By now, most of you have received at least one unsettling letter warning that a company’s security has been breached, and your sensitive information may have been compromised. What if the thieves now have enough information to hack into your other accounts? What measures do cyber liability providers say must be in place?
“If you’re still depending on just a password to protect your confidential information, you may need to start worrying,” cautions Nate Austin, co-founder of Mytech Partners, a respected local IT service provider for more than 20 years. “Passwords are the weakest links in the security chain.”
He explains, “Passwords are easily cracked. They’re hard to remember so most people don’t make them complex enough, then they repeat them often. Even if you have complex passwords, they can be bypassed easily, especially if they’ve been part of a security breach in the past.”
Cyber liability insurers are insisting on stricter security standards
Topping these strategies is multi-factor authentication (MFA), which requires the user to provide at least two forms of identification to gain access to an account. One example is to enter a PIN that was sent to your phone, in addition to your login credentials.
“MFA makes unauthorized access even harder for malicious actors. The risks of phishing, hacking and fraud go down exponentially when you add MFA. In most cases, you have a 99% improvement in your login security.”
MFA is so effective that most cyber liability insurers now require businesses to use them. “We’ve been told that unless a business employs MFA, they cannot renew coverage or get new coverage. It’s included in many insurers’ minimum requirements.”
Other ways Mytech Partners is helping businesses keep their information secure
Austin says Mytech Partners is committed to helping local small- and mid-sized businesses identify and mitigate their risk of cybersecurity breaches. “Business owners may not understand that antiviral software and other legacy security methods are no longer as effective as they were just a few years ago.
“By sharing our advice on this subject, Mytech Partners is reaching out to help the overall business community whether or not you work with us.”
In addition to implementing MFA, here are three security strategies that Mytech Partners encourages businesses to implement in 2022:
- Tighter physical controls. “These may include stricter door access procedures and the use of security cameras. Business executives are not always aware of newer and more effective options that can make their facilities safer.”
- Proactive security assessments. “Cyber liability insurers may soon require that their customers undergo a Certified Information Systems audit. It’s an additional security layer that provides a roadmap for ensuring customers’ data is kept private. You want to evaluate, update and/or write your security policies so your team can be held accountable for them. This is such an important component that Mytech Partners is automatically deploying it on behalf of our clients.”
- Incident response plans. “Companies should be prepared ahead of time to successfully combat cyber threats. In the midst of a breach, companies should be executing a developed plan, not wasting valuable time trying to figure out what to do.”
Austin concludes, “As more sensitive information is stored online, cybersecurity threats will become ever more sophisticated. This is a serious concern for all of us. There are preventive steps and response guides available to enable companies of all sizes to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of their organization’s information.
To learn more about using the latest cybersecurity strategies to protect your company’s data, view Mytech Partners’ 2022 IT Forecast video, or contact them at mytech.com.
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