3 Tips and Tricks to Reduce Your Cybersecurity Risk

The number of firms that fall prey to cyberattacks continuously grows every year. The epidemic has also shown a spike in hacked and compromised data, with remote employees creating a security breach in 20 percent of firms. While falling prey to such assaults is not always directly connected with an organization’s lack of security, there are strategies to enhance organizational and individual practices to assist reinforce security and drastically minimize risk. In this post, we have highlighted three techniques to lessen the danger of cyberattacks.

1. Investing in Cyber Security & IT solutions

A cyber-attack may bring your firm to its knees. If you cannot access your own systems networks, you can’t possibly conduct business. It is thus necessary to invest in the correct sort of technological infrastructure that can safeguard you from assaults and cyber thieves. You can source cybersecurity from managed IT service companies for reliable services.

Investing in your staff, helping them upskill via cyber incident response online courses, and enabling them to expand their general knowledge linked to cybersecurity may also go a long way in enhancing productivity. It is a well-known reality that when workers feel that their expertise is being strengthened and the firm invests in their development, they feel more inspired to perform better at their professions.

In the case of cyber security training, it pays off twice the returns since your staff will not simply be more motivated to perform at work. They’ll also have the essential information to adjust their conduct healthily from a security standpoint. They’ll be less likely to click on dangerous links and download suspicious files and more likely to know what to do in case an unintended error does occur.

2. Monitor the risk environment

Risk specialists should regularly evaluate possible risks and study new patterns as they occur to decide what will be most likely to affect the firm. Quantify exposures and vulnerabilities on a big-picture scale to build a full knowledge of the risk environment.

New cyber risk factors might include a shift in popular hacker techniques, a newly detected weakness in the security system, or an upgraded technology that makes present systems out-of-date.

A transfer is possible via cyber liability insurance. A new trend soon projected to be as common as ordinary liability insurance. This insurance may cover interruption and recovery charges, liability claims, cyber theft and extortion fees, and more. Allianz Group’s Guide to Cyber Risk examines cyber risk policies in depth.

Each unique risk may lend itself to one or more of these tactics; the right response may be created via experience and industry expertise.

3. Prepare staff

It’s crucial to underline that cyber risk is not entirely the responsibility of the risk department or IT. The risk management role should no longer be isolated; all departments should be encouraged to participate.

All personnel should be informed and educated to behave most suitably about cyber dangers. The risk team should aggressively increase awareness of problems and foster a safety culture. The cyber risk protocol should be thoroughly defined, and the human aspect of cyber risk: many breaches occur from an inside source, whether from an accidentally established vulnerability or purposeful malevolent activity.

One typical problem that emerges from workers is social engineering, which employs tactics like phishing to deceive individuals into exposing personal information. Working with workers on cybersecurity decreases the possible incidence of both of these situations.

When clients know that a company website is safe and the firm has a track record of protecting customer data thoroughly, they are more inclined to make purchases/buy services. Modern customers are incredibly alert and careful when it comes to their data protection & security. They recognize the significance of their sensitive data and the implications that might ensue if that data is exploited. Hence, companies that have incorporated good cybersecurity and IT support solutions into their everyday operations often fare better in the long run since customers feel secure when shopping with them.

Cybersecurity risk mitigation is a work that should never actually finish since new threat actors are entering the scene quickly. To keep today’s dynamic environments secure, enterprises will need to adopt proactive cybersecurity monitoring to guarantee that threats are being recognized and remediated as rapidly as feasible.

Stephanie Snyder

Stephanie Caroline Snyder is a 27-year-old who graduated from The University of Florida in 2018. She majored in Communications with a minor in mass media. Currently, she is an Author and a Writer. She was born and raised in Panama City, Florida, where her family still lives.

You know how disheartening a fraudulent payment can be if you have experienced it in your agency. A recent study showed that a typical agency loses close to six percent of its yearly income to fraudsters. Times have changed, so all agencies need to acknowledge the risks of fraud and take necessary action.

Agencies can use fraud deterrence to know the cause of fraud and eliminate it. Fraud deterrence lies in the belief that the fraud occurred in the right condition, not by accident.

Financial loss is the main effect of fraud in any agency. It is hard to track where every penny goes in a business because businesses have become more complex. Investors avoid brands that deal with frauds because they do not trust them.

The tiniest slip downwards can lead to a reduced client number, even though you offer high-quality services. Below is everything you need to know about fraud in a business. If you ever ask yourself what is billing fraud? or What is bot fraud? This guide is for you.

How Frauds Cost Agencies Millions

Frauds cost companies millions yearly, but its effect goes beyond. Fraud fallout ruins an agency’s reputation and breaks clients’ trust in the agency. Fraud is becoming more popular because fraudsters have become more innovative.

Your brand is at risk of many frauds, such as professional fraud and client fraud. The total amount lost to these frauds varies from one agency to another, but it still has the same result – financial loss.

Many duties come with owning and managing a successful agency, but fraud detection does not appear at the top of the list. The agency owners might fail to acknowledge the fraud threat mainly if they have long-term employees. Some known frauds to an agency include:

• Skimming – this is when employees take money from a client but do not record it.
• Billing fraud – creating another brand and sending invoices for non-existing items.
• Check to alter – this is using an agency’s checks to steal outgoing items.
• Corruption – this is taking part in extortion or bribery in exchange for services.

