If you’re a homeowner, then it should be easy to understand how critical it is to have security for your home, or at least why it’s important to have locks on all your doors. For the same reasons you would protect your home, protecting your data and network with cyber security is just as essential.
At Calsoft, there have been cyber threats to our business and to the businesses of our clients. In particular, there have been Ransomware attacks that have threatened valuable information in the not so distant past.
For us, we learned just how important it is to have well-established cyber security protocols in place. We learned that it’s not if you will be attacked, but when.
We have taken all the proper precautions available to protect our data and we think these practices are useful for all businesses, not just ours.
Our Network Team has come up with “Nine Simple Rules” to keep Calsoft and our existing and prospective clients’ data safe from cybersecurity attacks.
We had our Network Team conduct a Cyber Security Audit on all assigned desktops and laptops for each of our Calsoft employees. The audit was mandatory. After we had Sentinel One uploaded, we released the following rules for our employees so that we can further guarantee our network and data protection.
Here are the Nine Simple Rules we follow and keep in mind when working:
- Never open an attachment unless you know the sender AND the attachment is expected.
- Never click on the email link unless you know the sender AND the attachment is expected.
- Double check on the sender email even if it looks like from a known sender. Many spammers are getting a similarly spelled (or similarly looking) domain to make you think that the email is from trusted source.
- Do not trust email alone if it involves changing bank info for wire/ACH, or where you send payment to. This is true even if the sender address is legitimate, as the sender email account could be compromised and being used to send you that email. Always double check by phone (do not trust the number written on the email if it is different from what you know)
- If your PC shows a pop up saying it is infected or need fixing, alert your IT department immediately before taking any action (other than disconnecting from Internet)
- If you are offered a remote assistant, verify the identity of the remote party, and never accept any assistant unless it is from one of the listed support vendors.
- If you are asked to pay something in the form of gift card or digital money, it is likely a scam.
- Take backups of your important files frequently.
- Enable Ransomware protection on server and PCs.
Moving forward into 2021, we understand just how sensitive data can be, and how important it is to protect this data. We are committed to practicing the highest level of cyber security precautions and will continue to update this article as new trends or changes come about.
Thank you for reading.