Futurism logo

10 Best Cybersecurity Practices to Implement for Your Business in 2023

Are your business databases and networks safe from emerging cybersecurity threats? Use these best cybersecurity practices to fight off all cyberattacks.

By Hijab SheikhPublished about a year ago 8 min read
Like

After every 39 seconds, an individual or business falls victim to a cyberattack. Annually, this means more than 800,000 people are affected by cybercrimes. This is because the combination of sophisticated technology and advanced techniques has made it easier to carry out cybercrime. Therefore, businesses must use protective measures to prevent hackers from gaining access to sensitive data.

To ensure you don't have to go through these security issues, you can stay well-versed on the best cybersecurity practices. In this guide, we will discuss the ten best security practices you can implement to protect against all types of cybersecurity threats.

Use a Firewall

A firewall is a network security device that checks and monitors databases' incoming and outgoing traffic. It allows specific traffic to access your network, blocking out threats. A firewall filters legitimate sources from suspicious ones by examining data packets according to established security rules.

A firewall is installed at the computer's or network's entry point, which is known as a port, to monitor all the information exchanged with external devices. Therefore, it is considered as a security guard of a system, providing the ultimate protection against:

• Malware: Any malicious software that can steal data or damage the networks, such as viruses, ransomware, and Trojans.

• Automated Software: Any software that performs automated tasks and remotely gains complete control over a computer, such as bots.

• Intrusion Attacks: Any event that allows a third party to obtain access to your system and use or copy the information stored within.

• Encrypted Threats: Any threats that use encryption to hide their malicious intent, going undetected in a system, such as spear-phishing, data exfiltration, and zero-day attacks.

• Blacklisted Networks: A list of hosts, email addresses, and port numbers that have been associated with malicious activity. This can include corrupted apps and websites with viruses.

• Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attacks: Any attack that floods the targeted traffic and sends malware to shut down a computer device or network for an unspecified time, making it inaccessible to users. This can include resource exhaustion and flood attacks.

In addition to saving your network and devices from cyberattacks, firewalls play an essential part in enforcing security policies because they solely operate on security concepts. They also log information of individuals accessing the system by monitoring traffic.

However, firewalls cannot protect you from social engineering threats, inside attacks, and software flaws. To secure your system against these cyber threats, you have to deploy other best practices of cybersecurity in your network.

Limit Access to Your Critical Assets

If anyone can log in and access the data stored in your databases, there is a high risk of data theft or loss. This also opens the door for cybercriminals to install the malware in your system.

That is why your system and critical assets should have limited access. You need to connect the database with user authentication tools to do this. These tools ensure that only authorized individuals can access the cloud server, company accounts, and other sensitive data.

When user authentication tools guard your system, each person must enter multiple credentials. A two-factor verification system provides extra security to your system. So, even if an authorized user has illegally obtained a username and password, they will not have access to the second security code, which can be a biometric login, OTP (one-time password), or any other verification method.

User authentication tools also implement network segmentation to allow access to users performing specific job roles. This means employees can access certain information based on their role within an organization. As a result, even if a hacker steals a junior-level employee's login details and enters the system, they still cannot access the highly confidential data.

Implement The Principle of Least Privilege

The principle of least privilege (PoLP) is an information security concept that works on a "need-to-know" basis. It ensures that users only have access to specific company data, applications, and resources. With this system, data access is only authorized if a team member has to use that information to complete the task. Once the task is completed, PoLP revokes its access.

One of the main benefits of this security concept is that it enables employees to perform their job while limiting their access to the entire system. So, neither employees nor hackers impersonating a worker can take advantage of private information.

Backup Your Sensitive Data

Backing up your sensitive data in various secure places eliminates the risk of losing all your data. Cybersecurity attacks, such as ransomware, are one of the things that can put the confidential details stored in your database at risk. Ransomware attacks are a threat that every business should be careful about.

In 2022, 236.1 million ransomware attacks were recorded worldwide, making it a major issue for companies. During this type of cyberattack, hackers encrypt your data, which would only be decrypted if you pay the ransom amount. However, if your data is backed up in another system, you don't have to entertain ransom demands, and you can just access the information stored in a backup cloud or device.

Creating a data backup can also assist you during software bugs and hardware failures. However, you can only avail of these perks if you create backups regularly. Otherwise, there will be gaps within the collected information, and you won't be able to restore all your data. It is recommended to back up regular data at least once a day, and highly-sensitive information twice a day.

