January 26, 2022
Three simple steps to keep your organisation secure on Data Privacy Day
Three steps to keep your organisation secure on Data Privacy Day
How has hybrid and remote working impacted computer security? Where are we going to see the biggest focus in 2022 for cyber security strategies? And what are the three simplest things we can do right now to be more secure?
Data Privacy Day is a worldwide event that takes place on the 28th January every year. It is designed to raise awareness and to promote best practices in Information Security.
To mark the occasion, today we find out what the latest cybersecurity trends are and how to avoid common pitfalls. Read on to hear from Alon Josefsberg, Cybersecurity Pre-Sales Consultant at Trustmarque.
Alon Josefsberg, Cybersecurity Pre-Sales Consultant
So Alon, what does your job at Trustmarque involve?
Predominantly, my role involves gaining a deep understanding of our customers’ security needs to find out what their security requirements are. I advise them on where they might have ‘cyber gaps’, leaving them exposed and we find ways to secure their network. We know it isn’t one size fits all, and there is a myriad of cyber solutions on the market, so these conversations help us to define their strategy and future-proof their organisations.
Every organisation is different, and their compliance parameters also differ. Most public sector clients are unable to take risks, meaning they need higher levels of security, and some organisations, often smaller ones, are willing to take some risks in security. It’s not advisable to take risks when it comes to cyber security the outcome could be catastrophic.
How has hybrid and remote working impacted computer security?
Due to the events of the last two years, from a security point of view it has been a challenge to secure all the company data from wherever people connect. Some of our own customers, specifically those in the public sector were not used to a high level of Azure hybrid working or remote working, so it was a big step up into unchartered territory.
We know that workforces aren’t back in offices as they were pre-pandemic, so we’re helping them to reach a suitable hybrid working model. When you connect to your data from an office/physical location, all the devices there are owned and protected by the organisation.
When you allow people to connect from anywhere, you don’t control their networks or of course their home environment. This can make your organisation more susceptible to attacks, if you’re not suitably protected with appropriate cyber solutions.
Where are we going to see the biggest focus in 2022 for security?
Gaining momentum currently is SASE or Secure Access Service Edge (defined by Gartner). It is a security framework prescribing the conversions of security and network connectivity technologies into a single cloud-delivered platform to enable secure and fast cloud transformation. We are working closely with our key vendors (Checkpoint, Palo Alto Networks, Forcepoint, Sophos, TrendMicro and more) to bring the most relevant SASE solutions to our customers.
Alon’s three simple steps to protect from threats and ransomware
Education
Advise your employees as much as possible about the risks so they stay alert. Remind them not to click on a suspicious link in emails or don’t respond to communications from people that you don’t know really.
Stop and think if this is a real request; my advice – question everything.
Multi-authenticator
Installing at least 2 forms of authentication – for most products these days two-step verification is pretty much built-in. But you’d be surprised that not every organisation uses this mechanism to protect themselves. It can be as simple as a mobile app, it doesn’t have to be the more expensive side of the scale with RSA tokens for example.
Patching
Another part is patching up all your devices as soon as possible, so that means all mobiles or laptops, desktops, servers, firewalls or switches, anything on the network.
In most situations the patching is free.
Written by Julia Bluckert.
