Business Continuity | Network Doctor

Self-Assessment: How strong is Your Cybersecurity Plan?

Ward Vogt — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 18:48:39 +0000

Anyone who has a small to medium-sized business has “an” IT plan, but per a recent study, only 14% of them rate their own cybersecurity plans as “effective.” This is alarming when you consider that 43% of small businesses are targeted by cyberattacks. It’s like having a rowboat with leaking life vests because you don’t really believe your boat can sink; only yachts sink, right?

Patch up those floaties, it’s going to be a long ride. You don’t want to be one of the 60% of small businesses that have to close their doors forever following a single cyberattack.

Let’s look at your cybersecurity plan. Does it have the elements you need to keep floating, or will one mistake send you to the bottom of the lake?

How Solid is Your Cybersecurity Plan for Meeting Compliance Issues?

In case you missed it, compliancy is kind of a big deal these days. Governmental regulatory standards are tightening as they hold businesses accountable for client privacy.

If you are found to be in violation of these industry standards, you are looking at stiff fines and lawsuits. Many of these violations can be avoided by proving you have your business’ data secured under an effective cybersecurity plan.

The health agency has more hoops than other agencies, with rules ranging from HIPAA to the HITECH Act.

Meanwhile, law firms answer to the BAR association, and financial institutions face the BSA AML, FACTA, and the GLBA.

These are all before you even factor in state regulations and good common-sense best practices. If you don’t understand the regulations governing your small to medium-sized business, you may need to hire a professional who does. When it comes to compliance issues, what you don’t know will hurt you.

Documenting Your IT Plan is More Important Than You Realize

It’s not enough to buy some boxed anti-virus software and call it a day. You need to have your complete cybersecurity strategy documented. If a governmental agency randomly chose your office for an IT audit ensuring compliance, how can you prove that you are taking the necessary steps?

In addition to documenting the plan itself, document your backup and recovery plans and your Business Continuity Plan as well, and document all routine testing. Like those life vests stored under your boat’s seat, you don’t want to wait until you’re sinking to find out how leaky they really are.

How Solid is Your IT Plan for Remote Workers?

It’s a pretty good bet that at least some of your remote workers will continue to work remotely now. How are their devices secured? Are you providing them the tools they need to protect your network like email safety rules, an Acceptable Use Policy, and cybersecurity awareness training?

Are your password requirements strong enough, and do they discourage the repetition of passwords? Do you require a multifactor log-in process for an added layer of security?

Your remote workers are a special “breed” of vulnerability. They tend to be laxer about security, log into unsecured WIFI networks, allow family and friends to use their devices, “cheat” on passwords, remain logged in, store files directly to their PCs, and other risky practices.

Using a VPN and switching to cloud services is a good start for beefing up your cybersecurity strategies when working remotely.

Speaking of Documentation, Do You Have Clear Written Policies for Employees?

Your employees are your first line of defense. Cybersecurity rests at their fingertips. Do they know that using email for personal reasons or using personal devices may expose your network?

Having clearly defined policies such as BYOD policies, remote workforce guidelines, and Acceptable Use Policies will protect your network and your reputation.

It’s important to keep signed policies in employee files. If the unthinkable happens and an employee accidentally launches malware into your network, having a signed policy in place:

Helps prove to regulatory agencies that you took appropriate actions to avoid the breach
Closes loopholes from cyber risk insurance companies looking for a way to get out of paying your claim
May help limit monetary damages for lawsuits by proving that you took reasonable precautions prior to the breach

Employee policies should be renewed as your office tech changes and made a part of your new employee onboarding process.

Some things covered in these policies would include who, what, when, where, and how:

Who has access to devices?
What are the permissions required for the user to perform their job?
When can a user use a personal device rather than a work-issued device?
Where is it appropriate for the employee to use the device? (secured WIFI access spots only, for instance)
How is the device secured to protect your network?

network doctor Can Help

Cybersecurity threats to small and medium-sized businesses are increasing in both number and sophistication, and it’s imperative that your cybersecurity plan can meet the rising challenge. Even if you have strategies in place, it never hurts to have a second opinion (especially a free one). Schedule your no-cost, no-obligation network assessment, and complementary dark web scan today to ensure your organization has a secure tomorrow.

Next step: What business executives want to know about cyber risk

Let Network Doctor give you the answers you need to get started on solidifying your IT plan.

