There are two things that open the door to hackers. Is your company data at risk? Your company is doing everything right when it comes to protecting its most valuable asset – its data – right? Perhaps not. Did you know that a hacker can infiltrate the internal networks of corporations in as little as thirty minutes if your company has one of two security failings?
Ethical hackers are employed by government and companies in order to see where, or whether, there are any potential openings in which a hacker could penetrate.
The vulnerable areas are:
- Weak passwords
- Software that hasn’t received security updates
Open The Door To Hackers
Weak passwords give hackers easy access to your system when they perform brute force attacks on the system. Once a password –of even one employee – has been hacked, the doors are open for entry into your entire network. Most password attacks happen at the low level and at points of entry with known security flaws.
A report found that close to two-thirds of companies continue to use software that is vulnerable to attack because the IT staff hasn’t performed required – and necessary – updates. When security updates aren’t put in place, the network is vulnerable to attack. If a web application has a known vulnerability – and those are typically easy to find on the web, hackers have a field day at locating companies that are vulnerable.
Hackers have been able to access remote desktop applications and it’s become easier because of the increase in remote employees. Bear in mind that many of the doors that are opened to hackers are done by employees! It is eye-opening for the clients we work with when they learn that lax cybersecurity protocols lead to non-malicious security breaches.
Your employees don’t want to cause a data breach. They may inadvertently do so though if they aren’t properly trained. Do your employees know what a phishing scam looks like? Do they follow password security protocols? If they are working remotely, do they use a VPN?
Is your IT team continually testing security protocols? They can send internal phishing emails as a way to “test” staff and see if they follow the protocols you have in place to prevent hackers from inserting ransomware or malicious code into your system. If staff aren’t properly trained, they won’t know how to recognize a potential hack.
Additionally — there needs to be consequences for anyone who breaks company security protocols AND those consequences and potential breaches need to be shared company-wide.
You can protect your company and its data by doing two simple things:
- Requiring difficult passwords. Require your staff to use password phrases or sentences rather than something like a word and a number. For example: SnowneverhappensinFlorida is harder to hack than monkey123 Grab a copy of our Password Tips.
- Don’t put off running software updates. Sure they may be a pain for the IT staff or take a lot of man hours, but it is part of the IT job and company data protection cannot be overlooked.
Is your company and its data as safe as it could be? If you have any questions or concerns, don’t put off talking with an expert about cybersecurity measures you need to employ now.
Schedule an appointment with Seth, President today.
WareGeeks Solutions is a Roselle, New Jersey-based full-service IT Solutions and Service Provider.
We specialize in Data Protection, specifically Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) and Cyber Security. We work with all small, medium, and large companies. We conduct a multi-level risk analysis that identifies processes procedures and/or technology that stifle productivity with oppressive layers of complexity. If you have IT or security questions contact Seth at WareGeeks Solutions. For information or a consultation, call (877) 653-7146, or email us at info@waregeeks.com. www.waregeeks.com