{"id":2417,"date":"2020-05-01T07:06:45","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T07:06:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.apixel.com.sg\/blog\/?p=2417"},"modified":"2020-05-01T07:10:10","modified_gmt":"2020-05-01T07:10:10","slug":"cybersecurity-for-businesses-concept-loopholes-and-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.apixel.com.sg\/blog\/cybersecurity-for-businesses-concept-loopholes-and-prevention\/","title":{"rendered":"Cybersecurity for Businesses: Concept, Loopholes and Prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ever-Expanding Threat Landscape in Singapore<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cybersecurity has become one of the top business priorities for businesses in Singapore. The nation has witnessed a sharp rise in data incidents over some past years. This is because of the digital infrastructure and Singapore<\/a> being the most interconnected and technology advanced cities in the world. 100% of population has a mobile device and there are a large number of wireless access points. That\u2019s why threat actors are always looking to get into the digital network across the country.<\/p>\n

The country has already faced one of the worst cyber-attacks of its history in the form of Sing Health incident, a stealing of 1.5 million patients\u2019 data. Espionage and financially motivated attacks are the most common cyber incidents in the country. Such incidents prompted the government to pass the Cybersecurity Act to overlook and enforce cybersecurity in Singapore.\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

The Concept of Cybersecurity<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting computers, servers, networks, electronic system and data from malicious attacks like hacking and spams.<\/p>\n

No matter if you are a small businesses or a big enterprise, cybersecurity has become important, irrespective of your size and type. Taking it lightly makes you vulnerable to these attacks and led to the incident sooner or later. However, cybersecurity is not a straightforward process. For example, you can\u2019t be assured of your security on the mercy of an antivirus or password system alone. Cybersecurity is a detailed approach that includes everything, from risk detection, choosing the right measures to the awareness. Simply put, you need to tick all required boxes. First of all, you need to identify the loopholes in your network. Based on these, you need to create a cybersecurity plan that can cover the existing threat as well as the potential ones.<\/p>\n

How to Assess Your Weak Security Points<\/strong><\/p>\n

Risk assessment is an important thing to consolidate your cybersecurity. Once you identify the risks, you can create a robust plan to minimize or keep the risks at bay. Here are some common potential security threats to look for.<\/p>\n

Human Factor:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of the cybersecurity threats are internal. And one of them might be your employees. Sometimes, their negligence and ignorance is often to blame for putting businesses at risk. From being tricked into phishing emails, downloading files that turn out to be malware, to being a victim of email compromise scams, employees often make up a big liability when it comes to cyber security. Although their practices might not be malicious or driven by bad intentions, data incidents are often a case of employee acting in good faith in response to malicious minds. For example, a Boeing\u2019s employee accidently disclosed the personal data of 36,000 colleagues to his spouse when he was taking help formatting that data document. Although it was an innocent mistake, it is an example how negligence can lead to big incidents.<\/p>\n

But it can\u2019t be denied that your ex-employees might pose threat to your data. For example, some of them can sell your information out of vengeance or for making money. That\u2019s why one of the blind-spots in your cybersecurity is your people.<\/p>\n

Passwords:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Passwords can make another weak point in your cybersecurity. In almost all companies, there are many instances of weak and reused passwords. And weak passwords are often the top reasons behind security incidents. Cracking the passwords like ABCD, 1234, or your date of birth are no more challenging for today\u2019s hackers.<\/p>\n

Processes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Business processes are not always taken into consideration while assessing cybersecurity polices and working to figure out loopholes. Your business processes can play important role in cybersecurity. This aspect encompasses everything from how you identify gaps in security to how you fix them. Creating strong and effective processes isn\u2019t something you can do overnight. It\u2019s easy to count entirely on technology as a shield to stay protected, but it takes beyond software to safeguard your network ecosystem. Therefore, you are required to work over information assets like internal, public, sensitive, and regulated and so on. Also, identify the impact of the data incident on your organization.<\/p>\n

BYOD Policy:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many workplaces allow their employees to bring their own devices to work so that they can feel comfortable working with them. However, it is another major threat in cybersecurity to watch for. For example, devices under this policy often contain sensitive information. What happen if they are stolen or lost?<\/p>\n

Patch Management:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The importance of software updates has become more important than ever, thanks to the threats like WannaCry and Petya outbreaks. These attacks made their way into the system after exploiting the vulnerability in the Windows OS known as Eternal Blue that let the malware to spread within the network. The WannaCry attack occurred in May while Microsoft released patch for the Eternal Blue in March. The risk can be greatly reduced with the timely installation of those patches.<\/p>\n

The point is here that dated software frequently can increase the risk. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Other Companies:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Businesses have also to worry about the cyber security protocols of their clients, vendors or their partners. They might not have the solid cybersecurity practices in place, making them the vulnerable link.<\/p>\n

If a threat actor can get into the network of those parties associated with your network, they can gain access to your data. Here you need to have network segmentation or dedicated servers so that the attack can\u2019t get into your network. Also, you need to ask your potential vendors or business partners if they have solid cyber security. Read out our Whitepaper<\/a> to know about some interesting facts.<\/p>\n

How to Protect Your Data?<\/strong><\/p>\n

So you must have understood how to identify your security vulnerabilities. However, spotting your security loop is not enough. You need to work over the things to fix them. And it is possible with a robust cybersecurity<\/a> plan for your data. This plan will cover your network ecosystem, business practices, devices and software.<\/p>\n

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Here are some important steps to safeguard your data.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Create a Strategy:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rather than having a vague or verbal policy and procedures, businesses of all sizes should create a formal IT security plan that\u2019s as exhaustive and comprehensive as possible. It\u2019s important that it not only lays out how to safeguard data and resources, but what to do when incident occurs. An incident-response plan keeps you a step ahead, rather than making any decisions out of frustration that might worsen the things. Make sure to keep your security policy updated and accessible to all.<\/p>\n

Keep Malware at Bay:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Safeguarding your network and devices against malware is an important cybersecurity step. Malicious software that can lead to huge amounts of data damage, malware can infect unprotected devices without you even knowing about it.<\/p>\n

To keep malware at bay, make sure to practice these key steps:<\/strong><\/p>\n