Your computer and network are your most valuable assets in business. Without it you just can’t work. Gone are the days where we store information in lever arch files and filing cabinets. We now  store virtually.

Our virtual tools are also a source of play, entertainment, and wonderful tools of creativity.

Our most valuable assets are at huge risk. It is easily accessed if not protected and even so, still easily accessed if we unwittingly let the bad guys in. It goes without saying that protecting these virtual assets is of utmost importance to us all.  We must learn how to become cyber smart and more cyber aware.

Here are some Cyber Hygiene Tips

Cyber-security should be on the TOP of the agenda. Considered one of the highest threats to any organisation worldwide

Appoint an Information Security Officer (Responsible for overseeing the implementation of policies)

Develop a cyber security policy which clearly defines and answers the following questions.

What do I have to protect and from what?  Identify and prioritise the main assets and threats your organisation is facing. Consider regulations like GDPR and POPI

Awareness. Employees should understand the risks and should be Aweh about how to behave online.  People tend to forget such things rather rapidly, so repeating this every now and then can be valuable. See CyberAweh www.cyberaweh.co.za purposely bringing Awehness with continuous short interesting educational videos.

Stay Updated. Automate Updates. Keeping everything updated is key in your cyber hygiene. Update and Penetration test in a testing environment. Many a hack happened because we did not update like Wanna Cry and then we cried.

Back Up, Back Up, Back Up. It is vital to have good backups in place.  This will also protect the environment from attacks such as ransomware. Backup the most important data often and consider the cost of losing data.  Keep the backups offline, test the backups and try to have duplication of the backups.

Limit Access management. Have a Not everyone has access to all rule. Policy manage rules in place for access management and enforce them.  Make sure default passwords are changed for example, that passwords are not shared, etc.

Endpoint protection. Research next generation endpoint protection or ask us.

Securely Limit, Securely Secure and Securely Encrypt  remote access Appropriately . Remote access can be a gateway.

Create an Incident management plan. WHO internally, WHO externally, WHO Spokesman Create realistic scenarios and test response?  Get to know whom you could contact when things are problematic.

Please enrol your team for cyber awareness training with CyberAweh www.cyberaweh.co.za