Cyber security can be described as ‘all measures taken to prevent damage due to malfunction, failure or misuse of information systems or computers. This is the answer that the NCSC (National Cyber Security Center) has given to the question: ‘What is cybersecurity?’
It is increasingly in the news these days: companies are victims of a ransomware attack, as a result of which they no longer have access to their computer systems or as a result of which customer data is exposed.
Therefore, it is necessary for every company that sufficient attention is paid to digital security. This is important not only for protecting the company’s networks but also for the customer data stored in these networks.
But how do you as an organization ensure that you have the right knowledge and resources that are important for securing your business? How do you ensure that cybersecurity is in line with business goals? And what do you need to do to keep the cyber threats to a minimum? We will learn you all about this, but first the basics.
At first glance, a cyber threat doesn’t look like a dangerous situation. Unfortunately, this is often the case. It’s all about hackers trying to access a company’s (or an individual’s) networks, trying to get to confidential data.
We can briefly describe the goal of cybercriminals, namely: money. To achieve this goal, hackers lock your data. Do you want to unlock this data? There is a good chance that the hacker will ask for a large amount of money in return.
Criminals use various methods to gain access to your data. For example, they will look for vulnerabilities in the software or send an email containing a link, which at first seems harmless. It is often indicated that you have won a prize or must go through a few steps to keep your data safe. but nothing is as it seems. The link contains a virus that is activated when you click on it. Once invaded, the virus can damage files and even the entire network.
Maybe you think your organisation is too small to be interesting, or too well protected to be at risk. Cybercriminals do not see it that way. Small organisations are an easy way in, larger ones a bigger prize, and AI lets attackers target both at scale.
64% of all cybercrime is within SMEs
95% of all hacks and data breaches are the result of human error
A cyber incident costs an SME company on average €50,000.
Every organisation needs good cybersecurity. It protects against criminals who want to access sensitive information or take over your networks.
But no matter how well you protect everything, you are never 100% protected. It is often an individual who accidentally downloads malware or has an easy and unsafe password. Therefore it is essential to train your people to be aware of cybersecurity.
Firewalls, virus scanners and filters stop a lot, but not everything. Most successful attacks still start with a person who clicks, opens or approves something, and AI makes those attacks more convincing every month. That is why security awareness training belongs in every cybersecurity approach. Guardey trains employees in short, gamified challenges and tests them with realistic phishing simulations, so you know where extra attention is needed.
Phishing is still the most common way in. A phishing simulation sends a realistic but harmless phishing email to your employees and shows who clicks and who reports it. That tells you where the risks are, and repeated simulations show whether your team gets better at spotting attacks.
We advise every organization to create a cybersecurity policy. A cybersecurity policy is a written document that contains behavioral and technical guidelines for all employees to ensure maximum protection from cybersecurity incidents and ransomware attacks. The policy contains information about your company or an organization’s security policies, procedures, technological safeguards, and operational countermeasures in case of a cybersecurity incident.
Because even when you do everything right, there is always a chance of a cyber attack or data leak. Therefore it is vital that you, and your team, also know what to do when there is a cyber threat.
Guardey provides affordable and user-friendly cybersecurity without the need for complex and costly programs.
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