Have A Plan For Cybersecurity Protection & Reporting

As Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which is a good time to consider what to do if you see malicious activity or become victim of cyber crime.

The numbers are daunting, with the average ransomware payment increasing 775% from last year, and the worldwide total cost of ransomware exceeding $20 billion in 2020.

Knowing what to do is critical as cyber crime has become a matter of when, not if.

Cybersecurity Protection Plan

Certain baseline protections should be a part of our everyday life.

These include:

• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) — To protect remote access, email, and web applications.
• Endpoint detection & response (or next-generation antivirus) — Every endpoint must be equipped with endpoint protection, such as SentinelOne.
• Patching applications and operating systems — Protects against emerging threats.

Cybersecurity Reporting Plan

Know who to contact if you suspect malicious activity or fall victim to a cyber threat.

• Recognize email red flags — Do not fall for a well-crafted hacker email. Report malicious messages to your manager, IT staff, or to Integrity. The information helps us better block bad mail and may aid in identifying other threats.
• Suspicious phone calls — Hackers may resort to phone calls in an attempt to convince you that a message is legitimate or to ask that you take an action. Plus, smartphones are associated with a variety of other vulnerabilities.
• Fridays and the day before holidays — Hackers increase malicious activity on Friday afternoons and the day before a holiday because they know that we pay less attention.
• Report quickly – Should you fall victim to a password scheme or give up credentials, report doing so as soon as you're able. The sooner you report the incident, the better the chance minimizing the effects. (Put your passwords to the test!)

Awareness is key as we consider how to protect ourselves and our businesses during National Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

Prepare your plan, and reach out to Integrity if we can assist in your plans!