11/4/2019 6 Ways to Prevent Cybersecurity Breaches

1. Limit access to your most valuable data.

In the old days, every employee had access to all the files on their computer. These days, companies are
learning the hard way, to limit access to their more critical data. After all, there’s no reason for a mailroom
employee to view customer financial information. When you limit who is allowed to view certain documents,
you narrow the pool of employees who might accidentally click on a harmful link. As corporations move into
the future, expect to see all records partitioned off so that only those who specifically need access will have
it. This is one of those common-sense solutions that companies probably should have been doing all along.

2. Third-party vendors must comply.

Every company does business with a wide array of third-party vendors. It’s more important than ever to
know who these people are. Companies can even open themselves up to lawsuits by allowing strangers to
enter their premises. What if the guy who delivers office supplies just got out of prison? It’s something to
think about. In addition, be sure to limit the types of documents these vendors can view.

Though precautions like this can be a hassle for the IT department, the alternative could be a multi-million-
dollar data breach. For those companies that are allowed to view your important data, demand transparency.
Make sure they are complying with privacy laws; don’t just assume. Ask for background checks for third-
party vendors who must enter your company on a regular basis. CEO’s need to get tougher on security if they
really want to instigate change.

3. Conduct employee security awareness training.

According to recent surveys, employees are the weakest link in the data security chain. In spite of training,
employees open suspicious emails every day that have the potential to download viruses. One mistake that
employers make is thinking that one training class about cybersecurity is enough. If you’re serious about
safeguarding your important data, schedule regular classes each quarter or even monthly.

Believe it or not, employees have been known to leave those classes, return to their desks and open
suspicious emails without even thinking twice. Marketing studies show that most people need to hear the
same message at least seven times before it begins to change their behavior.

4. Update software regularly.

Professionals recommend keeping all application software and operating systems updated regularly. Install
patches whenever available. Your network is vulnerable when programs aren’t patched and updated
regularly. Microsoft now has a product called Baseline Security Analyzer that can regularly check to ensure
all programs are patched and up to date. This is a fairly easy and cost-effective way to strengthen your
network and stop attacks before they happen.

5. Develop a cyber breach response plan.

What would you do if you went to work tomorrow and learned that a data breach had occurred? Surprisingly
few companies have a sound breach response plan in place. It either hasn’t occurred to them that they may
need one someday soon, or they feel they can handle the response as necessary. There’s a significant fallacy
in this thinking. In the past, large companies that had cybercriminals break in and steal records were slow to
make this public. They were also reluctant to share the truth about how much data and what type of data was
stolen.
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11/4/2019 6 Ways to Prevent Cybersecurity Breaches

The government’s OPM break-in was handled very poorly. It was months after the breach before FEMA
made a public announcement. When they did announce that a data breach had occurred, they downplayed
how serious it was, issuing incorrect information about exactly how many records had been compromised. It
was several years before the true nature of the breach was exposed.

For consumers, this is unacceptable. People feel they have a right to know exactly when the breach occurred
and what was lost. Though it took several years to learn this, government employees were finally told the
truth: over 21 million records were stolen. Most of them contained names, addresses, social security
numbers, and fingerprints.

Developing a comprehensive breach preparedness plan enables both the employees and the employer to
understand the potential damages that could occur. An employer should be very transparent concerning the
scope of the breach; employees want to know the truth. A good response plan can limit lost productivity and
prevent negative publicity. Employees feel angry when they find out that the company they work for had a
data breach six months ago and told no one told them about it.

Your response plan should begin with an evaluation of exactly what was lost and when. Find out who is
responsible whenever possible. By taking swift, decisive action, you can limit damages and restore public
and employee trust.

6. Difficult to decipher passwords

In the past, businesses rarely got involved with how often employees had to change their passwords. Recent
cyber breaches have changed all that. When security experts come to your company to educate your
employees, one thing they will stress is the need to regularly change all passwords. Most of the public has
discovered the importance of making passwords difficult to decipher. Even on our home computers, we’ve
learned to use upper case letters, numbers and special characters when formulating passwords. Make it as
difficult as possible for thieves to break in and steal your stuff

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