Last week we shared some important tips on how you as an individual can be safer online and be more aware of cyber threats.
You can read that blog article here.
While those tips are incredibly important as a business, this week we’re sharing more specific tips on how your business can be safer online, as well as a vital news item from Microsoft to help with your business security.
Read on to discover what’s been happening:
Microsoft Updates
In the last week, Microsoft has sent out an update to all customers with a Business Premium License on Microsoft 365. All machines that were enrolled into ‘InTune’ will be automatically enrolled into ‘Defender’.
Microsoft 365 Defender (part of Microsoft’s XDR solution) is an enterprise defence suite with threat protection and detection capabilities designed to identify and stop attacks across M365 services.
This means that the software will automatically find and stop attacks 24/7, giving your IT team an alert allowing Microsoft to see what has happened and take remedial action.
The software will also give information on possible threats and vulnerabilities in endpoints that allow your IT Team to create policies that protect from those threats or update in secure software.
It also allows you to monitor e-mail for phish, dangerous links and monitor mail flow.
Watch Microsoft’s video guide on this here.
Want to know more? Click here.
If you’d like to know more about Microsoft 365, contact our Planning Team at: planning@cosmic.org.uk to find out if your business can join one of our digital training events on the platform.
Top Tips on Keeping Your Business Secure
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Make sure your hardware is up-to-date.
Ok, so you’re keeping your software up-to-date, updating your malware and anti-virus software, but actually – have you thought about keeping your hardware up-to-date also?
Granted, we don’t want to just buy new hardware for the sake of it – we want to ensure what we’re buying will work well, for a good amount of time, and be secure for us to use.
But be aware - the cost of not keeping hardware up-to-date may be more than the expense of upgrading!
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Make use of a safe file-sharing service.
Besides the fact that our email inboxes only have so much space and sending emails can also ramp up your Carbon Footprint (more so if you share files regularly), we think it’s a good idea to look into a file-sharing service.
For one thing, if you’re regularly using a file-sharing service rather than emailing files through email, you’re going to notice odd emails from colleagues and think – hold on, is this a security issue?
Safe file-sharing means that only you and the person(s) receiving the file has access to that data. Unless you regularly encrypt files and create password protections, it’s probably a lot easier (and safer) to have a file-sharing service for your business.
To have a secure file-sharing experience, businesses should investigate the best cloud storage and file-sharing services.
Some examples are:
- Microsoft OneDrive
- Google Drive
- DropBox
If you’re unsure what’s best for your business, we can help – speak to our Technical Support Team for more information, and you can even have training with our Training & Consultancy Team on setting up the service.
On a side note: It’s a good idea to investigate additional security features, such as two-factor authentication – see below for more information on this.
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Use a VPN to make your connections more private.
VPNs (or Virtual Private Networks) are privacy tools that protect your online activities from hackers, reduce the chance you’ll be tracked online.
It’s a good idea for organisations to use a VPN so they keep their networks private and safe. VPNs encrypt internet activity in transit, so that means any information such as the company’s IP address, website visited, passwords, and more, won’t be tracked or hacked into.
Here’s a few VPNs to investigate:
- ExpressVPN
- NordVPN
- Surfshark
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Use 2-factor authentication.
Something that’s happening more and more often across technology – think of your Gmail account, using 2-factor authentications are a best bet for staying secure.
Before being able to access a system or application, authentication requires confirming your identity. This could be with a code, your fingerprint, or even your face.
Even if criminals hack the password, two-factor authentication protects your data and accounts.
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Don’t Use a Public Network
Yes, in this day and age (post-pandemic) a lot of us are working from home – and we might want to skip out to the local café and end up doing some work from there.
But, be warned – using a public WiFi network has its risks.
It might be cheaper, but considering the fact the public network might be an unsecured WiFi network, it’s probably not worth the risk.
If you’re unsure what it means - public WiFi is a network that allows computers, smartphones and other devices to connect to the internet or interact wirelessly within a specific area.
Using a public network increases the danger of identity theft, including login passwords, financial information, personal data and photographs.
There’s plenty more tips across the internet to help you stay safe and secure – but be aware of where you click!
If you want to know more about staying safe, we do have regular events for businesses across Devon and Somerset.
Written by Kate Anderson, Marketing & Design Executive