How often have you ignored cyber threats or maybe even fallen prey to random pop-ups or emails because they grabbed your attention? I am guessing it happens to most of us. Did you know more than 1.76 billion corporate records were leaked in 2019 alone? It was not some outside involvement but the employees’ errors more often than not. As cyber threats have continued to evolve ever since the establishment of the internet, employees must understand the importance of cyber security. With the commencement of COVID, securing the organization’s data and preventing breaches became a real challenge for many companies since everything went online, which made infringement even easier. On most occasions, we never bother about the consequences of our actions on the web and end up breaching our privacy due to our errors. Even after several training programs that companies conduct, employees tend to forget the practices that could become a security asset for them. Let’s address the issues in question and solve them by following these best practices. Learn to identify crooked emails and pop-ups Phishing emails are responsible for about 91 percent of cyber attacks against large corporations. The one best practice that employees should keep in mind is to avoid any unknown links, emails, or pop-ups. The few tips that you should keep in mind to identify illicit emails are: Do not click on the link, but hover it instead to be aware of it beforehand and only choose to visit the link if relevant. Also, make sure you are familiar with the message’s source code to detect the originating email address. Try to get a second opinion of any email you suspect is suspicious. Practice Good Password Management As obvious as it sounds, it is highly imperative to log in to the computer systems through clever and unique passwords to protect your privacy and your company’s. You must also be dynamic with passwords and keep alternating them, for which a password management tool would come in handy. 65% of large companies have more than 500 employees who have never changed their passwords. Ensure your passwords include an uppercase and a lowercase and at least 8-10 characters, along with having multiple passwords for distinct logins. Don’t let yourself be fooled by fake business emails Phishing also occurs in several forms. That involves even business emails that pretend to arrive from officials but may propose unethical or unofficial data and scam employees in the name of senior officials. The unscrupulous cybercriminals play very smartly by searching for the work emails of officials and then requesting transactions along with sensitive information. Create Data Backups Data backups are a general and essential practice for everyone to prevent themselves from violating their privacy, and that also applies to employees who juggle loads of data. Employees must maintain regular backups for future cyberattacks. Use Malware and Virus Protection Software Whether it is COVID or data, protection is critical. Numerous software tools have been built that help stops the breach of data or privacy and must be installed before initiating work. Such software should be preinstalled on behalf of the company itself and maintained by its IT department. Embracing Training Programs Embracing Training Programs and Always Being in Contact with the IT Department The company’s IT department must ensure a safe workplace for the employees, and hence, when they conduct such programs or workshops, they must be scrutinized. The employees should communicate and collect advice from the IT Department and report any malfunctions or suspiciousness from their side immediately. Also published here

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How Employees Can Help Prevent Cybersecurity Threats

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