If you are wondering about where to store your backup, use these storage options:

• Off-site physical storage

• Cloud server

• External hard drive

• USB flash drive

• CD, DVD, or Blu-ray

Make sure to apply cybersecurity best practices on the backup storage system and test their efficiency in preventing security breaches. You can also back up data in encrypted form to optimize protection.

Use 2FA Method

2FA also referred to as two-factor authentication or dual-factor authentication, is a security method for network access and authorization. In this authentication system, the user has to provide two different forms of authentication to prove their identity. For example, the employee may be required to insert a password and a fingerprint to use the company's database.

Using 2FA puts an additional layer of security on your database, making it difficult for hackers to access your device and account. This is because even if attackers are using the login details, they cannot provide the fingerprint to finish the login process. Apart from a biometric system, you can use these methods to implement dual-factor authentication:

• SMS-based authentication

• Time-based One-time Password (TOTP) authentication

• Smart card authentication

• Biometric authentication

Check URL Authenticity Before Clicking

Some URL links contain malware that can corrupt your system through viruses to promote scams and fraud. To ensure your system is always protected against this threat, check the link's authenticity before clicking on them. You can do that by following the best cybersecurity practices mentioned below:

• Use a link checker tool

• Check whether or not a site is using HTTPS

• Check the domain age

• Run the link through a backlink analysis tool

• Verify the sender

• Install an antivirus software

• Update your browser

• Beware of signs of a phishing attack, such as grammatical errors, unfamiliar greetings, and unmatched email address and domain name

Following these tips will help you avoid malicious links. This will save you from multiple types of threatening activities, especially phishing attacks (a tactic used by hackers disguised as a trusted party to trick people into providing their personal information).

Educate and Train Employees On Cybersecurity Practices

Training your employees is one of the best practices in cybersecurity because your workers must know how to utilize tools and resources to reduce vulnerabilities. Cybersecurity training can significantly reduce the likelihood of a data breach caused by human error.

Businesses can organize employee cybersecurity training sessions to raise awareness and teach the basics of this field. Make sure to use real-world examples to help them grasp the concepts easily. You can also create cybersecurity policies and ensure everyone follows them strictly.

Document The Cyber Security Policies

Documenting your cybersecurity policies makes it easier for employees to remember and refer to them. Moreover, they can protect you from a lawsuit if your company's online security is breached. It can also increase your company's credibility, as you can show these policies to customers, shareholders, and partners, presenting that cybersecurity is one of your basic priorities.

When creating these policies, use clear and concise language. You can also explain the scenarios with examples. Before implementing the policies, test their effectiveness. Once you know the policies are productive and practicable, educate your employees accordingly.

Perform Regular Cybersecurity Upgrades

Cybercriminals constantly work on creating new techniques to exploit your system's vulnerabilities. That is why your security system must be updated to fight off emerging attacks and reduce the risk of a security breach.

These are some top security upgrades you must use in your organization's database:

• Intrusion prevention system (IPS)

• Intrusion detection system (IDS)

• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems

• Regular vulnerability scans

• Penetration testing

Cloud security services

Recruit a White Hat Hacker

A white hat hacker or an ethical hacker uses the same hacking techniques used by a cybercriminal hacker. However, white hat hacker practices their skills according to laws and to identify security vulnerabilities in an organization's software, hardware, and networks.

Organizations hire these individuals and grant them permission to launch attacks on the system. This practice shows all the weak points that attackers can exploit. Once you know which points put your database at risk, you can use security patches to fill in the vulnerabilities. This will give you maximum protection against attacks.

Using a white hat hacker is quite cost-effective, as you will not have to deal with ransomware attacks or other malicious activities. It will also boost your company's reputation and help you obtain customer trust by never falling victim to a cybersecurity threat.

When you hire a white hat hacker, they will identify the breach-friendly areas through these techniques:

• Real-world attacks

• Pen testing

• Email phishing

• Security Scanning

• Social engineering

• DoS attacks

Wrapping Up

Cybersecurity is becoming a challenge for organizations with the increasing use of technology. In addition, cybercriminals are developing and launching new security threats to benefit from this situation. Therefore, it is necessary for you to use best cybersecurity practices, such as leveraging cybersecurity compliance services, to strengthen the security of your organization's systems, networks, and databases.

how to
Like

About the Creator

Hijab Sheikh

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

Hijab Sheikh is not accepting comments at the moment

Want to show your support? Send them a one-off tip.

Find us on social media

Miscellaneous links

  • Explore
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Support

© 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.