Part 2 continues by discussing Replacement of Outdated Software, Staff Education, and VPN Implementation.

Replacement of Outdated Software

According to Cisco, 92% of their customers’ devices used outdated software that averaged 26 vulnerabilities. This finding included clients in the retail, healthcare, and financial industries, which are entrusted with sensitive data. Updates come with patches for new vulnerabilities, so running an outdated version of an operating system or application that’s no longer supported, such as Windows XP or Office 2007, will render your network much more vulnerable to cyber attacks.

Staff Education

Educating employees can reduce the occurrence of what is the root cause of more than half of security breaches: human error. Phishing has become the most favorite tool of cybercriminals. The majority of computer-savvy people know that clicking on links in suspect e-mails or entering sensitive data on unfamiliar web pages should be avoided, so cyber attacks have grown in sophistication by using social engineering.

Users are tricked into trusting a source because it appears legitimate. Designed to land the biggest trophies in phishing, “whaling” targets top executives of organizations by using personally customized e-mails from a source pretending to be from an entity familiar to the target.

Regular staff education can help reduce the vulnerability of a company to cyber attacks. Discussing how to identify suspicious e-mails, social engineering tricks, and scams will strengthen defenses. Memos on company policies regarding the careful handling of sensitive data and how to report security incidents will reinforce the lessons.

VPN Implementation

Nowadays, employees working remotely for much of the workday has become commonplace. This gives both the company and the employee more flexibility.If your staff uses public Wi-Fi networks, like inside a café, to do work using sensitive data, it will place the company at serious risk.

Creating a company virtual private network (VPN) is the answer. Wherever they have internet access, staff can access their organization’s VPN, which will encrypt the transmissions between their devices and their home office’s network, protecting sensitive data.

Alpha Engineering Business Support

Choosing an expert computer technology-support provider is an important decision for your business. Alpha Engineering Associates has been a trusted partner of many companies in the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis areas since 1990. For affordable client-focused network consulting services and solutions, please call Alpha Engineering Associates today at (410) 295-9500.