For many businesses, cybersecurity can seem like the Wild West. There are good guys (cybersecurity pros like our team here at Vala Secure) and bad guys (hackers and other nefarious characters), plus a lot of townspeople seemingly caught in the middle and at the mercy of the good guys and bad guys. They’re just trying to go through their days without getting hurt.
But in reality, YOU are the hero of this cybersecurity story. As informed business leaders, you’re taking charge of cybersecurity to protect your business, your employees, and your customers.
You can prevent cybersecurity incidents.
You’re not at the whim of hackers and their nefarious ways. Here are two (2) actionable steps to help you prevent cybersecurity incidents:
Be realistic.
This step is more of a subtle mindset shift, but it is critically important to prevent cybersecurity incidents and ultimately, to protect your business. In a lot of ways, cybersecurity can seem like the great unknown to many business leaders. That’s completely understandable - you’re spending your days worrying about the mission-critical elements affecting your business!
But embracing that mindset shift and having open, honest conversations about the thread of cybersecurity incidents is truly the best way to start making your business more secure.
The irony: With all the technology in the world there to protect or exploit your business, protecting begins with good old fashioned conversation.
No company is immune to cybersecurity incidents. Hackers are notorious opportunists. As long as they can reach their desired goals (eg. money, data, and secrets!), then they’ll find and exploit the easiest targets possible.
Bad guys want to get paid. It’s really that simple. And we don’t share this information to scare you, but to empower you. Because once you shift that mindset and take a proactive approach to cybersecurity, you’re much more prepared and ultimately, protected.
Get educated.
The most important and easily actionable step you can take to prevent cybersecurity incidents and protect your business is to educate your staff from top to bottom about cybersecurity threats.
From administrative staff to executives, every member of your team plays a part in preventing cybersecurity incidents. In particular, going a bit deeper with education of your executive leadership ensures cybersecurity is a main priority for them. Of course, your IT team should also be fully versed in cybersecurity threats and best practices, including risks and where they may be exposed. This is critical.
While education is the most important step you can take, you don’t have to go it alone. We don’t expect you to know as much about preventing cybersecurity incidents as we do here at Vala Secure! Our cybersecurity testing provides in-depth analysis of your company and its impending threats. We walk you through risks and potential solutions so that your team is empowered to take action.
Look at us as your sidekick in your cybersecurity battle.
Now that you’re armed with the first steps of a solid cybersecurity action plan, it’s time to take action. Businesses of all sizes ideally would start with a risk assessment to get a broad sense of your risks and exposures. This assessment encompasses technology as well as governance and policy making.
From there, our team here at Vala Secure can take a deeper technical dive into your systems to identify vulnerabilities and help you draft a game plan to lock your organization up tight against hackers.
When you partner with Vala Secure, you’re always the hero of your story. Look at us as your trusty sidekick. We have a broad base of knowledge in many industries, including those that are highly regulated (like banks and healthcare). Our goal is not to bowl you over with endless industry jargon, but to arm you with valuable knowledge so you can take action to protect your business.
