Cyber Security Mistakes the IT World Makes

IT people are commonly believed for being well-knowledgeable in cyber securities. But reality is different, that confirms even IT leaders and supervisors make certain mistakes that puts cyber security at stake. IT sector is currently worth more than $122 billion annually and what can be a more prominent reason to take cyber security more seriously than ever!

Why Cyber Security Creates Concern in IT Sector ?

IT sector is extremely prone to cyber-attack. This sector usually deals with a lot  of data, and personal information of individuals as well as crucial documents of renowned companies. Yet, this sector takes cyber security very lightly. It is the same as if doctors take hygiene lightly! The first and most prominent reason for this attitude is lack of knowledge. Cyber security is a very recent threat and a number of IT people are not well educated to handle it. It leads to the second step which is least concern or fear of getting hacked. The information security also gets hampered by overloading of task accumulation. There are small IT companies which hardly pay attention to the importance of investing in cyber security solutions, which makes these companies more vulnerable to threats and attacks which can shut-down because of a ransomware infection by a spear phishing scam.

There are few factors that need to be addressed as they can make a huge difference when it comes to most common cyber security mistakes and their solutions.

1. Emergency Backup Plans

Problem: small and midsize companies often believe big enterprises and large government organizations are more prone to such attacks and the hackers will not give any attention to small and midsize companies. This perception is absolutely wrong. 

Solution: keeping the matter in hand is important and proper backup plans to deal with hacking makes sense. Double security procedure, OTP system and use of smart tools and software will keep the small and midsize companies out of the attack possibilities.

2. Cybersecurity Emergency Response Plan

Problem: well it’s unfortunate that most of the companies do not pay heed to any need for cybersecurity emergency response plans. Lack of a consistent plan to deal with any malicious attack makes a company more vulnerable to cyber security attacks. A study of Ponemon Institute shows that 77% of the IT companies don’t have a consistent IR plan across the organization.

Solution: incident response (IR) plan is basically a manual to guide the company’s actions in the event of a cyber-attack or data breach. This way it’s possible to reduce damage and financial loss caused by incidents. it’s essential that IT leaders have an organization-wide cybersecurity emergency response plan. One team of cyber security knowledge cannot deal with every issue aptly. Thus it is important to include a special security team for different company areas, always taking into consideration the priorities and fast approach to the highly critical sectors of the business.

3. Lack of Visibility 

Problem: thousands of people work on the same tools and database. This creates more possibilities to breach data from a department quite easily. Unsynchronized inter-departmental systems can be a huge problem in IT security when it comes to data security. 

Solution: different monitoring tools and software depending on the types of systems used by the company can save data to be hacked from any department. The implementation endpoint controls, and the help of a third-party assessment to identify and plug any security holes creates more security for the database.

4. Cyber Security Awareness

Problem: people are less worried about any cyber threat as most people have hardly any knowledge of how devastative cybercrime can be! It is crucial for the employees to know about the possible threats beforehand to be more aware of those.

Solution: Thus it is important for the employees of any company to know about the work they are doing and how that work can create any data vulnerability. This is the only way to stop any cybercrime at its root. Along with the knowledge taking help of technology is primal, such as setting permissions and access levels to secure data transfer.

5. Tools and Software to Get Ultimate Protection

Problem: lack of seriousness for cyber security awareness has created a situation for a major vulnerability. As a matter of fact most of the IT sectors lack any security for data protection. On the other hand, some of the companies have implemented certain security solutions, but those are hardly updated and kept in track. Research suggests 69% of IT workers have admitted that the existing security solutions of their organizations are mostly outdated and inadequate.

Solution: use of various tools and softwares and keep them updated is part of the cyber security process. Tools and softwares such as Encryption Tools, Network Security Monitoring tools, Network Defence Wireless Tools, Web Vulnerability Scanning tools, Firewall, Packet Sniffers, Managed Detection Services, Penetration Testing, PKI Services and so on can make the data safer than ever.

Apart from the above said mistakes there are few others as well which the commoners usually unknowingly support the violation of privacy by the hackers.

7. Cyber Security Mistakes the IT Employees are Doing

As the employees of any IT company get the first hand access of any data, the possibility of violation of data security can be most commonly done by them. A number of times, their casual approach to use the data or the software/hardware makes it easy for a hacker to invade the database. Here is a list of cyber security mistakes the IT employees are doing to make data vulnerable.

