Cybersecurity: Ways to Protect Your Company

A malware attack on a business averages a cost of $2.5 million.

It’s important that cybersecurity is a focus of your field service business. Cybersecurity is in the news on a daily basis. Businesses are getting hacked and personal information is stolen to be used in nefarious ways.

And it’s costing businesses big money. Since the pandemic cybercrime is up 600%. So how do you protect your business from cyber criminals?

Here are actions to take and things to look out for to protect your field services business and data:

Learn and stay updated
Create a cybersecurity framework
Have a security budget in place
Adopt basic cyber hygiene
Pay attention to social engineering threats
Be aware if IoT devices
Consider outsourcing security services
Implement a VPN for employees

Learn and Stay Updated

For better cybersecurity preparedness, the first step is to educate yourself. It starts with having a risk management perspective. How do you do this? Find different sources to learn from.

Gain insight from various informational resources and technology experts. Network and connect with those who have experience or expertise that matches your cybersecurity needs.

Here are a few key resources:

Create a Cybersecurity Framework

Explore different frameworks, such as NIST CSF, CIS 20, or ISO/IEC 27001/27002. These frameworks are designed to provide guidance for improving and building your cybersecurity program. An IT expert can help you with this!

Before deciding on a proper framework for your business, you should take into consideration:

The maturity of your current cyber risk security program
Your company policies and goals
Any regulation requirements you have to comply with

With the help of cybersecurity frameworks and IT experts, your company can obtain a secure cyber state.

Have a Security Budget in Place

As cybersecurity becomes more of an issue for businesses, it’s important to plan and budget for cybersecurity. A security budget is needed to help protect and update:

Wi-Fi networks
Hardware (such as computers)
Software (such as FieldEdge)
Company and customer data

You never know when you will need to make security improvements so it’s better to be prepared and ready. Next, we’ll cover the preventative measures to lessen your security risk.

Adopt Basic Cyber Hygiene

Cyber hygiene refers to standard measures that you should take to protect your company. For example, these questions will help ensure that necessary criteria are being met:

Does your company have strong passwords and multi-factor authentication in place? And if so, how often do your employees change/replace their passwords?
Is your key data backed up?
Is the WiFi secure and reliable?
How often do anti-virus software applications update?
Do you regularly patch security flaws as they arise?
Do you have an IT professional you could reach out to in case of an emergency?

Pay Attention to Social Engineering Threats

There’s a lot of information out on the web, especially social information, and hackers will find ways to reach out to you with malware through phishing.

There are a few ways to prevent phishing:

Anytime employees receive an email, they should look for who it’s from without opening any suspicious files.
Warn employees to be wary of what files or attachments they open when sent via email – even trusted sources can get hacked.
Protect your phone by setting up software that updates automatically. Updates can keep you current against security threats.
Require multi-factor authentication. Many accounts are using this security feature by requiring two credentials to log into your account. This could be a text from an authenticator app or a password/PIN.

Employees should always be alert for suspicious emails and operate out of zero-trust when facing threats like these. With these preventative measures, the likelihood of getting phished will drop!

Pay Attention to IoT Devices

Every IoT (Internet of Things) device presents an opportunity for a cyberattack. Considering that many employees and companies are operating remotely or in the field, devices such as laptops, computers, smartphones, tablets, and storage devices are increasingly vulnerable to hackers.

As a result, it can pose a higher risk to your company. To stay safe, an important step is to regularly change default passwords on every device that is on your network, even if not used for work.

Outsource Security Services

Depending on your business size and growth, it might be in your best interest to outsource your cybersecurity services.

As we mentioned before, outside IT and cybersecurity expertise can help you stay extra secure and be on call in case of emergency.

They may perform regular vulnerability assessments and provide tailored solutions to your company and industry.

Implement a VPN for Employees

If you have any employees working remotely, you might want to consider a virtual private network (VPN) for your company.

A VPN is a unique private network that gives its users online privacy and anonymity while using a public internet connection. They mask your internet protocol (IP) address so web browsers can’t trace online actions.

VPN services also allow for secure and encrypted connections that provide greater privacy. As a result, you and your employees can surf the web without being identified by third parties.

What exactly does a VPN hide?

Browsing history: A VPN will prevent your browsing history from being tracked.
IP address and location: Users can maintain their online privacy and search the web anonymously.
Your location for streaming: Users can stream freely knowing that their location isn’t tracked.
Devices: A VPN helps protect the data you send and receive on your devices.

Also, when choosing a VPN for your company, ask these questions:

Do they respect your privacy?
Where are the servers located?
Do they run the most up-to-date protocol?
Can you set up a VPN on multiple devices?
Do they set data limits?
How much will it cost?

These questions will help you pick the best VPN that encompasses your company’s specific needs and wants.

FieldEdge can dramatically reduce the stress of securing your company by safely storing your customer data. Book your FREE personalized demo today!

Protect Your Business From Digital Threats!!

These steps will help guide your company into a year of safety, security, and a healthy cyber environment. No matter what steps you take, nobody is entirely invulnerable to security breaches; however, there are always ways to better protect your business.

In this post we covered several steps to protect yourself from cyber threats including:

Learn and stay updated
Create a Cybersecurity Framework
Have a security budget in place
Adopt basic cyber hygiene
Pay attention to social engineering threats
Be aware if IoT devices
Consider outsourcing security services
Implement a VPN for employees