Most frauds are undetected, and they have negative effects on an agency like:

• Ruining the agency’s reputation – news of fraud in your agency will reach many people, and this will tarnish the organization’s name. Remember that a tarnished name means no client dealings, meaning you will lose a lot of money in the process.
• It prevents the agency from attracting sponsors and employees – very few sponsors would want to work with an agency with fraud scandals. You might lose millions in endorsements if you do not prevent a fraudulent attack.

Workers also want a trustworthy work environment, meaning you might fail to attract them.

• Frauds might also make the agency compromise banking covenants. They can also make the company fail to retain its competitive advantage.

How to Prevent Fraudulent Attacks

Private agencies are the main targets for fraud, according to recent research. These agencies can use the following tips to prevent a fraudulent attack:

• Make permanent “footprints” in the financial system
• Question things that look strange to the agency
• Use two unrelated parties whenever there is a money flow in the agency

How Can You Detect and Prevent Fraud?

To prevent fraud in your agency, you first need to have a strong management team that lives by honesty and integrity. Workers should have easy access to resources, and they should blow the whistle whenever they detect any suspicious activity.

A good management team will also prevent fraud by creating a positive working environment. In addition, they will staff the important departments with the right employees. Even though fraud is not the main priority in an agency’s development, it is impossible to ignore it, or else you will face dire consequences.

How to Keep Your Agency Free From Frauds

First, it would be best to ensure you manage your funds well, starting with the bank accounts. It would help if you also made sure an individual who is not entangled with disbursements does the bank reconciliation process.

It is also advisable to make sure the bank statement is handled by a person who has not taken part in the agency’s functions.

Frauds make agencies lose millions every year. It would be best if these agencies took the necessary steps to fight fraudulent activities.

Regina Thomas

Regina Thomas is a Southern California native who spends her time as a freelance writer and loves cooking at home when she can find the time. Regina loves reading, music, hanging with her friends and family along with her Golden Retriever, Sadie. She loves adventure and living every day to the fullest.

Why Cyber Security Is Integral for eCommerce Success

There’s a lot of money to be made in e-commerce. This is demonstrated by the fact that online shopping continues to expand even while other sectors of the economy do not. However, operating an e-commerce business is extremely different from running a brick-and-mortar store. Unlike brick and mortar operations, many of the biggest threats to your business may be completely invisible to you and originate from thousands of miles away. If you want to succeed in e-commerce, cybersecurity is absolutely integral to your business’s long-term survival.

Your Customers Could Be Targeted

While upholding high standards for cybersecurity is important for any business, it is even more important for companies that sell goods and services over the internet. These businesses are especially at risk of having sensitive data connected to customer accounts and transactions accessed and leaked after a security breach. When this happens, the results can be disastrous. Your customers could be defrauded of thousands or even millions of dollars after their identities are stolen using this information. After that occurs, you may end up on the receiving end of a class-action lawsuit. If you did not uphold high cybersecurity standards in your company, you will likely be found negligent in court and be forced to pay out large sums of money for the damage that was done by those hackers and cybercriminals. Your business may not be able to survive the fallout. The average cost of a business-targeted hack is $200,000.

You Need to Have a Cyber Security Framework in Place

Unfortunately, most business owners lack the expertise to institute working cybersecurity protocols for their own businesses. That is understandable. The technology and software in question is extremely complex and requires a high level of technical expertise and knowledge to understand and operate. This is why you should consider implementing the NIST cybersecurity framework when developing your cybersecurity programs instead of going about it on your own. NIST stands for National Institute of Standards and Technology. The NIST is part of the US Department of Commerce and helps to create standards, regulations, measurements, and more for the benefit of technological advancement in the United States in both regards to the government as well as American businesses.

In regards to your own business, using the NIST cybersecurity framework can be extremely advantageous due to the functions it provides for your company. NIST CSF functions should include the ability to better identify potential gaps in your own network, systems, and assets that could lead to a security breach. The system can allow you to better protect the confidentiality of sensitive data. It can allow you to detect threats in real time and allow you immediately respond to cybersecurity events before they cause significant damage. It can allow you to immediately restore any services or capabilities after such an event as well. You will be able to much better weather any kind of security event, intrusion, or attack.

You Could Lose Your Credibility as a Business

Business relationships of any kind involve a great deal of trust to maintain. The relationships customers build with the businesses they purchase products or services from indeed involve a good amount of trust. Those customers trust that they will receive what they pay for without any unexpected negative consequences. After a significant hack, this trust can quickly evaporate. Consumers may assume it is too risky to even visit your online store to make a purchase. The same can be said of other companies you do business with. Vendors, suppliers, and other partners expect that you will run a professional operation in which the sensitive data they share with you will not be leaked to bad actors. If that trust is broken, it could lead to the loss of business relationships you need to compete in your market.

Overall, you don’t really have a choice when it comes to whether or not you should place a strong emphasis on cybersecurity for your e-commerce business. If you don’t, you will certainly be targeted by hackers and cybercriminals. The results of that negligence could be disastrous for your company. If you want to survive in the long term, implementing strong cybersecurity protocols is an absolute necessity. Consider integrating the NIST cybersecurity framework and other measures to ensure that your company is protected.