Keeping networks secure is literally a full-time job for many within technology departments across the world.   “One of the most effective ways that small and medium-sized enterprises can prevent data violation is to increase employee cyber awareness.”

Technology departments must set a security foundation by securing networks with a reliable antivirus tool and ensuring the use of strong passwords. The prevention of a cyber threat can save companies time and potentially millions in financial resources.

Below are 5 tips to increase awareness of cyber security:

• Create a dedicated email address for handling queries– This provides employees a place to send questionable emails.  Having a process ensures they will ask questions they normally wouldn’t ask and take a different action than clicking on an unknown and potentially harmful link.
• Prepare for data violation in advance– Studies show the average data violation now costs companies up to $3 million globally. If you haven’t yet had a security breach, it is only a matter of time. Having a strong plan helps you identify any weak areas and makes sure each employee knows their responsibility to prepare for and act quickly if such a breach occurs.
• Adopt an early alert system– Setting up a proactive way to send an alert to the whole company is vital. Immediate communication lets you stop a cybercriminal attack from gaining momentum through each associate’s computer and helps employees learn of some “cybersecurity risks and techniques that cybercriminals use.”
• Incorporate your supply chain– supply chain systems are broad and often span across multiple counties. You need to view each supplier that has a link to your company as a potential risk. Evaluating possible issues that could affect the security of your supply chain will help you determine the necessary security measures to take.
• Reiterate the importance of cyber security at both work and home – Managers should make sure employees know the importance of data hygiene at both work and home. Now that so many people work from home or flex hours between work and home, accessing a company network can expose the possibility of a data breach.

Assessing your company’s security procedures is important and reviewing them periodically is critical. Everyone plays a role in keeping your data safe. Pragmatyxs has worked with some of the most regulated industries and is well versed with data protection.