The leading cause of data breaches is employee negligence. It may be hard to believe, but employees can be the most vulnerable aspect of your company’s cyber security. Hackers use a lot of tricks to manipulate business employees, so it is critical to educate your employees about cyber security and how to not fall victim to hackers. Training your employees in cyber security practices will protect your employees and your organization. Employees play a pivotal role in the cyber security of an organization. Below are a few cyber security tips for employees:
Avoid Emails That Ask For Personal Info: Any email that is asking for personal information is most likely a “phishing” email. No legitimate website will ask users to submit private information (like a credit card number) through an email. Submitting sensitive information through a phishing email can put an employee and the whole company at risk. Make sure your employees are aware phishing emails so they can recognize and avoid them.
Discuss Cyber Security Regularly: As technology becomes more sophisticated and dense, there are more ways for hackers to target sensitive information. Setting aside a short meeting every so often to discuss threats and share cyber security tips will help to keep everyone on the same page, contributing towards the goal of cyber security.
Get Rid of Suspicious Emails: A rule of thumb: if an email looks suspicious, get rid of it as it is probably spam. Train your employees to only accept emails that: came from someone they know and have received mail from before, are emails they were expecting and do not look odd with unusual spellings or characters. Implement spam filters in the office to filter out suspicious, unwanted and potentially harmful emails.
Strong Passwords: Train your employees to create strong, complex passwords. Avoid using simple passwords like your dog’s name or “1234.” Use at least eight characters and use a variety of letters (uppercase and lowercase), numbers and symbols. You should also require your employees to change their passwords regularly to ensure the most efficient cyber security.
Avoid Unauthorized Software: Make sure employees know that they are not allowed to download any software that has not been authorized by the company. Downloading unauthorized software will can put sensitive information at risk. Malicious software downloads can also corrupt your company data.
For more information about data and document security, contact Biel’s today.