8. Lack of Awareness

Breaching data security is even worse than invading a house. Any physical damage or disruption of living property can be replaced, but data is too precious as it contains one’s identity, financial details and work of one’s entire life. Knowledge and training on cyber security plays a big role in saving millions of data from being hacked easily. It should be mandatory to know about the possible threats and the best practices to deal with them.

9. Downloading Unverified Email Attachments, Apps or Spontaneous Software

Technology has created smart hackers. Mostly their bets are almost impossible to identify. The ads of downloading email attachments or unverified apps and spontaneous software can lead to infect the system with any malware or virus. So being careful is the only solution while dealing with unknown file attachments, downloads and registering for an unknown app.

10. Replying to Voluntary or Phishing Emails

Phishing email is a potential threat for hacking. While playing online games or checking emails we all have seen some emails that inform us of winning the lottery or laptop or iPhone. Such mails are nothing but a possible hacking trick. The moment one clicks or gives any personal data the person gets into the trap of hackers. So always stay away from clicking on such malicious phishing emails.

11. Weak Passwords and Re-using Passwords Without Two-factor Authentication

Passwords play an important role in saving data. But people are prone to use one password for multiple websites, apps, and mail accounts. This is a bad practice as if a hacker can crack one password he can easily get access to different personal accounts of a person to take advantage from.

12. Clicking on Shortened URLs

There is another trick from hackers one should be aware of. People are prone to pretty things and thus the hackers come up with tiny URLs shortened to a few random characters such as a bit.ly or a TinyURL link.  The short links hide the real link and the authentic website URL, and with one click on the short URL, malware and virus can get into your system.     

13. Browsing Questionable Websites

Browsing untrusted websites is one of the biggest cyber security mistakes a person can do. It immediately leads to installing malware on a system, and can be full of spywares. These websites are a potential threat to the users to expose personal data such as banking information, credit cards or other such private information to the hackers. 

14. Using Unknown Devices Such as USB Flash Drives

While looking for backups and transferring files through random thumb drives or USB Flash drives that are found into a computer can be too dangerous. Without knowing the origin of it, using the device can risk losing personal data. Even a tiny virus is malicious enough to take away heavy-load information. So always stay away from such alluration.

15. Webcam are Vulnerable to Attack

The webcam of office laptops are quite simple to hack.  Hackers try to decode them to get the details of different meetings, professional dealing and other data as well. So using tape and muting sound are not always the solution as hacking has also become smart. Using tools and softwares such as Norton Security, Safetized, SpyShelter Firewall to save webcam details are important. Always remember to update firmware and software of the device the moment the updates are available.

16. Using Public Wi-Fi or an Unknown Internet Connection

Using public Wi-Fi has become a common norm. People do it to save time, work while waiting or to save personal data. But one doesn’t pay attention to the fact that these Wi-Fi devices are prone to malwares and the moment one uses the device, the device becomes vulnerable to the hackers to get access to the data from that particular device. Thus it is better to avoid public Wi-Fi and if one has to use it should get strong antivirus and other protection tools to keep the device safe.

17. Leaving Office Devices Unattended

It is simply a bad habit to leave the office devices open and unattended. It can help one personally use the device for a few minutes and collect private or corporate data. It is also advised not to let anyone use any office devices such as laptops or iPads as they can misuse them knowing or unknowingly. Having blind trust on a person is not applicable when it comes to professional and personal data security.

18. The need of cyber security and ethical Hacking

The words of Ankit Fadia are more accurate when one faces cyber security issues, “Hackers are actually good, pleasant and extremely intelligent people who could keep computer criminals on the run.” As it is said, to understand the evil, one needs the benevolent who is well aware of evil power. The role of the ethical hackers is the same as the guard of the gate that holds millions of secrets. The IT employees and the leaders can take measures to keep themselves away from the clutch of the hackers. Yet, there are things still vulnerable. For that ethical hackers are needed who can take care of further hacking related complications and vouch to keep data safe from any evil intentions.

Final Word

Lack of knowledge and the right way to use any device is the basic reasons behind cyber security mistakes. But with simple understanding how hacking usually takes place or how one can make the data vulnerable makes a lot of difference. So a more professional approach from the IT employees and more awareness of the IT leaders can make data iron-clad.