Security breaches often lead to business-threatening downtimes. Cyberattacks are increasingly becoming sophisticated, making it hard in an increasingly complex digital world.
Many businesses are unprepared to deal with cyberattacks, with human error accounting for more than half of cybersecurity breaches putting businesses at risk. It’s either that businesses become oblivious to these threats or they become negligent. .
Here are the most common mistakes businesses make with customer data and security:
1. Not establishing identity verification
When you don’t verify your customers’ credit card inbf, you leave it open for hackers to ship your products to whoever they want, possibly with a stolen credit card.
So, make sure that you always verify and authenticate. Utilizing an online id verification to authenticate a credit card is legitimate by requiring the CVV or the card verification value, which is usually found at the back of most credit cards.
Another step is verifying the billing and shipping address. Not only could this help you decrease chargebacks, labor times, and shipping costs, but it also enhances your revenue.
2. Missing patches and updates
A patch, also known as the fix, is a small change to the code to prevent a bug or a vulnerability. In the initial phase, the development team wouldn’t be able to see all these possible threats, and they will often release patches and other updates if vulnerabilities and bugs appear.
It’s up to the cybersecurity team to ensure that all applications and software are updated to the latest versions.
3. Failing to check user activity and access points
Do you have an internal network that could access sensitive data? If you don’t monitor these access points and user activity, this could eventually lead to complications.
It is vital to monitor who is accessing your network and what they do with the data they’re looking at. This allows you to identify the source of the problem where there’s a breach. It also gives you a better idea of what data is stolen from your company.
4. Not encrypting sensitive data
Not encrypting your most sensitive data eventually leads to identity theft, fraud, etc.
Data breaches happen no matter big or small your company is. Because your data is more mobile and stored, accessed, and transmitted differently, these insidious threats can place your data in danger daily.
5. Not using multi-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication has become the most effective control in insulating an organization against any remote attacks.
Implementing well can give you an initial foothold, even if your credentials become compromised. In fact, according to data, 99.9% of automated malware attacks are preventable if you use multi-factor authentication or MFA.
6. Failing to backup
Many businesses fall victim to cyberattacks and data breaches, are often subject to public scrutiny, and even suffer losses in brand reputation, customer trust, and loyalty.
Now, a quarter of companies that suffer from attacks and breaches lose significant business opportunities after a data loss event.
Moreover, having regular backups gives you more peace of mind. If a cyberattack leads to system crashes and disasters, you have a backup to restart your company’s archive. Backups are necessary because they save your business from losing customers and investors and even prevent closing down.
7. Neglecting to test your security
Another mistake that you can commit is not testing your company’s network. By running tests on your network, you can discover and even repair any loopholes that you can find.
Regularly testing your security can quickly identify weak areas where your company could be vulnerable. User feedback is an excellent tool for looking for weak points in your network. This allows external parties using your network to report any problems they may encounter.
User feedback gives you insight into problems you might have never found out about without these external parties giving you feedback.
8. Not Creating Healthy Email Habits
Many people fall into the same old habits when checking their email. Not updating your employees on healthy email habits makes it easier for companies to fall victim to phishing emails.
Moreover, giving your employees updated training on what unsolicited mail often looks like and how to properly report it will add that extra layer of security to your business.
9. Not Securing Smart Devices
Ensure you eliminate any unnecessary devices from your network and delete your old and unused apps.
Similarly, always change your default usernames, passwords, and settings. Use strong passwords and regularly change them. Do your research first before you purchase devices.
When choosing apps, make sure that you read the privacy policy first, and understand how they will use the information collected from users.
10. Poorly Trained Employees
It would help if you also empowered employees to utilize technology safely. Ensure you develop strong passwords and change them at least every 30 days. You should also constantly remind them of procedures regarding encrypting personal data. Moreover, they should be trained to recognize malicious links and phishing attacks.
Over to You
The number of cyber security attacks continues to rise worldwide. A solid understanding of these most common security mistakes helps raise awareness of the importance of cybersecurity to your company.
Avoiding these most common mistakes will decrease the risk of cyber threats, keeping your organization in a good position to counter the tactics used by these malicious individuals.
Moreover, investing in the right IT services and modern security tools will protect your business and customers from cybersecurity threats.