Welcome to 2023! We’ve arrived at the week in January when the majority of people who made a New Year’s resolution go back to their old habits. In fact, about two-thirds of people abandon their resolutions in the first month, and only about nine percent are successful at keeping them throughout the year. Apparently eating kale every day isn’t sustainable.
Despite the odds, it’s useful to set realistic and meaningful goals. Don’t worry, we’re not here to tell you to stand up straight or spend less time looking at screens—that’s what your doctor or significant other is for—but we are here to partner with you as you improve your cybersecurity posture.
To help you keep your organization secure and running smoothly, here are some cybersecurity tips and best practices to keep in mind for the year ahead:
Exercise more skepticism when opening emails, especially from unknown contacts and contacts outside your organization. If it looks fishy, chances are it’s a phishing attempt.
Cultivate good habits. Closing your computer screen when you walk away; changing passwords often; and keeping all software up-to-date are just some good habits to get into in 2023.
Save money by making all employees aware of cybersecurity best practices. The average cost of a data breach last year was $4.35 million. To help minimize financial risk, implementing a robust cybersecurity program where everyone in your organization has the same basic knowledge, and an action plan in the event of a cybersecurity incident, will be a game-changer.
Get organized by prioritizing risk. Security ratings help prioritize risk by assigning a letter grade to your security posture based on how well data and information are protected. This gives your organization and your vendors a better understanding of which areas require more attention in your respective security architectures.
Reduce stress by using multi-factor authentication (MFA). This network authentication method requires two or more ways to identify a user. This can be anything from text messages or apps that send security codes to your mobile device, facial recognition, fingerprints, or even voice biometrics. MFA significantly improves security and user confidence by adding additional layers of security. Just make sure that employees stay on guard against MFA fatigue.
Lose weight by saying goodbye to vendors who don’t practice good cyber hygiene. Use Automatic Vendor Detection (AVD) to search across a portfolio of vendors for potential issues like recent breaches or ransomware incidents.
Get stronger by making confident decisions and finding unknowns in your cybersecurity landscape. Attack Surface Intelligence (ASI) offers a complete global view of your cyber risk to detect vulnerabilities and emerging threats you weren’t aware of before.
Reward yourself. Celebrate your and your team’s success by recognizing employees who successfully report phishing attempts and other cybersecurity threats.
There are many ways to improve your cybersecurity, but the best way to stick with your resolution is to start off with small, yet attainable goals. And once you begin implementing these new habits, they’ll soon become a part of your everyday life.
Stick to your resolutions with SecurityScorecard
Establishing a routine around proper cyber hygiene is critical to ensure a system’s health and better incident response if an attack occurs. SecurityScorecard Security Ratings provide an outside-in view of your security posture, helping you establish proper cyber hygiene practices for your business or organization.
As a global leader in cybersecurity ratings, we help businesses of all sizes and industries gain comprehensive visibility into the effectiveness of their cybersecurity efforts, detect and remediate the most critical areas of risk, and more. Gain continuous visibility into your cyber risk and deploy award-winning services and solutions with SecurityScorecard. Receive your free score today, and have a healthy (and secure) new year!