The Four Biggest Hazards Your Organization Could Encounter in Network Security

No organization can be successful if it’s constantly suffering from data breaches. Thus, you should take measures to reduce the problems caused by these threats before they present themselves. Listed below are four of the biggest problems your company could encounter in the field of network security.

Password Pitfalls
Passwords are solid tools for managing access to data, but only if they are created properly. If a password is made without knowledge of best practices, it could be figured out with relative ease and utilized to crack any accounts that the password is used for. It’s sadly common for those who don’t know any better to use the same password for multiple accounts.

It can be difficult to make your password easy to remember while also keeping it secure and hard to guess. You don’t want it easy enough for someone to figure it out on their own, but you don’t want to forget it yourself. A passphrase is a great way to keep track of your password, and it’s much more difficult to guess than a singular word. If you substitute certain letters for characters and numbers, you can make it even more difficult to figure out.

Therefore, instead of using “dorothy” or a random series of letters and numbers, a Wizard of Oz fan might use “#Urk1i-+lgD5g0”.

Malicious Mobile Applications
Applications designed for your smartphone aren’t always built with the best quality, to say nothing of their intentions. Even though smartphone app distributors have tried to eliminate threatening downloads, it’s impossible to find them all, and they will sometimes make their way onto the platform. These malicious applications pose a significant risk for your organization.

Even the safe apps that you download from the app store could present a threat, though. Some are quite loose with how they treat a user’s data, so make sure you keep track of what permissions you’re permitting for each of them. Make sure that any permissions you have for your apps make sense. If they don’t, perhaps you’re better off without it.

Phony Phishing
Cybercriminals will usually resort to underhanded methods and deception to worm their way into your business’ infrastructure. They might try to manipulate your employees into acting a certain way or making decisions that aren’t the best for the company. These tactics are called phishing, and it’s one of the big reasons why your business needs to be cautious with messages from both known and known senders. These phishing scams vary in scope and scale, ranging from the classic Nigerian Prince example to the countless messages that are sent out every day warning the user that their system has been compromised, insisting that “tech support” must be called.

Your employees can prevent these messages from making trouble for your business by keeping a healthy dose of skepticism when going through their email. It’s also imperative to confirm the identity of the one who sent the message via a secondary means of communication, especially if the message seems to have come from someone internally. This might seem like a hassle, but it’s well worth the annoyance of dealing with a phishing scam.

Wi-Fi Concerns
Wireless Internet access has given businesses a lot of freedom in the workplace, offering a way to be productive without sitting in front of a desktop for eight plus hours. Wi-Fi has given companies more opportunities to get work done, but it also creates opportunities for cybercriminals to access networks and infrastructures if they aren’t properly secured. Some businesses might keep default passwords on routers which makes them prime targets for attacks by cybercriminals. Be sure to change these credentials regularly. Public Wi-Fi in particular is prone to cybersecurity troubles, so make sure you’re using a virtual private network for any sending or receiving of business-related data.

To learn more about how you can keep your organization secure, reach out to Macro Systems at 703-359-9211.