Ahh, summer—long days, warm weather and fruity drinks—a time when people seek adventure and relaxation.
Many of your employees have likely scheduled a summer vacation. And while good for morale, it can leave your business vulnerable to cyber attack. Taking steps to maintain a strong cybersecurity posture when the office empties out is a vital part of vacation planning.
Never Let Your Guard Down
Your employees may be taking it easy on a sunny Hawaiian beach—but cyber crooks will be hard at work plotting how to infiltrate your security defenses.
Cybercrime is a booming business. No organization or industry is immune. Last year saw the largest data breach and largest DDoS attack in history, and global cybercrime damages totaled $450 billion. By some estimates, this number is set to balloon to $6 trillion by 2021.
It’s essential that employers and employees keep their guard up against cyber risk at all times, and take preventive steps.
Beware Mobile Device Risks
The growing trend of BYOD has blurred the lines between work and play, which can leave your business particularly vulnerable to cyber attack when employees travel or go away on vacation. One survey found that nearly 60% of companies currently allow employees to use their own devices at work, with another 13% planning to do so in the next year.
This brings convenience, but also potential headaches. The same phone your employees use to access sensitive information on the company network may also be the one they use to take family snapshots on the beach.
Before your employees head out the door for their vacation with their mobile devices, remind them about the risks of storing sensitive data on the cloud and using public WiFi. With Verizon reporting in its 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) that 81% of hacking-related breaches leveraged stolen or weak passwords, employees MUST put some thought into their passwords—whether it’s to lock their phone, or access the company network. Also make sure employees physically secure their phone, or have a way to wipe it clean if it’s lost or stolen.
Pre-Vacation Cybersecurity Steps
Don’t waste your vacation time worrying about cyber crime. Secure your peace of mind by:
- Blocking out certain top-level domains (TLDs). Some TLDs are inherently risky. Be wary of TLDs like, .science,.stream, and .click.
- Educating employees. An enlightened workforce is your best first line of defense. Remind employees about the dangers of downloading apps from unofficial sources, and circumventing their phone’s built-in security.
- Establishing acceptable use policies. All it takes is one weak link for hackers to infiltrate your company network. Make sure expectations are clear for all employees—no matter their rank.
- Pumping up your use of security protocols by increasing your organization’s use of SSL/TLS.
- Ensuring all software patches are up-to-date. According to a recent Fortinet report, 86% of organizations reported attacks attempting to exploit vulnerabilities over a decade old.
- Preparing for the worst. Breaches are all but inevitable, so it’s essential to have an incident response plan to minimize damage. Clarify roles and responsibilities for detecting breaches, containing them, and assessing what information has been exposed.
Xiologix has the expertise and cybersecurity solutions to help companies keep cybersecurity on track during peak summer vacation time. Contact us.
