Last year was another record year for cyber breaches, keeping security a hot topic in boardroom discussions. Looking ahead, 2014 will continue to be a year where companies need to focus on how their employees interact online. Their use of social, mobile and cloud computing is all occurring outside the “enterprise perimeter.” With the increased dependence on cloud and continued use of social media, we've got an even more intricate security problem to solve. However, we forget that sometimes the most basic security management education is our top priority.
Here are a few suggestions to consider as you prepare for the future:
Password management: For anyone that didn't understand how important it is not to use the same password on multiple sites, take a look at the breach at Adobe where a reported 38 million users' personal information was compromised. There's a good chance you were one of them! HaveIBeenPwned.com is a good site to check out whether your credentials are in the wild.
Do your research: Know who your cloud providers are and the security measures they've implemented. We all use cloud providers for email, storing documents, purchases and more, but do we know who is behind the brand and how they're using our information? Just take a look at who's watching you while you browse by installing the Lightbeam add-on for Firefox.
Think before you click: Hackers have become increasingly dependent on user-friendly social platforms, like Facebook, where they use these websites to lure users into clicking links leading to rogue websites infested with cyber bugs. Use a URL expander in your browser to see where links are going before clicking on them and use a filtered DNS service, like OpenDNS.com, to protect you from known rogue sites.