The post Self-Assessment: How strong is Your Cybersecurity Plan? appeared first on Network Doctor.

6 Ways Financial Institutions Can Improve Their Cybersecurity Strategy

Ward Vogt — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 12:47:06 +0000

With the delicate nature of the data handled by financial institutions, it’s no wonder that this industry remains one of the most vulnerable targets for hackers. While the FFIEC (Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council) has many regulations in place to protect the industry and its clientele, hackers show no signs of slowing down. Cybersecurity threats to the financial sector are growing, and the stakes have never been higher.

With so many cybercriminals using increasingly sophisticated weapons, your financial institution’s cybersecurity strategy needs to address these six trending threats.

1. Cyber Security Threats to the Financial Sector Targeting the IoT

Even though you haven’t thought about how the IoT increases your vulnerabilities, the hackers certainly have. 2020 has seen several IoT botnets deployed in attacks such as Dark Nexus, LeetHozer, Mozi, and Hoaxcalls, and the trend isn’t likely to stop any time soon.

Stopping IoT Cyber Security Threats to the Financial Sector: Network Doctor recommends a cybersecurity strategy with a combination of multifactor authorization, timely installations of security patches, and rigorous cybersecurity hygiene habits.

2. Supply Chain Attacks

Supply chain attacks are hacks that occur through a third-party vendor. One of the most notable supply chain attacks hit Equifax in 2019, stemming from, of all things, an HVAC vendor. In fact, 56% of organizations, according to a CSO article from 2019, have had a breach caused by their third-party vendors.

Shockingly, although the average number of vendors with access to sensitive data is 471 per organization, only an estimated 35% of companies have a true understanding of what outside parties have access to sensitive data.

Stopping Supply Chain Attack Cyber Security Threats to the Financial Sector: Third-Party Vendor Management is a part of Network Doctor’s services. The best ways to detect supply chain attacks is by routine monitoring and auditing of all third-party vendors.

3. Insider Cyber Security Threats to the Financial Sector

Whether it is a disgruntled employee, an employee who unwittingly uploads a malicious file, or any other form of employee error, 60% of all cybersecurity threats come from inside the company itself. Phishing emails, spoofing, and business email compromise are frequent weapons for hackers to gain access to a network.

Once inside, they can mine for sensitive data, launch a ransomware attack, or remain undetected for days, weeks, and even months.

Stopping Insider Cyber Security Threats to the Financial Sector: Network Doctor understands that the largest amount of insider threats come from lax employee cybersecurity awareness training. Training employees to spot threats along with teaching them a “zero trust” mindset is one of the most important parts of your overall cybersecurity strategy.

4. Global Operational Risks

Every financial organization wants to expand, and many of them have a global reach. With growth, however, comes an increase in the chances of a cyberattack. Financial institutions are especially attractive to hackers because most of them are looking for the largest monetary gains they can find.

Stopping Global Operational Risk Cyber Security Threats to the Financial Sector: Constant assessment of your business’ risk is a key factor for stopping global operational risks. Monitor the dark web routinely to make sure your organization’s information isn’t for sale and find an MSP that offers dark web scanning as part of their service offerings.

5.DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service)

A DDoS is one of the more serious cybersecurity threats to the financial sector. In a DDoS attack, the hacker slams the target with so much unwelcome traffic that the network is overwhelmed and can’t keep up. Hackers use this approach to crash a network so customers and employees can’t conduct business.

Even an inexperienced hacker can launch a DDoS against a targeted organization. DDoS malware is for sale on the dark web, and a week’s worth of destruction costs the hacker only $150. It’s estimated that nearly one-third of downtime is caused by a DDoS attack.

Stopping DDoS Cyber Security Threats to The Financial Sector: Network Doctor recommends a cybersecurity strategy that combines reputation-based AI antivirus, redundant network resources, and moving applications to the cloud.

6. Ransomware is One of the Growing Cyber Security Threats to the Financial Institution

It’s estimated that ransomware against financial institutions rose ninefold in the early part of 2020. Ransomware is usually unleashed by an employee via a phishing attack and will halt the functionality of the network until the ransom is paid. Paying the ransom may not be enough, as hackers will release all captured data on the dark web despite the monies paid to retrieve it.

