IT Cyber Security Checklist: Protect your Business from Cyber Extortion

“Dear User,” – This is how a data breach message usually begins. The next few lines are a little difficult to understand but the overall message boils down to one thing – your data has been stolen. As per the research, it has been found that organizations stand to lose more than $100 billion per year to cyber-attacks and fraud globally. The loss can cover anything from information theft to a temporary IT breakdown.

Have a look at this IT cyber security checklist to protect businesses against cyber threats.

Use Strong Passwords

Employees should keep all online accounts safe by setting a password that has at least 16 characters, one number, one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter and one special symbol. Also, it is advisable that employees should change their passwords on a regular basis. Remember, the more options you choose, the more secure the passwords will be.

Be Cautious with USBs

It’s really a bad idea to plug unknown drives into your PC as this can be risky to your business. Plugging unknown USBs can spread malware on the device and threaten your sensitive information. To avoid such problems, provide your employees with an encrypted pen drive. Also, make sure that all the external drives are tested by running a security scan.

Keep Backups

Nowadays, one of the most common reasons behind corporate data breaches is Ransomware. To keep your sensitive credentials safe and secure from cyber-attackers, backups are necessary. Read this post to learn more about how ransomware attacks take over victims’ money.

Secure Networks

Make sure that every operating system is enabled with a security software. If employees are working from home, then be sure that their systems are protected by anti-malware software. As a rule of thumb, install a good as well as a reliable antivirus software to keep your sensitive credentials safe and secure.

The above IT cyber security checklist will help you go a long way in protecting sensitive credentials of your organization. You can also read our post on Understanding the Enterprise Data Breach Attack Chain