When you’ve worked hard to build up a successful business, the last thing you want is to see it threatened by criminals. And, with cyber crime on the rise, this has become the primary concern for many organisations. Knowing the dangers is the first step in countering them, so read on to discover three of the biggest risks in 2023.
Risk One: Unhappy Employees
There are plenty of reasons why it makes sense to nurture a positive working environment, from helping to retain key talent, through to enticing the finest candidates to join your team. Yet another important reason is that unhappy team members (or recent leavers) can represent a very real threat to your business’ security. After all, many of your employees are likely to have access to sensitive data and files, not to mention key aspects of your IT infrastructure, such as networks and servers. And it only takes one disgruntled staff member to steal data or maliciously damage your systems to leave you with a very real problem.
The answer? Carefully monitor who has access to which files, and make sure nobody has more “access privilege” than they need to carry out their job. And, of course, terminate all access once a person leaves your employment.
Risk Two: Human Error
Unfortunately, a great many data breaches are the result of employees simply being tricked into sharing sensitive data or log in credentials, as highlighted here: This can be through “phishing” emails with links to counterfeit websites, poor password etiquette or a lack of AML ID verification, leaving your business at risk. Are you sure that all your team are choosing “strong” passwords, and updating them regularly? Finally, carelessness can also lead to disaster, for example, if a staff member leaves a laptop or file in a public place, such as public transport.
Solve the issue by ensuring that all staff are properly trained on safe internet use, and introduce multi-factor authentication where possible. Introducing AML ID Verification is a good choice in many contexts.
Risk Three: Personal Devices
Finally, with more of us working remotely, more work is being done on personal devices. This can make them an easy target for hackers wanting to access your files or networks.
Make sure that all devices meet company security standards, including firewalls and anti-virus software, and are kept securely.