What business leaders should do now to protect against cyberattacks

Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which aims to help all Americans stay safer and more secure online, occurs every October, but this year feels exceptionally relevant.

Why? The pandemic has significantly accelerated the shift to more flexible work arrangements, and working from home introduces new data security risks. The increased number of devices connecting to business networks provides more opportunities for cybercriminals, and all employees now have a responsibility to protect their organizations.

This year, the sponsors of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), created the theme: “Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.” They ask businesses and individuals to own their roles in protecting their part of cyberspace, with emphasis on the message, “If you connect it, protect it.” 

Spectrum Business for enterprise has always been a strong proponent of a safer, more secure internet, and is joining the many other organizations supporting this important month in driving awareness of security best practices and tools businesses can use to mitigate online security threats. To kick things off, I spoke with my colleagues to find out what key things organizations should be doing now to protect themselves against cyberattacks. Here’s what they said:

“Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are on the rise, with bad actors creating havoc during the pandemic. DDoS attacks disrupt normal traffic and effectively make IT resources unavailable to users. The best defense is partnering with a technology provider that offers a DDoS protection service. While a DDoS attack can’t be prevented, a DDoS protection service can mitigate the negative impact of an attack.”

Bob Schroeder, Vice President, Data Product Management
 

“Companies should make sure they stay current with all vulnerability patches on their devices. The news is filled with situations where companies were breached using vulnerabilities that vendors fixed months or even years ago. It’s very basic, but good security starts with the basics.” 

Shannon Hogan, Sr. Product Manager, Data
 

“Companies should have a layered security plan that addresses security policies protecting the information assets of their organization, partners and clients.”

Sam Olmsted, Central Region Manager, Strategic Sales Engineering
 

“Well-meaning but unsuspecting employees are the greatest cybersecurity threat. The three biggest threats they’re susceptible to are malicious emails, ransomware, and browser-based Trojans. Employee education and awareness around these threats combined with a firewall that provides content filtering, malware protection, VPNs, and intrusion detection prevention are key to securing networks.”

Benjamin Scott, Enterprise Managed Services Specialist
 

“In speaking with my national clients, I hear them talk about creating separate IT and cybersecurity teams. Many overburdened IT departments have assumed or are expected to assume responsibility for managing cybersecurity. IT departments give people access to hardware and software, and support the technology deployed within an organization. On the other hand, cybersecurity experts control access to that technology and the underlying networks while working to prevent breaches and find vulnerabilities in a company's security systems and processes.”

Sam O’Grady, National Account Manager
 

Please join my colleagues and me in supporting Cybersecurity Awareness Month. You can join the conversation and share your support via social media using the hashtag #BeCyberSmart.