8/29/22
4 (EASY TO DO TODAY!) Preventable actions to ensure technology is safe over the Long Labor Day Weekend
Long weekends are great to enjoy time with family and friends. They are also unfortunately known for cyber-attacks. Cyber criminals tend to strike when targets are not as focused and there are multiple days off to cement their attack.
These practical and easy to do steps help businesses avoid and stay ahead of cyber security threats.
Remind team members not to click on suspicious links: Phishing attacks are the one of the most popular precursors to cyber security issues. Bad actors are creative at making an email look legitimate, creating alarm, and causing team members to click. Please take a moment and provide a reminder to team members to read through and not click if it looks suspicious. (Please see Do Not Click for in-depth information.)
Check to make sure updates are current: Updates, Upgrades and Patches are released almost daily to offer better usability, enhanced features, improved security protocols, and bug fixes to identified problems or issues. It is important to regularly apply these fixes to keep technology working properly and avoid cybersecurity threats. (Especially antivirus and firewall!) (Please see Why it is important to update, upgrade and patch for more information.)
Confirm Windows Updates:
- Open Settings and click Update & Security
- Confirm your PC shows “You’re up to date” otherwise, follow the instructions to run updates.
Change your Passwords: Diligence with password security is crucial to deter what could potentially be a major security breach. To keep your passwords and access safe, please consider ALL these options. Together, they will provide much better protection against having your personal information stolen by bad actors and protect your system and workplace from getting hacked. Passwords need to be unique, long, and complex. Long Passwords are harder to crack. (Please see Password Strength Test for guidance on best practices.
- Change passwords regularly
- Do not save passwords
- Do not use universal passwords.
- Use 2 factor authentication
Test Backup with Recovery – Please test backups by doing a restore and ensure the recovery time and data is accurate. It is far better to know and confirm backups are working, than to regret not testing. In case of attack, backups may be the ONLY way for a business to recover. Effective backup requires a person physically watching, checking, and chasing down errors. When you need to recover your data to keep business running, the process can’t let you down. (Please see The Fundamentals of Data Backup for additional information.)
Increase your peace of mind PRIOR the long Labor Day weekend. Ensure business technology is prepared, then relax knowing your business has done everything to avoid and stay ahead of cyber security threats.
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