If you’ve tuned into the news lately, chances are you’ve heard about the Equifax data breach. Here’s what happened.
On July 29, as many as 143 million Americans’ Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and other pieces of sensitive information were reported stolen from Equifax. Credit card numbers were also leaked. The stolen data caused millions of Americans who have used Equifax to keep a closer eye on their account.
What does this have to do with your business data? More than meets the eye.
You and your employees are probably more vigilant about your personal credit security in light of this massive breach. This means you’re probably more inclined to react when someone reaches out to you to about the data breach.
The problem is that cyber criminals know you’re extra vigilant right now, and they’ve found a way to take advantage of that. They’re pouncing on an already bad situation to make matters even worse.
Here’s how they do it: Cyber criminals flock to major events like the Equifax breach, sending contextual emails to capture your attention. They’re betting on the fact that you and your employees will check your personal email at least once during the workday. That’s why they’ll send an email to your personal email address that looks like it’s from Equifax.
Now here’s where your vigilance comes in. Chances are you’ll jump to open the email to see what Equifax has to say. But often times, these emails contain phishing links. Once you or your employee click on the link, malware is installed on that computer. And that’s when your business data is put in jeopardy.
Here’s what you can do to stop this major breach from harming your business.
Assess your potential entry points.
As an employee, determine the accounts you open at work. Are you acting with caution with every email you open?
As a business leader, determine how much access your people have to their personal accounts while on the job. Even if you restrict access to these accounts on the desktop computers, your employees could still be logging in to your company’s Internet and checking emails on their mobile devices, which could expose your business to threats.
A credible cyber security company can assess your entry points and diagnose potential threats.
Remediate threats.
Restricting access to all personal accounts isn’t always realistic or possible. A cyber security company can help you implement a realistic remediation plan. This includes educating your people on the way hackers use contextual events to gain access to sensitive information. The more your people know, the better they can take an active stance in protecting your business against phishing attacks.
Audit and monitor your corporate data.
No matter how well you protect your company and train your employees on the dangers of clicking links from emails, mistakes still happen. And when they do, you want to know about it as soon as possible so you can remedy the situation.
Keeping a pulse on what’s happening with your cyber security is an around-the-clock job. That’s why you should keep your company safe from threats with an audit and monitoring service like this one. For as little as pennies per user, you can scan and track your servers, endpoints, and more to keep your company safe from threats.
Remember, vigilance is key – unless it is used against you by cyber criminals after a major breach. Combat them by assessing, remediating, and monitoring your data to prevent a breach.
Umesh Verma is the award-winning CEO and driving force behind Blue Lance, the global provider of cybersecurity governance solutions. For more than 25 years, Blue Lance’s automated software solutions have been protecting digitally managed corporate assets by assessing, remediating, and monitoring security of information systems. Call Blue Lance at 1-800-856-2586 for your 25-point credentials assessment, or get social with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter.
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