Cyber threats have existed for many years, but they have now become more sophisticated and widespread. The world’s interconnectivity and advancements in technology, especially artificial intelligence, are opening new ways for cybercriminals to deploy cyberattacks. In fact, data breaches rose by 72% between 2021 and 2023. Moreover, cybercrime’s annual damage cost is projected to reach $10.5 trillion by 2025.
Although cyber threats are a reality, your organization can remain protected if you boost your cybersecurity protection. That’s what this guide is all about. Here, we have shortlisted seven crucial strategies to implement that can elevate your cybersecurity posture. So, let’s head right to it!
1.Strong Password Policy and Multi-Factor Authentication
A strong password policy is a must today. Employees should create strong and different passwords for different accounts. However, despite creating strong passwords, employees may unintentionally share their passwords when they become victims of phishing attacks.
To mitigate that, you should also enforce a multi-factor authentication policy. This way, employees will also have to enter an OTP passcode to access their accounts. So, even if their login credentials are compromised, hackers won’t be able to access their accounts.
2.Train Your Employees
Did you know that 88% of breaches are due to employee mistakes? Employees often become victims of phishing scams and unintentionally click links, share credentials, or download malicious software. Therefore, it is important to offer employees regular training sessions to increase their awareness of emerging cyber threats.
3.Up-to-Date IT Infrastructure
You can reduce the chances of cyberattack significantly if your IT infrastructure is up-to-date. This involves regularly updating and patching all software, operating systems, and applications to fix known vulnerabilities that cybercriminals could exploit. Besides that, ensure that all security tools and systems, such as firewalls and antivirus programs, are current with the latest threat intelligence and protection mechanisms.
4.Get a Thorough Risk Assessment from a Third-Party
An in-house risk assessment by your cybersecurity team is an essential practice, but you should also get a risk assessment from a third-party cybersecurity firm. This is useful because the other firm may look deeper and find vulnerabilities your in-house team failed to detect.
For example, Sun IT Solutions is a reputed cybersecurity services firm that uses its cutting-edge technology and experienced cybersecurity professionals to conduct thorough risk assessments. Furthermore, they will also help you set the right cybersecurity strategies to mitigate potential threats.
5.Create Data Backups
Data backups are another effective strategy to boost cybersecurity posture. A malware or ransomware attack can damage or lock your data, but you can fight back easily if you have a data backup. So, a backup of important data should be created to avoid data loss due to security incidents.
6.Integrate Access Control
Access control ensures that only authorized personnel can access sensitive data and systems. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to grant permissions based on job roles and enforce the principle of least privilege (PoLP) to limit access rights to the minimum necessary. Regularly review and update access permissions to reflect changes in roles and responsibilities within your organization.
7.Sign Up for Cyber Liability Insurance
Despite strong cybersecurity policies, organizations are still becoming victims of cyberattacks. Therefore, you should also be prepared to tackle financial losses in the case of a cyberattack.
One effective way is to sign up for cyber liability insurance, which can compensate your company for the financial losses it sustains due to cyberattacks.
When cyber threats and cyberattacks are not slowing down, why should we remain stuck to one-time cybersecurity solutions? We have to adopt a practice of continuous assessment and improvement to boost our cybersecurity protection. Therefore, follow the above strategies and look for more that align with your needs and create an unbreakable defense against cybercriminals.
Sun IT Solutions, headquartered in Toronto, stands out as a leading IT consulting firm with a wide range of services. Our specialties encompass Managed IT Services, Network Management, Co-Managed IT Services, Help Desk Support, Remote IT Support, Unified Communications, Tech Support, Cloud Solutions, Managed Security, IT Outsourcing, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR), Cyber Security Training, and Dark Web Monitoring. Each service is customized to address the unique requirements of our clients, guaranteeing operational efficiency and security. Benefit from our free data breach scan to see if your credentials have been exposed by hackers.
