It shouldn’t come as a surprise that not all companies that have experienced a serious data breach actually report it. Exposure of a cyberhacking condition is often released by the hackers themselves and when that happens, a cold chill runs down the backs of everyone that may have had their personal and company data exposed. In other cases, the information is found when the data is sold on the darknet and both individuals and corporations experience the resulting trauma of credit theft. Our digital age is going to continue and as long as information is maintained on networks, both consumers and companies can take action to minimise the affects of cyberhacking.

Proactive Consumers

It goes without saying that consumers should never reveal their personal information to any individual and only to those companies that require the data to do business. Typically these companies involve making purchasing decisions and any inquiry is reported via the Credit Reporting Bureaus. Being proactive on all fronts to protect your personal and private data is a must in today’s digital world. If you discover that your data may have been compromised through a company security breach, there are some actions that you can take.

• Immediately change all of your passwords and make each one unique. Use a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters.
• Contact any financial institutions to inform them that your information may have been stolen and let them know which company has been breached.
• Be sure that the security firewalls for all of your devices have been updated.
• Do not open any suspicious emails, especially those that contain attachments.
• Run security scans on all of your devices.
• Report any suspicious activity to law enforcement
• Check all of your bank statements and credit card statements for any unauthorized charges and report them to the companies. In most cases the charges will be removed.

Proactive Companies

Network protection against cyberhacking has become part of the cost of doing business. However, some companies may be lax on this topic, assuming that a breach won’t happen to them. This attitude is dangerous and one that threat actors rely on. It may also come front and center when one of the companies that they are partnered with and/or do business with is breached and suddenly proprietary data is exposed. Being proactive requires prioritizing the importance of security on all levels.

• The first level is to make sure that you have high-quality firewalls, antivirus and endpoint protection on both the network and any devices used outside of the company to access the company network.
• Hire a professional cybersecurity professional organization to review your company’s security condition, do risk analysis, and make change recommendations.
• Have the cybersecurity organization perform regular audits to ensure that the highest level of security protocols are in place.
• Have the IT and professional cybersecurity companies work together to monitor and scan for suspicious activities.
• Staff/employees need to be trained on the potential threats that could arrive via email as well as internal actions. In many cases a professional cybersecurity company can assist with education and work with staff.
• Establish security policies for changing passwords and eliminating access for former employees.
• Have multiple off-sight backups for the network at varying times of the day. In this way, if there is a breach involving threat software, a clean previous backup can be put in place.
• Use encryption software for uploading or sharing data online.
• Contact all business partners to coordinate mutual cybersecurity policies.
• If a breach occurs through your network or any organization that the company deals with, tighten all security protocols, and contact all clients/customers to let them know what actions you are taking.

“There are many pieces to the puzzle of cybersecurity and hackers look for a weak link in any organization that has not placed security as a priority. Even when a breach occurs and isn’t due to a company’s lack of security, everyone can suffer. DaVinci Cybersecurity coordinates with all involved to assist in ensuring the highest level of protection, education, and protocols. The digital world is constantly changing, and we focus on making sure everyone is aware of and takes actions on those changes.”

Sharon Knowles, CEO DaVinci Cybersecurity

Source: