Steven Lafortune
March has arrived, and in our part of the world, spring is (at last!) almost here. But that’s not the only big thing on the way. There is also the annual ritual where we sanitize, tidy up, and re-organize spaces in our home that have been neglected for a while — a.k.a. spring cleaning.
However, spring cleaning isn’t just about making things sparkling, neat, and fresh (like the refrigerator…sorry for the reminder). It is also an ideal time to boost your cybersecurity hygiene.
This brings us to March’s poll question. This month, we want to know: What’s on your cybersecurity “spring cleaning” list this year?
These include cybersecurity-related tasks and goals that you’ve been meaning to complete for a while, and now intend (or at least hope!) to address in the near future.
Here are some ideas:
- Increase backup frequency. With ransomware so prevalent and costly, backing up just once a day is not enough. Smaller does not mean safer, either: 70% of ransomware attacks target small businesses.
- Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) to add another layer of account protection.
- Audit all user accounts to ensure that they align with the principle of least privilege (POLP). This is a policy in which users are only given the access they need to carry out their day-to-day tasks — and no more.
- Update and patch all software (as necessary) — 60% of breaches are due to unpatched vulnerabilities.
- Ensure former employees no longer have access. Nearly half (47%) of ex-employees admitted to using a past employer’s passwords after leaving the company.
- Confirm that users are only selecting strong, unique passwords (or better yet, passphrases). Yet again, the most common corporate password in 2024 was 123456.
- Prevent users from sharing sensitive and private information through insecure methods like email or (most) chat apps. Instead, required them use an online end-to-end encrypted messaging service.
- Conduct a cybersecurity assessment. Granted, this activity is more involved and time consuming than those listed above. However, it is certainly worth the effort to discover vulnerabilities, analyze risks, and determine strategies that reduce the size of the attack surface.
Again, these are just ideas to spark your thinking. There are many other possibilities, ranging from relatively quick and simple tasks, to more involved activities (like a cybersecurity assessment). If it’s a priority for you in the coming weeks or months, then we want to know about it!
You could win
Simply by participating in the poll, you’ll be automatically entered to win one of two $25 Amazon gift cards. We will announce the lucky winners when we look at the responses in early April.
Thank you in advance for participating, and we look forward to seeing what’s on your cybersecurity spring cleaning list!
