In today’s technological landscape, you can never be too safe when it comes to protecting information and data. Most organizational data is stored online these days, for various reasons. Unfortunately, many businesses believe they aren’t vulnerable to cyberattacks or data breaches. Why is that? It’s easier to believe you’re not at risk, or have the mindset of “cybercriminals don’t want our data” or “We’re too small to be a target”. Believe it or not, cyber criminals do not discriminate, and any business can be vulnerable.
One of the best ways to be prepared in the case your business is a victim of a data breach or hack is to conduct a cybersecurity assessment. In this blog, we’ll go over what that is, as well as some tell-tale signs your business needs an assessment.
What is a Cyber Security Assessment?
The goal of a cyber security assessment is to find and diagnose any potential risks or vulnerabilities in your organization’s infrastructure before a breach or malicious attack happens. Once an assessment is completed, you’ll be able to determine the most impactful vulnerabilities and prioritize the biggest security risks that need to be patched up.
An assessment is also a good way to ensure your business is staying on top of your cyber security efforts. If a lot of vulnerabilities are found during the assessment, it’s a good sign your organization needs to put more emphasis on security awareness and training.
Your Technology Isn’t Updated
While we understand having the latest and greatest technology isn’t always in the cards, old software or computers are ticking time bombs when it comes to cyber risk. Just because there hasn’t been an incident yet, doesn’t mean it’s never going to happen. Old software is more likely to expose you to a cyber risk because eventually, that solution will no longer be supported by the provider. Additionally, if you tend to neglect software updates on your current infrastructure, you’re putting your organization at risk.
Old Employees Still Have Access
Depending on the size of your organization, you may not have a process for handling terminated employees’ technology access. There are instances where employees don’t leave on good terms and still have access to the infrastructure and applications. If passwords and former employee access were never revoked, you may want to conduct a security assessment.
Sign up for a No-Cost Compact NIST Cyber Security Framework Assessment
Employees Use their Own Devices
Bringing personal devices like cell phones to work is normal, but even that can be risky when it comes to cyber security. When employees use their personal devices at work, there are potential drawbacks such as:
- The device isn’t updated, being more susceptible to a cyberattack
- Malicious software or apps could be downloaded that gives cybercriminals access to your systems
- Employees may be entirely unaware their devices carry malware and could infect the connected system
- Accessing business information on a personal device used by other people puts data at risk
Your Staff aren’t Trained in Cyber Security
While all employees don’t need to be cyber security experts, it’s a good idea to train cyber security best practices. Many cyber-attacks or breaches happen at the hands of employees – to no fault of their own – because they haven’t been taught cyber hygiene. Poor cyber habits such as weak passwords, not logging out of applications, or not being able to notice suspicious files or emails can put the organization at risk of an attack.
Don’t Ignore the Signs
Unfortunately, most businesses don’t know how much security they lack before it’s too late. It’s critical to identify vulnerabilities, risks, and threats within your environment before a bad threat actor does.
Kyber Security | Cyber Security Assessments
Here at Kyber Security, we can help you achieve top-notch security by assessing and remediating security gaps to improve your security posture. If you’re looking to receive a cybersecurity assessment, look no further! Get Started with Kyber today.