Stopping Ransomware Threats to the Financial Sector: Since most ransomware infections rely on human interaction, such as clicking infected links, Network Doctor recommends a cybersecurity strategy that focuses on employee training. In addition, having rigorous anti-spam and anti-malware protections set up for your organization’s email is an important step.

Is Your Financial Organization’s Cyber Security Strategy Up to the Challenge?

Check your current cybersecurity strategy to make sure it is giving you all the protection you need. The basic strategies you need to make sure you have covered are:

Routine cybersecurity awareness training
Regulatory compliance
Data encryption for all data
Multifactor authentication for all employees and clients
Incident response and business continuity plans
Rigorous antivirus and anti-spam protection
Routine assessments and event monitoring
Timely security patching and upgrades
Simulations and testing of your cybersecurity strategy

My IT Guy Quit, Now What?

Ward Vogt — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 18:56:27 +0000

Receiving a resignation letter from your IT manager can set off the panic alarm – and for good reason. Most organizations rely heavily on their IT people to keep their business secure and operational, and picking up where they left off isn’t easy – especially if you don’t gather the necessary information before they go. However, it doesn’t have to be a disaster. This guide will give you the tools necessary to secure your business after losing key IT resources, while preventing too much power residing with one person.

Step 1: Block their accounts and access

Your former employee may not be leaving on bad terms, but it’s still essential that you remove their access to accounts and files. If you leave their accounts and passwords active, you’re leaving your network and data at risk. This is especially true for IT staff, who typically have privileged administrator access to your most vital systems and data.

Be thorough in disabling all their digital access points, including email, cloud accounts, remote logins to company assets, other third-party software, and VPN/IP addresses they may have used previously. As well as changing the passwords of all administrative, employee and generic accounts they had access to, you should disable any email forwarding and remove any Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone call forwarding they have in place.

Step 2: Audit your documentation

Before any IT person leaves, it is essential that you have your documentation in order. By doing this, you can ensure that you maintain access to everything that keeps the business running smoothly and securely.

It’s best practice to have all of your IT networks and configurations listed and stored on an encrypted server that you keep control over. This should include details of administrator login credentials, a software and hardware inventory, software licenses, hardware warranties, network diagrams, license keys, and encryption keys.

Your IT person should have also kept a log of previous issues and how they were resolved, including break-fix support desk incidents and larger-scale preventative projects. This forms an important part of your IT contingency plan as it will provide their replacement with an understanding of existing problems to be aware of.

Finally, be sure to ask for documentation of general IT processes, such as how and when to upgrade certain systems. This will ensure that you are able to maintain operations once your team member has left.

Step 3: Learn the basics

If you do not already know how to handle basic IT tasks, such as how to change passwords, how to access and maintain hardware, how to log into and update software, and how to monitor security alerts, you should ask your IT person to teach you before their notice period is up.

Once you understand how to carry out these tasks, you can refer to the process documentation mentioned in step 2 as a reminder. It is good practice to maintain this basic knowledge, not only because it helps in this scenario, but also because it is invaluable when your IT staff are on leave.

Step 4: Check your backup and recovery protocols

It’s essential to know how and where your data backups are being stored before the person in charge of them leaves your organization. While it is likely that your backups are automated, it is important to understand how to configure this process and how to restore your backups when needed.

The above should be part of a fully-tested business continuity plan that ensures you can restore business operations quickly if any failures occur. It is essential that you maintain routine backups in order to facilitate swift recovery in the event of data breach or loss. Be sure to ask your departing staff member for details of this recovery plan so you are prepared to react in the event of a cyber attack, data loss event, or natural disaster.

Step 5: Fill in the gaps

Although someone leaving may be a major headache, it can also be the perfect opportunity to reevaluate how your business IT operates. If you have become too reliant on a single IT “gatekeeper”, with fundamental information not being disseminated throughout the business, it may be time to look at other IT management options.

Work with your remaining IT employees to fill in any gaps or call a Managed IT Provider like a Network Doctor to help. Ideally, you should have a contingency plan for losing IT people before you hire them. By carrying out a Technology Roadmap Assessment, we can provide a clear picture of your current strengths and weaknesses to ensure a smooth transition and continued security. Switching to Managed IT Services is also a great way to make sure that no single IT expert has too much influence over your business.

Get help with your IT today

If you’re in the unfortunate position where your IT guy has quit and your contingency plan has come up short, then there’s no need to panic. If you need help, Network Doctor is only a call away. Contact us today for a no-obligation chat.

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