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The Major Bottlenecks in Company Cyber Security Revealed

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Cyber attacks are increasing in frequency at an alarming rate. Sadly, too many company officials are failing to give it the attention it deserves. Consequently, they’re opening themselves up to having their data messed with or stolen. As if the dire consequences of a cyber security breach weren’t alarming enough, the threat of being fined is always present, without even touching upon how this can affect the customers’ trust. Therefore, ongoing education is a must, and it includes learning about desktop security by studying firewalls and antivirus scanners, as well as mobile security by scouring the marketplace for the best VPN for Android and iOS smartphones.

With that in mind, what’s preventing cyber security from getting the attention it deserves in a corporate environment?

1. Convenience often takes priority when it shouldn’t

A recent survey has found that numerous companies are still using the outdated Windows XP, to name one example. The reason being is that certain applications were written and optimized for it. Since people like to stick with their guns, moving on to modern alternatives often proves to be a task that’s delayed indefinitely. The problem, however, lies in the fact that older apps and operating systems tend to be full of vulnerabilities and by continuing to use them, you’re increasing the risk of getting your systems compromised.

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2. It’s hard to keep up with the new threats

In the world of IT, new cyber security threats are constantly emerging. As soon as you patch one hole, a whole dozen of them can remain unattended and hidden from view, just waiting for a hacker to come along and take advantage of them. You’d almost need to have a dedicated IT crew on board merely for the sake of being kept in the loop. If the entire cyber security industry can’t always tell what the next attack vector is going to be, how can a single business owner be one step ahead of the hackers, especially when lacking the necessary knowledge?

3. The size of your budget can keep your hands tied

Even if a company has the knowledge to recognize how dangerous cyber attacks can be, with a lack of proper funding, that alone will do no good. While some cyber security tools have free open source alternatives (such as antivirus scanners), with others, sticking to paid tools tends to be the best way to go about it. Lately, too many free VPNs have come under scrutiny for monetizing their user base in unethical ways, which includes selling their bandwidth, installing malware, hijacking browsers, and more. Fortunately, getting the best VPN for Android, iOS, Mac, Linux, or Windows won’t break your bank, as starting packages are known to go for merely $5 a month.

4. Employees are often careless and oblivious to how they’re exposing the company’s data

The digital age we live in requires us to make the adjustments needed to stay ahead. Sometimes, this translates to asking your employees to access the company’s network from far away. But did you know that you risk having your sensitive company data stolen or intercepted at any time this is the case? For instance, one of your employees may decide to finish the job from the comfort of a coffee shop that’s right down the block. Since the free WiFi networks that often come with them tend to be unsecured, at any time one establishes a connection through them, a third party may read everything that gets exchanged by that person’s device and the target server. Therefore, you should teach your employees to either avoid using them altogether or use the best VPN for Android or iOS to make sure that no sensitive data gets into the wrong hands.

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5. There’s no protocol for handling a breach

Instead of entering panic mode when worse comes to worst, having a protocol on how to handle a breach is the recommended way of going about it. In it, there should be clear instructions regarding the steps you need to take to proceed and what goals should be prioritized. For example, isolating the compromised systems must be the first thing on the list – identifying the source of the breach can be addressed at a later point.

6. Ignorance is as real as how much we’d like to deny it

Picking poor passwords just for the sake of remembering them with zero effort doesn’t sound like the brightest of ideas, but you’d be surprised how often this is seen in practice. Some administrators are lazy, while others either don’t know or don’t care. Ignorance, however, is not an excuse, and if you spot your employees resorting to such bad practices, at the very least, a warning is in order.

Conclusion

The chain is only as strong as its weakest link. On the bright side, realizing the m

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