sions accordingly.
3) Update On-Prem Software or Migrate to Cloud
Cybercriminals and software developers play a constant game of cat-and-mouse. When developers release new products, hackers start looking for vulnerabilities they can use to infiltrate user systems. In response, developers have to write new code that blocks the vulnerabilities that hackers find.
Most operating systems and enterprise applications have an automatic update option. However, it's up to you to enable this. A lot of IT teams choose not to perform automatic updates so that they can maintain a stable environment. This is an acceptable approach, but you need to factor it into your risk mitigation strategy and create alternative processes.
Another alternative is to migrate to the cloud. Cloud providers update their systems updates automatically, which means that you're always logging into the latest version. You also have the protection of the cloud service's data security measures, which tend to be more robust than enterprise-level cybersecurity.
4) Take Steps to Protect from Malware
If you're storing sensitive data, you must have enterprise-grade virus protection on all systems. This offers a layer of data protection against viruses, keystroke loggers, and other malicious programs that could lead to a data breach.
However, anti-virus is just one tool in the fight against malware. Education is perhaps the best way to keep malicious programs out of your network. Support your users and help them to recognize the risks of opening email attachments or visiting unfamiliar websites. When in doubt, don't click it.
You can also limit the impact of malware by taking proactive measures. Ransomware, for example, locks away your data until you pay a ransom. You can mitigate this risk by keeping business-critical data in a secure environment, such as a data warehouse.
5) Use VPNs to Protect Remote Workers
Remote working is generally secure, as many cloud services use a robust level of encryption. However, remote workers are sometimes vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks, especially when using public wi-fi. This kind of attack can expose login credentials, financial information, and other personal data.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is one method of preventing data interception, even if the user falls for a man-in-the-middle attack. VPNs offer end-to-end encryption, so it encrypts data on the sender's side and decrypts it on the recipient's side. If anyone intercepts packets in transit, they won't be able to extract any meaningful data.
6) Find Vulnerabilities in Your Cybersecurity Network with Penetration Testing
Penetration testing, also called pen testing, helps you find any existing weaknesses in your system. Penetration testing tools will scan your system and list each vulnerability by category and severity.
You can perform a pen test at any time to probe your system for weaknesses. Some of the most important times for a pen test, however, include when you:
- Connect a new office to your network
- Upgrade or add applications to your system
- Add new infrastructure to your network
- Change your security policies
You can hire a security team to test your system, or if you don't have room in your budget to hire security contractors, you can use open-source tools like:
- Metasploit Project, a comprehensive penetration testing framework that looks for the oldest and newest vulnerabilities
- Wireshark, which analyzes your network protocols and gives you a security report
- John the Ripper, which will try to crack your (hopefully) strong passwords
For the best results, use a combination of pen testing tools to probe your system.
What Should You Do After a Data Breach?
If you follow the steps above and perform a thorough audit of your data security measures, you should now understand how to prevent data breaches.
Unfortunately, data breaches can happen to even the most prepared companies. In 2020 alone, we saw massive cyberattacks at Nintendo, Twitter, and Zoom. If you discover that hackers have compromised sensitive data, you need to have a response plan in pl