Is your hybrid working environment secure from cyber-attacks?
Perhaps you, like many businesses, have transitioned to a hybrid working environment since the pandemic drastically changed your day-to-day operations. Well, we have to say we’re proud of you for keeping your business agile and pivoting to a “new normal.” It has NOT been easy.
Now that you’re settling on a hybrid workplace, you might have questions surrounding security. We’re hearing lots of unfortunate incidences of cyber-attacks among small and medium-sized businesses in Canada. Whether you have a dental clinic, medical clinic, lawyer’s office, or retail store, there is sensitive data in your systems that need to be protected.
Take a look at these statistics to better understand the urgency of a strong cyber security plan.
In 2021, 61% of malware directed at organizations targeted remote employees via cloud apps. Since the onset of the pandemic, about 30% of organizations have reported a spike in cyberattack attempts.
Here are some tips for you and your staff to keep your business safe from cyber-attacks:
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- Educate yourself: Take time to research the latest cybercrime tactics; knowledge is power and the more you know on the subject, the better equipped you will be. For example, pandemic themes and social engineering scams hit individuals and businesses hard. Cybercriminals are capable of creating strategic plans to target the most vulnerable at a time when people are already scared and may be more likely to fall prey to a well-planned scheme.
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- Train your employees: Your employees can either pose a risk for cybercrime or be another line of defence. Recognizing every employee has a part to play in security is important; with many working remotely there are more attack points than ever, so everyone has to care about security. Having your employees properly trained will give you added protection against cyber attacks. It’s a small investment for peace of mind knowing you’re taking every possible step to protect your business.
- Use best practices: We know what works against cybercrime. As cybersecurity experts, we stay one step ahead of criminals and use proven tactics to keep you safe. There are foundational practices that MUST be implemented. These include creating difficult, complex passwords, using multi-factor authentication, and taking time to inspect emails for clues of a scam. We teach you how to play detective with phishing scams as a prevention strategy.
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- Have a crisis communication plan in place: Planning crisis communication before a data breach happens can help restore your business’s reputation—fast. And in addition to your company’s reputation, it will provide a detailed plan of action to have operations back up and running as quickly as possible with minimal disruption, saving you downtime and added costs. Your cybersecurity team will be able to identify the threat, recover any lost data, and secure things so it doesn’t happen again.
How can Rafiki Technologies help?
We have many clients, especially in the dental/medical space that use our services to keep their patient records safe. Here is a high-level list of ways we keep your business safe:Cyber security services:
- Conduct a vulnerability assessment
- Add email protection and email archiving
- Implement firewalls on employees’ computers
- Implement anti-virus software and regular updates
Advisory services:
- Implement a cyber security policy for your team
- Help you create a cyber security crisis communication plan
- Train your employees on how to mitigate an intrusion
- Advise your team on cyber security insurance compliance