7 cybersecurity tips for businesses for 2021

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has increased cybersecurity concerns for businesses across different sectors. This is primarily because companies and employees are adjusting to the new normal of working remotely. When the workforce is scattered, it is hard to keep a track of every employee, how they are using the internet and company resources, and further steps must be taken to strengthen security. Hackers and scammers, on the other hand, are only exploiting the existing cyber vulnerabilities. In this post, we are sharing top 7 cybersecurity tips for businesses for 2021. 

1. Create cybersecurity training programs. Even if we have vaccines ready in the next few weeks, things may not return to normal for businesses for some time. To ensure that your employees do not make unwanted mistakes, ensure that you make cybersecurity training a part of regular business operations. 
2. Make MFA mandatory. MFA stands for multifactor authentication. To prevent unauthorized access to an account, device, network, or website, ensure that there is some level of extra protection beyond a password. This could be a security question, a onetime password, or sometimes, even use of biometrics. 
3. Make firewalls mandatory. While some operating systems do have firewalls, it is still important to check and ensure that all networked devices are placed behind firewalls. Ensure that your devices and computers also have an antimalware suite installed, to stay protected against malware, viruses, and trojans. 
4. Beware of ransomware. Ransomware attacks can be serious consequences, and in many cases, companies have been forced to pay the asked money, because there was no other way to get access to operations and systems. Ensure that your employees know of ransomware attacks and how social engineering works. 
5. Watch out for phishing attacks. Ever since the lockdown and pandemic, phishing attacks have been on the rise, and most scammers have tried to trick employees into sharing information by offering them money, or sometimes, just by creating panic and fear. Ensure that your teams are aware of phishing emails and when to report one. 
6. Update your software. You have to update your software, firmware, and operating systems to the latest version, as soon as new security patches are made available by respective parent developers. These updates often include fixes for existing vulnerabilities. 
7. Create a disaster recovery plan. Reacting to an incident in an appropriate manner is critical for your organization, so as to mitigate the risks. Ensure that you have a disaster recovery plan in place, with all necessary protocols. 

Review your cybersecurity policies from time to time.