A series of simple recommendations to apply, which do not require high investments and can minimize cybersecurity risks.
By Eva Csiszer-Kozar*
Cybersecurity has gone from being an exclusive concern for companies in the technological field to being one of the keys to the growth of any business, regardless of the area.
Today, even companies that operate completely facing the public rely, to a lesser or greater extent, on digital technology to facilitate day-to-day processes.
Therefore, any business is exposed to being targeted by fraudsters and cyber criminals who take advantage of mass digitization to harm those companies that lack an effective risk strategy.
It is clear that not all companies have sufficient capacity or infrastructure to have a department dedicated exclusively to cybersecurity.
However, there are good practices that are applicable in any field and industry, and that are available to both multinational corporations and SMEs. Below, we give a list of 7 ways in which you can make your company more cybersecure.
1. Develop a risk stack
A good cybersecurity strategy that accompanies the growth of a company must be supported by tools that automate and optimize risk management. Even when you have a dedicated RiskOps team, it is virtually impossible to manually review all processes and transactions that pose a potential risk to a company's security.
So leveraging advances in end-to-end cybersecurity solutions that use technologies like machine learning for fraud detection is critical when planning for sound risk management. And this is not exclusive to large corporations, since there are currently options that are available to all companies that wish to strengthen their cybersecurity through this type of tools.
2. Have good data management
Virtually everything that has to do with cybersecurity revolves around data: from the login credentials of your company's personnel, to the personally identifiable data that customers enter on your site, and even information that has to do with the technical specifications of the technological equipment with which a business operates.
All this must be managed correctly to avoid malicious uses of this information.
Delimiting and identifying the data it collects from its customers, as well as the data with which staff operate on a day-to-day basis is a fundamental element to draw up the appropriate measures for the protection of personal data.
3. Back up your business information
Related to the previous point, it is essential to create backups of all important information periodically to be able to recover in case of losing it. In addition to the fact that this is a good measure against unforeseen failures and human error, it also represents a protection against various types of attacks.
For example, if one of your computers is a victim of ransomware, having a backup of the information that criminals threaten to destroy allows you to make better decisions when dealing with this type of situation.
4. Keep the software up to date
Although this measure may seem obvious, there are still many users and companies that do not give it enough importance. But this is not due to a lack of interest, but perhaps to a lack of information about what software updates represent.
These updates not only include the new features that developers add to their products to improve the user experience, but also contain important solutions to bugs and vulnerabilities that are exploited by cybercriminals.
That point doesn't just apply to cybersecurity software. All types of software that your staff uses in the performance of their duties, from the operating system to the specific tools to fulfill their tasks, must be kept up to date to close potential avenues to scammers.
5. Conduct risk audits
This is one of the best ways to detect vulnerabilities in a secure environment before they are found by cybercriminals, and thus avoid damage.
There are many companies and cybersecurity experts that offer personalized consulting. Usually, the provider of this type of service tries to access your company's website or tries to get inside information just as a cybercriminal would, and then offer a series of recommendations based on the findings found.
A risk audit is particularly valuable for detecting potential attacks that were probably not even contemplated by your internal risk teams.
6. Secure communication channels
Attacking technological vulnerabilities isn't the only way criminals try to commit fraud. Many times they also focus on the individuals behind the technology through what is known in the cybersecurity industry as social engineering.
This involves a number of techniques with which fraudsters try to deceive users or workers, either to obtain confidential information or to urge them to take concrete actions. Some examples are phishing and CEO fraud.
Creating secure and confidential communication channels within your organization, as well as establishing guidelines that allow you to easily identify if a message comes from a legitimate sender are very effective and simple ways to establish to mitigate this type of scam.
7. Educate your staff and users on safety issues
Finally, the last step has to do with promoting a culture of cybersecurity, both for your customers and for all the staff of your organization. This includes education on how important user accounts are, recommendations for creating strong passwords, activating multi-factor authentications, ways to identify suspicious communications, among others.
In addition, keeping your employees informed about major fraud trends is vital so that every member of the company can take an active role in detection and prevention.
Final considerations
As you can see, many of these points are relatively straightforward to apply and involve no additional costs to your organization. It is simply a matter of having a better awareness of the risks to which all companies, regardless of the industry, are exposed, as well as encouraging the promotion of a culture of prevention.
If we add to this the advances and services of risk solution providers, it is possible to plan a solid cybersecurity strategy that allows you to grow your business with greater peace of mind and confidence.
* After several years working in IT and software development, Eva Kozar joined SEON in 2020, when it only had 20 fraud managers building this innovative and disruptive technology. Since then, it has supported SEON with its expansion success not only in LATAM, but also in the rest of the world. She is passionate about traveling, cooking and music.
