Fundamental and Simple Rules for Organizing Cybersecurity

Where do the basic rules for cybersecurity begin?

Is cybersecurity a top priority for your business? We hope it is. A recent cybersecurity report revealed that nearly 64% of businesses rank cybersecurity as their highest concern. Additionally, 80% of small and medium-sized enterprises consider IT security their primary business priority for the coming years of development.

The Impact of Cybersecurity on Business

A successful cyberattack can inflict irreparable damage on your company—not only to its website or information databases but also to the entire business. These damages may be both tangible and intangible, including:

• financial losses
• theft of intellectual property
• damage to the company's reputation and loss of customer trust

By 2021, cybercrime is projected to cause damages exceeding $6 trillion, and it is estimated that nearly 50% of businesses affected by data breaches may shut down permanently without the possibility of recovery.

What can businesses do to counter cyber threats? Let’s start with 10 essential rules:

1. Develop and Implement a Risk Management Strategy and Plan

One of the first steps businesses can take to create an effective cybersecurity strategy and plan is to assess and understand risks, prioritize them, document them, and communicate them to all employees (both in-office and remote workers).

Understanding these risks involves identifying the organization’s susceptibility to breaches (i.e., which threats the company is prepared to withstand). Once these risks are identified, it’s crucial to communicate them to leadership and other stakeholders to raise awareness of the threat landscape.

Make this a regular agenda item to ensure continued awareness and support from leadership. Establishing a robust information security program plan (“playbook”) is essential. Use Cloudflare’s capabilities wisely.

2. Invest in User Awareness and Training

Responsibility for information security does not lie solely with the IT team but also with all stakeholders, including leadership, employees, partners, and vendors. Once a risk detection framework is in place, an official information security policy should be developed.

This policy must be tested, monitored, and regularly updated to ensure strict adherence to all cybersecurity standards and regulations.

3. Secure IT Infrastructure

Ensure the creation and maintenance (typically using automated tools) of an inventory for all network devices used by employees, as well as applications within your network. Document maintenance schedules for these devices and perform regular updates and patches.

Utilize vulnerability management protocols to regularly scan and assess your infrastructure, promptly identifying vulnerable applications and devices for effective mitigation.

4. Protect Your Network Perimeter

Deploy firewalls and intrusion prevention systems to safeguard your internal network from untrusted external networks. Secure internal IP addresses and prevent any direct connections to your network. Filter unwanted content, applications, and websites to control unauthorized access.

Use monitoring tools to analyze network activity and conduct regular penetration testing to evaluate the security of your information systems. Employ secure web browsers within your environment. 

5. Use Malware Protection and Zero-Day Attack Defense

Implement 24/7 malware protection to secure your endpoints and servers. Schedule automated scans across the organization to detect malicious software. Invest in advanced technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence that can block both known and unknown cyberattack methods.

Additionally, apply malware protection to all removable and mobile devices used within the company. Regularly conduct penetration tests to ensure comprehensive security.

6. Cybersecurity for Removable Devices

Develop a corporate policy for the use of removable media in your business. Removable storage devices should only be used in exceptional cases, with all data stored within the corporate network or cloud.

It is also important to limit the type of devices employees can use and the type of content that can be transferred to removable storage. Any new devices connected to the corporate network must be scanned for malware (and encrypted) before any data transfer occurs.

7. Strengthen Control Over Users, Sensitive Applications, and Data

Establish an effective account management process to verify users—from account creation to modification and deletion. Understanding roles and responsibilities is crucial to ensuring proper access to critical applications and data. Restrict administrative access to select users and provide general access for standard accounts.

Review the requirements for privileged (admin) accounts more frequently than for regular accounts, and make adjustments as needed. Regularly monitor sensitive applications and administrative accounts with elevated access levels.

8. Expand Security Policies for Employee Mobile Devices

Flexible work arrangements, including remote workers, bring significant benefits to businesses but also expose companies to greater cybersecurity risks. Adequate precautions must be taken to protect data during storage and transmission, especially for remote employees.

IT departments should educate users about the risks of using mobile devices and train them in safe practices. Your security policy should include guidelines on permitted device types, types of information and applications, encryption requirements, and reporting procedures for incidents and threats.

9. Develop a Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan

Always be prepared for the worst-case scenario. Create a response plan and conduct training (tests) for potential cyberattacks. Establish an incident response team and assign responsibilities to all team members. Regularly conduct drills and exercises to test the response plan and checklists for handling potential threats.

The incident response team should also undergo additional training to ensure they have the necessary skills to handle various incidents that may arise within the company. It’s crucial to always know and understand how to protect your website from hacking.

10. Monitor All IT Systems

Continuously monitor your entire IT network, including:

• systems;
• devices;
• users;
• accesses;
• applications.

If internal resources are insufficient, consider reaching out to a service provider or cybersecurity company. Perform random checks and analyze logs and records for unusual activity within the network. Create a centralized database to collect and analyze all security system events in one location.

No business sector is immune to the growing threat of cybercrime. Over the past five years, the number of security breaches has increased by 67%. Don’t become a victim—prepare in advance. By adopting and implementing these 10 essential measures, you can minimize the risk of hacking and intrusion.

Yours, Datami