Cybersecurity in business

Cybercrime is taking advantage of lax security measures, reduced user attention and increased online activity during the holiday season. In particular, phishingattacks increase by 20-30% . In addition to other techniques, cybercriminals spread travel-related scams, such as airline tickets, tours and great hotel deals. This poses a significant security risk to companies and their employees, as cybercriminals take advantage of the holiday season to exploit vulnerabilities in corporate security systems.

10 tips for keeping a company’s cybersecurity in place during the holiday period

1.- Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Multi-factor authentication adds an additional layer of security by requiring more than one form of verification before granting access to accounts or systems. The company should ensure that all employees use MFA to access critical resources, including email.
2.- Update and patch systems and software: Before the holidays, all systems and applications should be checked to ensure they are up to date with the latest security patches. Frequent updates fix vulnerabilities that could be exploited by cybercriminals.
3.- Backup: Before hanging up the holiday shutdown sign, it is important that all important data is backed up and stored in secure, offline locations to protect against ransomware attacks.
4.- Raise employee awareness of phishing: Phishing remains one of the most common threats and is only solvable with ongoing employee training on how to identify suspicious emails or text messages and avoid unknown links or attachments.
5.- Perform penetration testing: It is necessary to ensure that digital assets, from websites to enterprise mobile apps, do not have any critical vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit. The best approach is to use external white hacking to detect and mitigate potential risks in time.
6.- Set up alerts and continuous monitoring: Companies should employ monitoring tools to detect unusual activity and threats in real time. Setting up alerts so that IT staff are immediately notified of any suspicious behaviour is a lifesaver.
Restrict access: Specialists should limit access to sensitive data and only authorised personnel should access critical information. In addition, consideration should be given to implementing ‘least privilege’ policies to restrict access to only what is necessary.
8.- Plan for the incident: Having a well-defined incident response plan is essential. Companies should ensure that all employees are aware of the steps to take in the event of a security breach. A good option is to simulate cyber-attack scenarios to prepare the team.
Use secure networks: The use of public Wi-Fi networks to access corporate resources is discouraged. If it is necessary to work remotely, the company should ensure that virtual private networks (VPNs) are used to keep connections secure.
10.- Control mobile devices: Mobile devices can be a gateway for attacks. Every enterprise should implement security policies for mobile devices, including encryption, strong passwords and the ability to remotely wipe data in case of loss or theft.
And last but not least, in addition, enforce password policies: IT professionals should insist on the use of strong, unique passwords for all accounts. In addition, it is advisable to use password managers to help employees maintain secure passwords without difficulty.