October is Cyber Security Awareness month.

We are seeing the majority of our cyber carriers requiring multifactor authentication be used at a minimum to even quote new accounts. If you do not already use this extra layer of protection you should consider implementing it.

Training your employees how to stop phishing attacks is another key step you can take to protect your database. Attackers can make emails look legitimate by adding a letter or two to a trusted domain name. Often these emails appear to be urgent from someone you regularly correspond with.  Beware and check sender addresses carefully before you click the link!

Consider what type of personal identifiable information your business collects and stores. How can you better protect that information? Encryption of emails that contain sensitive or private information is highly recommended. 

Have you taken time to vet your third-party IT vendor? What do they do to protect your system and theirs?

You should ideally create a setting that requires passwords to be changed monthly. Long passphrases are being recommended and frequent changes are necessary to protect your information.

Lastly, obtain a quote for cyber liability insurance. Many of our cyber carriers perform a pre-quote screening to point out your vulnerability to a cyber-attack. If nothing else, you can use these quotes to shore up any loose ends within your company.

What is your biggest risk factor for a cyber security breach? 

Sadly, the answer is you and your employees, human error.  Formal training programs are available and invaluable to help spot phishing scams and suspicious attachments BEFORE the employee opens them.  We all get into the habit of pushing work through and one wrong click can spell disaster when it comes to a company’s cyber security.  Multifactor authentication is another best practice to add another level of security by verifying users’ identities.  Always verify change in wire transfer instructions, preferably in person or over the phone, train your employees to do the same.  Knowing that we are all human and errors will happen we strongly recommend procuring coverage for cyber liability insurance.