October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and we would like to remind everyone of the importance of keeping your business protected.
Here are four basic behaviors recommended by the national Cybersecurity Alliance that LayerEight also recommends and works with clients to achieve:
Enable Multi-Factor Authentication
MFA makes it more difficult for a threat actor to gain access to business premises and information systems, such as remote access technology, email, and billing systems, even if passwords or PINs are compromised through phishing attacks or other means.
Having to enter two pieces of information to access your own data may feel like a pain in the moment, but that said, imagine what a pain it becomes for hackers too.
Use Strong Passwords
Using a phrase, keeping each account unique, playing with spellings, and randomizing capitalizations and numbers are all great things to keep in mind when building a strong password. Think something like “eyElovEmYd0G1” instead of “ilovemydog1”.
Update often, get it from the source, make it automatic, and watch for fakes are all recommendations of the National Cybersecurity Alliance. These updates fix general software problems and provide new security patches, and scheduling them to automatically take place keeps you stay protected in the background.Recognize and Report Phishing Scams
Email Phishing, Spear Phishing, Whaling, Smishing and Vishing, and Angler Phishing. In today’s day and age we need to be aware of all of them. Check our blog post for more detailed information on each variation, but in general you should be asking yourself these questions:
-Does this seem legit? (Is this from a recognizable source? Is it poorly crafted writing with misspellings and bad grammar? Does the sender’s e-mail address match the company it’s coming from?)
-Is this something I would normally receive? (Does it contain an offer that’s too good to be true? Does it include language that’s urgent, alarming, or threatening? Is it a strange or abrupt business request?)
When in doubt, report it. If you happen to click something you believe you shouldn’t have, call our office immediately at 518-324-LYR8 (5978).Keeping these points in mind will keep you #CyberSafe this October and beyond!