Cybersecurity and data protection in the modern world is a necessity not just for individuals but also small and large businesses.

A vast majority of companies need to come up with a security plan that ensures their business data will be safe from outside attacks or internal hacking. Here are the top cybersecurity tools you should implement right now.

VPN

A VPN is a system that uses software to create a secure network connection over a public network such as the internet or a private network owned by a service provider. It enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. VPNs can provide confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity assurances between the sender and receiver, and such assurance is needed in many cases to ensure secure communications.

Today’s world is increasingly becoming more and more dangerous, especially if you’re an individual who is responsible for the security of sensitive information at your company. If you work with data that could prove costly for your company in the event of a leak, it is essential that you invest resources into cybersecurity tools that can protect your business from such threats.

A virtual private network, or VPN , is an essential tool for businesses of all sizes and types. A VPN will protect your company by encrypting its data and communications and masking its IP address — which could allow hackers to spoof the source of the attack.

Multi Factor Authentication

No longer considered only an option for government employees, high profile business executives and other such individuals, multi factor authentication has become a popular solution for all types of companies. Its premise is simple: in order to log into the system, the user will need two things – something they know (their password) and something they have (a device).

Employees are generally required to use multiple factors of authentication in order to prove their identity when logging into company systems. This practice greatly increases security by making it harder for unauthorized individuals to access privileged accounts, even if they have obtained another user’s password.

The most common types of multi-factor authentication include: Something You Know (password) Something You Have (smart card or cell phone) Something You Are (fingerprints, retina scans, etc.)

According to a recent study conducted by the security firm Rapid7, nearly half of IT professionals polled used multi factor authentication on at least some corporate endpoints.

While adoption has increased significantly in the last few years, many companies are still hesitant to implement this security layer due to concerns that it will slow down their employees and create inconvenience. However, by choosing the right combination of multi-factor authentication tokens, companies can actually reduce login times and increase user satisfaction.

The bottom line is that multifactor authentication is the most effective way to secure data against cyberattacks. If you are not currently using multi-factor authentication for your employees, then it should be one of your top priorities next year.

Password Policy

Nowadays, companies of all sizes are more connected than ever before. Whether it’s through cloud services, information sharing or even just sending an email internally to another colleague, employees at all levels have access to sensitive information that could threaten the security of your company if misused.

One of the easier and more effective tricks for increasing your company’s security is through using a strong password policy that mandates employees change their passwords every few months. A study by Carleton University found that not only were employees who had to change their passwords more likely to select stronger passwords, but they were less likely to reuse the same password across different services. It’s also important for your company’s information security management system (ISMS) to be tied in with your password policy so you can always track passwords and who is using them. You can’t protect your business if you don’t know what’s being used to access it.

It has been shown that weak passwords are the number one way people get hacked, and the simple password is the biggest culprit. Hackers can try thousands of passwords in just a couple of minutes by running programs designed to use common words or names. Every minute your employees spend trying to guess a password, they could be doing something productive.

Employees should have a minimum of 12 character passwords with a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols. This makes it much harder to guess by a program, but there is still room for human error. People also tend to write down their passwords if the system forces them to do it. With a minimum of 12 characters, you can reduce the chance that someone will write the password down by accident and increase your security at the same time.

Anti-Phishing

Our identities are being stolen, privacy breached, and confidential information shared on the internet every day. Cybersecurity threats are everywhere right now. This makes it especially difficult for companies to protect themselves against malicious attacks, phishing scams, ransomware viruses , and other forms of cybercrime. However, there are steps that can be taken to increase the protection of companies’ information.

One effective method for protecting against phishing scams, which are responsible for more than 600 million compromised identities each year (and that’s just in the United States). There are many ways to implement an anti-phishing training program.

It can be as simple as employees receiving regular emails with links that, when clicked, take them to a fake phishing website where they are reminded of phishing techniques and how the company protects against such scams. More complex programs include having employees log in to mock accounts (or “mules”) where they are taught how to detect suspicious emails.

Employee training can help mitigate risks by teaching people what information should never be shared on emails or other networks. Even simple measures such as not clicking suspicious links, reporting unauthorized access to sensitive information, and keeping company data out of the wrong hands can work wonders.

The modern world is full of dangers and cyber security companies have taken it upon themselves to do everything in their power to help businesses be safe from attacks. By implementing these tools you are taking the right step towards securing your company’s data! Stay tuned into Bayshore Interactives blog page for more cybersecurity information.