The 6 Worst Cybersecurity Habits

Cybercrimes are becoming more and more common, so it’s more important than ever that businesses take the necessary steps to protect themselves from an attack.

In recent years, cybersecurity has become a hugely important issue for businesses across all industries.

As technology continues to play more and more of a role in our daily lives and business procedures, the risks posed by hackers are becoming more severe.

Not only are hacking techniques becoming more advanced but, with businesses relying heavily on tech for storing data, the consequences of a data breach are becoming more and more severe.

But while the landscape of cybercrimes has changed, our attitude to cybersecurity largely hasn’t.

Businesses still bury their heads in the sand when it comes to IT security, with potentially disastrous consequences.

Here are some of the biggest mistakes made by businesses when it comes to cybersecurity.

How many are you guilty of?

Pretending That Cybercrimes Don’t Exist, or That It Won’t Happen to You

It’s what everybody says about every bad thing, from burglary to illness: “I just didn’t think it would happen to me.”

The same rule applies when it comes to cybersecurity.

We all know it’s an issue, but far too many businesses are willing to take the risk and only act if and when a problem arises.

But when it comes to cybercrime, it’s much more cost-effective to be proactive rather than reactive in your approach.

Relying on Basic Solutions for Security Measures

While some businesses don’t put any protection in place to keep their data safe, others do only slightly better by using the bare minimum of cybersecurity measures in their organizations.

Putting simplistic measures in place without assessing the specific risks to your business is unlikely to be enough to ward off a data breach.

Instead, do a risk assessment to uncover the areas of your business which require a little more attention. This will help you remedy any weak spots before an incident occurs.

Failing to Use Email Protection

Email security measures can really help to improve the strength of your business protection, but a large number of businesses don’t put them to use.

Email is one of the most direct routes hackers use to access and potentially damage your business data through malicious links.

So make sure you put the necessary protection in place, including anti-phishing technology and virus and malware scanning. You should also take the time to train your staff on the importance of email safety, helping them identify a suspicious link when they receive one.

Not Seeking Help When You Need It

The world of cybersecurity is confusing at the best of times, so it’s perfectly natural if you find the whole thing overwhelming.

If this is the case, however, the worst thing you can do is simply hope for the best and see what happens. Instead, ask for help from experts who can work to improve your knowledge of cybersecurity. Organizations like Syntax IT Support work to improve the security and efficiency of your business while also keeping you in the loop.

Bad Password Hygiene

A strong password is one of the simplest things you can do to improve the security of your business data. Too many of us rely on the same password for everything or else use a weak password which can be easily guessed.

Make sure your password contains a range of different characters, including upper case and lower case letters, as well as symbols and numbers. Tweak your password for different accounts so that, if one password is breached, it isn’t putting all your data at risk.

Not Having a Recovery Plan in Place

Every business needs a recovery plan in place when it comes to cybercrime, no matter how secure you are.

We all hope that we won’t be hit by hackers, but if you are, you need to know what to do in order to lessen the impact and reduce the damage.