Imagine arriving at a manufacturing plant or office building. Without thinking, you bounce your card, go to the office where Ms. Mary sends hundreds of order-related forms through the system. Then you brew coffee from a vending machine and sit down at a panel that operates machines in production or monitors the plant’ s progress, but before that you insert a digital media device from which you play motivating music. Has it occurred to you at any of these stages that you are at risk?
Yes, you understand correctly. Storing data in the cloud, working remotely and using various mobile devices open up a lot of opportunities for us, but at the same time they confront us with new threats. Cybercriminals are not idle and can surprise us with their methods, which can lead to serious problems such as data theft and financial losses. We will take a look at how to take care of your company’s data security in a simple and effective way.
In view of the development of new technologies, already government institutions should strive to make the public aware of what risks are associated with going online. Whether we limit ourselves to social media only, or to course platforms or instant messaging of all kinds, or penetrate various websites extensively, we should be aware of the risks associated with the virtual space. Unfortunately, the overabundance of stimuli that affect us every day causes us to lose our vigilance and thus make us even more vulnerable to potential attacks.
You may have encountered (hopefully not personally) stories of extortion via text message stating that a particular package is stuck on its way to the addressee. As a result, the latter has to make a certain payment in order for this mysterious package to reach the recipient’s own hands. It happens that in the daily rush and excitement we don’t have a moment for reflection, we click on the received link and pay the missing fee (“So what, two zlotys!”) and….
Well, are we aware that it‘s one thing to be scammed out of money, but it’s another to have our device infected by opening a hyperlink? That’s not all. A cybercriminal can phish our credit card or bank account data. That’s why I think that the central government should take care of educating citizens and invest in information campaigns, in various platforms to promote knowledge.
It is very interesting that the more you use new technologies (e.g., at work), the more immune you become to data extortion attempts. Experience in the IT world develops in you a certain vigilance. In contrast, the less often you look into the virtual world, the more vulnerable you become to cyber fraud.
It’s also insanely important that we prepare some kind of lifeline in advance. It’s a good idea to have an emergency number to call in case of such a cyber attack or to infect a device. Let this be your cyber-guard, who, when you are boiling over with emotions, will serve you with professional help, calmly present some plan of action and tell you how to get out of a difficult situation.
Of course, every company should also take care to train its employees in Internet security. You may think: why do I need such training if we do not rely on complex IT systems, our people do not tap on the keyboard and do not use applications that support advanced devices….
Well, you don’t have to use advanced technology to get company equipment infected. Virtually every employee uses company Wi-Fi, simple company devices, phones, and sometimes infecting such a company device can result in far greater consequences than one would think. In addition, almost every company has a lot of data housed in the cloud.
There are tools or strategies that are often overlooked by companies that could significantly improve the protection of company data.
I think many companies forget the simplest tool to protect against data leakage. What do I mean? Education.
I observe that instead of making employees aware, two extreme strategies are used:
In my opinion, both of these models are not commendable. I think that the case where you practically block employees’ access to all external devices, to all kinds of websites is not good, because it often impedes the normal functioning at work, so that people look for some gateways, bring private devices, combine with websites where these blockades do not apply. Well, and this can produce an effect worse than intended. On the other hand, too liberal an approach can result in the fact that if we are dealing with people who are not aware of Internet security, we are simply exposing the company to serious losses.
Nowadays, the IT infrastructure in virtually every company plays a very important role and is a key – if not the most important – pillar of the company. She is the database of data and information, so without access to her, a given company is largely unable to function.
On the other hand, one aspect of digitization is its implementation and the development of effective policies related to the equipment or network used by the company, while the other important issue is to organize periodic training on network security and campaigns that inform about potential threats. Therefore, I earnestly ask you: invest in education, invest in the security of your business.
