Information Security Best Practices: How to Protect Your Business

Information Security Best Practices: How to Protect Your Business

Information Security
Information Security Best Practices: How to Protect Your Business An effective information security setup will help to safeguard your business against potential cyber attacks, but what does that mean? In this post, GenX will explore 7 essential information security best practices for your organization. Establish a Clear Security Policy Start by documenting your security policy in clear terms. This outlines your business’s strategy for staying safe from danger and handling situations that may arise. Your policy should cover: The steps your organization is taking to stay secure and which threats they protect against How you will continue to improve security through updates to software and hardware Which team members are required to maintain the security policy and ensure that staff adhere to it Who will take charge to contain and…
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Accelerated Digitalization Calls for Managed IT Services

Accelerated Digitalization Calls for Managed IT Services

IT Services
Accelerated Digitalization Calls for Managed IT Services The world’s reaction to COVID-19 has changed the way people do business. From physical stores, many businesses have opted for online stores. From office workers, many businesses have allowed their workers to work from home. The accelerated digitalization of business processes brings about the following cybersecurity trends in 2020: Trend No. 1: Continued Cybersecurity Skills Gap Long before COVID-19, cybersecurity skills gap was recognized as a problem. Estimates of cybersecurity labor shortage come by millions. A 2017 report from Cybersecurity Ventures projected that the cybersecurity skills gap would create 3.5 million unfilled jobs globally by 2021. This projection, however, didn’t foresee the current pandemic. The 2019 (ISC)² Cybersecurity Workforce Study estimated for the first time the total number of cybersecurity workforce worldwide at…
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1 in 5 Canadian Businesses Hit by Cyberattack in 2017, StatCan Survey Shows

1 in 5 Canadian Businesses Hit by Cyberattack in 2017, StatCan Survey Shows

Information Security
1 in 5 Canadian Businesses Hit by Cyberattack in 2017, StatCan Survey Shows A survey conducted by Statistics Canada (StatCan), Canada’s national statistical office, showed that 1 in 5 Canadian businesses were hit by a cyberattack last year. From January 2018 to April 2018, StatCanconducted the first of its kind survey that aimed to provide a snapshot of the cybersecurity challenges encountered by Canadian businesses – those with 10 or more employees. StatCan’s survey results showed that over one-fifth or 21% of Canadian businesses reported that they were hit by a cyberattack last year which affected their operations. The survey showed that large businesses (41%) were more than twice as likely as small businesses (19%) to identify an impactful cyberattack. Direct Costs of Cyberattacks Listed below are the direct costs of cyberattacks…
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Information Security Standards for SMEs

Information Security Standards for SMEs

Information Security
Information Security Standards for SMEs Are the Information Security standards for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) different from larger enterprises? Similar to larger organizations, SMEs have embraced information and communication technology. The vast majority of SMEs today use some form of information technology and most have an online presence. The study “Canadian Business Speaks Up: An Analysis of the Adoption of Internet-based Technology” conducted by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce found that Canadian businesses, comprised mostly of SMEs, use the internet for general searches (91%), customer relations (86%), marketing (85%), online banking (72%) and operational matters (68%). The study showed that the internet solutions most Canadian businesses used are wireless services (82%), business internet – wired lines (63%) and cloud solutions (54%). The world economy is mostly comprised of SMEs.…
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Why SMEs Are Big Targets for Cyberattacks

Why SMEs Are Big Targets for Cyberattacks

Information Security
Why SMEs Are Big Targets for Cyberattacks Reports by mainstream media often highlight cyberattacks against large corporations. These reports lead to the belief that cybercriminals target only large companies. The truth is far from this belief. Cost of Cyberattacks on SMEs According to StaySafeOnline.org, a site maintained by the National Cyber Security Alliance, 71% of security breaches target small businesses and nearly half of all small businesses have been victims of cyberattacks. Despite these high number of security breach attempts on small businesses and high number of cyberattack victims, StaySafeOnline.org said that “many SMBs believe they are not vulnerable to cyber attacks because of their small size and limited assets.” Visa Inc. estimated that nearly 95% of the credit-card data breaches it discovered were from its smallest business customers. Data…
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Cybersecurity Inertia: Study Shows Half of Businesses Fail to Change Cybersecurity Strategy Even after a Cyberattack

Cybersecurity Inertia: Study Shows Half of Businesses Fail to Change Cybersecurity Strategy Even after a Cyberattack

Information Security
Study Shows Half of Businesses Fail to Change Cybersecurity Strategy Even after a Cyberattack   Cybersecurity inertia – the failure to learn from past cyberattack – puts not just critical data at risk, it also endangers your organization’s whole IT infrastructure and assets.   According to the CyberArk Global Advanced Threat Landscape Report 2018, almost half or 46% of businesses fail to substantially change their cybersecurity strategy even after experiencing a cyberattack.   “Attackers continue to evolve their tactics, but organizations are faced with cyber security inertia that is tipping the scales in favor of the attacker,” said Adam Bosnian, executive vice president, global business development, CyberArk.   The CyberArk survey, which was conducted in fall 2017 amongst 1,300 IT professionals, cybersecurity decision-makers and business owners across 7 countries worldwide,…
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Top Cybersecurity Best Practices for Small Businesses

Top Cybersecurity Best Practices for Small Businesses

Information Security, Security
Best Cybersecurity Practices for Small Businesses Digitalization revolutionized the way we do business. While digitalization improves efficiency and productivity, it also makes businesses more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Cybersecurity threats are not just of great concern to large businesses. Large, medium and small businesses alike are at risk of cyberattacks. A report from Better Business Bureau (BBB) – a nonprofit organization focused on advancing marketplace trust – found that only 35% of small businesses could remain profitable for more than three months if they permanently lost access to essential data as a result of a cyberattack, while more than half would be unprofitable in under a month. “Profitability is the ultimate test of risk,” said Bill Fanelli, one of the authors of the BBB report entitled “2017 State of Cybersecurity Among…
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