these policies
Are you missing any of these steps? A lackluster approach to network security and these features could be holding the door open to hackers.
#3 – Establish a Backup Plan
In the event of an emergency, breach, or natural disaster, what would happen to your data? If it’s stolen, would it be lost forever? It doesn’t have to be that way. Establishing a backup plan for your data, sooner rather than later, can help ensure you can still access your information, even if the worst should happen.
Business continuity and disaster recovery plans allow you to keep working and using that vital data, without the downtime. But a single backup isn’t enough, as these are often targeted by cybercriminals.
New approaches, such as digital images of systems, need to be taken to ensure you still have access when you need it most. Is your backup plan hitting all the marks and really keeping hackers out? Or are there still ways they can get in and destroy your data and your backup?
#4 – Train Employees on Cybersecurity
Your employees may know cybersecurity practices, such as changing their passwords regularly or avoiding public networks that aren’t secure, but are they following them? One of the best ways to get everyone up to speed is through cybersecurity training to ensure they’re following the policies you put in place.
Cybersecurity training helps your team know what to look for when it comes to phishing (even as it becomes more sophisticated), how to approach their password security, and understand how to use social media safely – not for just themselves, but for your organization as well. It can also show them the “why” behind your cybersecurity strategies, making them much more likely to follow the proper procedures.
#5 – Work With a Third-Party Company
Creating security policies, procedures, and employee training practices can take up a lot of your time – and you may still be leaving gaps to allow hackers in. One of the best things you can do to improve network security across the board is to work with a third-party company like Nutmeg Consulting.
We work with you to get your security policies up to speed and ensure they’re keeping up with the latest threats. Our team can help you take advantage of LastPass, security software, network monitoring tools, data backup strategies, and more. We understand the seen and unseen threats that your company faces on a day-to-day basis, and we work to stop attackers before they even get their foot in the door.
A company’s approach to network security needs regular adjustments. Working with a third-party company, taking advantage of LastPass, and training your employees on new and old cybersecurity threats ensures you’re working to keep hackers out and your data secure.
Let Us Help You Take Advantage of LastPass.