Despite the fact that nearly 31% of business organizations have experienced a cyber attack on their operational technology infrastructure, most companies still don’t have proper security measures in place to counter the increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. While security vulnerabilities can’t be completely mitigated, businesses must implement certain measures that help to reduce the possibility of disaster.
In this blog, we take a look at a few security vulnerabilities your business should avoid.
Uninformed Employees
The risk posed by a careless employee is the same as someone who intentionally passes on information to competitors. Employees should be trained in the best security practices otherwise visiting unauthorized websites, having weak passwords, and clicking on suspicious links is likely to occur, which poses a security threat to the employers’ data.
Training employees as well as offering continuous support will allow them to protect themselves and the business’s data. By holding workshops that highlight the dangers of hacking by means of key-loggers and phishing scams, employees will have all the resources they need.
People on every level of management should be encouraged to keep complicated passwords with symbols and numbers and have them changed after 2 to 3 months. Encryption also helps in adding an extra layer of security and multifactor authentication such as RFID, fingerprint readers, and retina scanning protects sensitive data even if the passwords have been compromised.
Third-Party Service Providers
The evolution in technology has forced businesses to outsource IT management operations to third parties that offer increased levels of protection and efficiency.
It’s important to note that while they may offer a better security infrastructure as compared to an organization’s in-house capability, they may not be adhering to the best security practices. For example, many such service providers assign the same password to multiple clients. If a hacker manages to get that password, they instantly gain access to multiple security networks.
The threat is further exacerbated due to a lack of vetting process performed by the company seeking to hire any third party security service providers. While most security service providers do a fairly good job at keeping critical information safe from viruses and malware, not much attention is paid to internal system segmentation. This means that if a less secure system is hacked, it’s much easier to gain privileges and move onto other systems.
Criminal Activity within the Organization
Rogue employees represent one of the main threats when it comes to data breaches. For example, a member of the IT department already has access to the data centre and networks and can cause considerable damages. It’s important to keep a log of privileged account activity and conduct quick responses to any suspicious activities.
Overlooking simple vulnerabilities can lead to massive damages for a business. Our network vulnerability assessment ensures that your business is protected from all types of security threats, big or small. Contact us today!