Cybersecurity Toolkit

I remember the first time my dad gave me a box of tools. I was moving out for the first time, and he gave me a box filled with an old hammer, two screwdrivers (one flathead, the other Phillips head), a rusty wrench, and a tape measure. It wasn’t much but it showed me that he wanted to make sure that I was ok. He gave me those tools so that I could fix any problems that came up in my time away from him. Well, I want to do the same for you but with cybersecurity. Now I’m not your father, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want you to be safe online and there are tons of tools online that can help you strengthen your cybersecurity.

Listed below are seven powerful tools, normally be found bundled together in one cybersecurity awareness program, that will turn your company’s digital security from zero to hero!

1. Continuous Dark Web Monitoring: As we went over in the last blog post, the dark web can be a terrifying place. Cybercriminals use it as a home base for malware attacks, phishing schemes, and all sorts of other digital terror activity. It’s not recommended that you ever delve into that Marianas Trench of the Internet, but you should know if your data is being passed around down there. A dark web monitoring service will alert you if certain emails, names, passwords, usernames, and more appear on the deep web. This will give you the chance to change passwords or back-up data before an attack occurs. A service like this could save you from having your identity stolen down the line.
2. Simulated Phishing: Over 1/5 of all data breaches involved phishing schemes in some way, so there is never too much protection against it. In a phishing simulation, you and your employees will receive fake phishing emails disguised as real emails to help you learn how to identify when you are being scammed. If you fall for the phishing scam, often you are prompted to take a training course on how to avoid them in the future. But congratulating those who pass is just as important as educating those that don’t. Positive reinforcement and gamification are invaluable aspects of simulated phishing that make it that much more effective. This tool builds habits that will only benefit your company in the long run.
3. Email Analysis Tool: Phishing attacks are one of the most prevalent scams on the Internet. Not only that but they can be very hard to catch if you are not paying attention. With an email analysis tool, however, you only have to be suspicious of an email to know if it is a phishing attempt. An email analysis tool allows employees to test whether an email has signs of phishing just by clicking a button. Once triggered, these tools tell the employee what parts of the email make it likely to be a phishing attempt and what they can look for in the future. Save IT some time and possibly yourself some grief with a tool that will put the power to uncover phishing schemes into the palm of your hand.
4. Weekly Micro Training Videos: One of the most important parts of strong cybersecurity is constant and regular training. Many training programs provide an annual training course that covers the basics, but if you let that information fall into the recesses of your mind it isn’t going to do you any good. That’s why short weekly training can be extremely helpful for your business. Reminding your employees every week of the dangers that lurk on the Internet and the ways with which they can combat them is extremely important. This training will also keep your employees informed on the newest trends of cybercrime. Cybercriminals are constantly evolving so you and your employees must remain constantly educated. These training tend to be 5 minutes or less and they are normally sent directly to your inbox. Five minutes for exponentially stronger cybersecurity sounds like a good deal to me!
5. Gamification & Employee Engagement: As you read through this blog, you may be thinking, there’s NO WAY my busy employees have time for all of this...and there’s no way you have time to nag them the entire way. That’s why a training program that puts gamification and employee engagement first is a HUGE key to a program’s success. That, and participation from upper management of course. When looking for a training program, make sure it’ll make your life easier, not harder. With positive reinforcement, gamified training, and a competitive leaderboard, you’ll do less nagging and more celebrating.
6. Simplified Management: Implementing a training program can seem daunting. All the time it would take you to rummage through all your employee’s data sounds IMPOSSIBLE. But if you find the RIGHT program that helps you, and doesn’t hurt you, you’ll be on your way to cyber secure in no time. Find a program that simplifies all the messy metrics into one, easy-to-understand risk score to help your management team understand where their company’s cybersecurity stands. No more data overwhelm just one score indicating whether an employee is high, medium, or low risk and how to improve. Adding a metric to your employee evaluations has never been easier.
7. Security Risk Assessment: You can’t fix a leaky roof if you don’t know where the water’s coming from. You can’t repair your engine if you don’t know what broke. It’s impossible to fix a problem if you don’t know what the problem is. That is where a Security Risk Assessment comes in. This examination will tell you where the holes in your cybersecurity are and how best to plug them up. There’s no point in guessing with something as important as cybersecurity, go through an SRA to get a more confident answer.