How to Prevent Cyber Attacks on Businesses

As technology advances, the risk of cyber-attacks increases, posing a significant threat to businesses of all sizes. No company is immune to these potential disruptions from small enterprises to large corporations. Studies indicate that over 50% of small businesses have faced a data breach or cyber-attack, underscoring the importance of protecting your company from these threats.

Protecting your company from cyber-attacks begins with securing your networks and databases. For example, by implementing a robust password policy, you can ensure passwords are complex and frequently updated, making it harder for hackers to bypass.

Using firewalls prevents unauthorised access to your network and encrypting sensitive data can prevent hackers from accessing your information.

Regularly backing up your data will minimise damage in a data breach. These are just some steps you can take to help prevent cyber-attacks.

When it comes to network security, your employees are not just staff members, they are the frontline defenders of your company against cyber-attacks. It only takes one employee to fall victim to a phishing email or download malware, jeopardising your entire business. But with the right knowledge and training, they can be your strongest asset.

Educate your staff on cybersecurity best practices, such as identifying suspicious emails and links, creating strong passwords, and recognising and reporting cyber threats. Empower them to be part of the solution, not just the problem.

Establishing security policies and practices is vital for protecting your company from cyber-attacks. But in today’s complex digital world, more is needed—set rules for password creation, access controls, and data sharing. Develop a data protection plan to handle data breaches, including procedures for notifying customers and authorities and containing the damage.

And to ensure you have all bases covered, partner with a professional and reliable network security company like Performance Networks; we can provide you with all the measures in place for a secure network.

Firewalls and Access Control Measures

Firewalls are crucial components of network security. They block unauthorized access by filtering incoming traffic from suspicious IP addresses. They can also be configured to block specific types of traffic, such as file sharing, thereby enhancing your network’s protection.

Network Access Control (NAC) prevents cyber-attacks by regulating who can access your network. NAC requires users to authenticate before gaining access, helping to prevent unauthorised entry by employees or external hackers.

Network Security Monitoring (NSM) with products like Cisco Umbrella involves observing your network for suspicious activities, such as unusual traffic patterns. Tools like intrusion detection systems (IDS) and security information and event management (SIEM) software can monitor and identify potential threats in real-time, allowing immediate response and preventing significant damage.

Installing operating system (OS) security patches promptly is essential for maintaining network security. Software vendors release updates to address known vulnerabilities, and applying these patches as soon as they are available helps prevent cyber-attacks that exploit these weaknesses. At Performance Networks, we offer security patching and vulnerability monitoring support to ensure your network remains secure.

Ensure all servers and network equipment access follows best practices—a management VLAN, for example, or only specific IP addresses. Also, ensure only the required protocols are enabled—SSHV2 +, for example.

Passing on the latest update can be easy, especially when you know another one is nearby.

However, we recommend checking your network’s latest patches at least weekly, as high-severity patches are installed in seven days, to ensure you are up to date and protected. Some patches and updates are completed automatically, but others require user or Admin authorisation. That said, it’s better to be safe than sorry, right?

In addition to OS patches, it is important to update your applications regularly. This includes web browsers, office suites, and other commonly used software. Vendors release patches to fix security vulnerabilities; timely installation of these updates is essential for maintaining a secure network.

Network Segregation and Security

Network segmentation or segregation works by controlling traffic flows between different parts of your network. You can block all traffic from one segment to another or limit it based on traffic type, source, destination, and other criteria. This control method is known as a segmentation policy.

Traditional methods for enforcing segmentation included internal firewalls, Access Control Lists (ACLs), and Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) configurations on network equipment.

Software-defined access technology, or SDWAN helps to simplify segmentation. It groups and tags network traffic, using these tags to enforce segmentation policies directly on the network equipment without the complexity of traditional methods.

Implementing a Solid DNS Security System Will Protect Against Phishing Attacks

Firstly, let’s start with what a phishing attack is. These hackers don’t come with a rod and hook.

Phishing is the act of a scammer sending fake emails to thousands of people in one go asking for sensitive information (such as bank details) or containing links to harmful websites that, once clicked, give access to your information.

To use a simple analogy, it’s like a robber knocking on your door and you let them in freely into your home.

Alongside email security products, Domain Name System (DNS) Security is a Zero-day solution that helps stop attacks that get through your email security.

Understanding how DNS works and how best to protect it is a business’s first step in protecting its data. Thanks to our partnership with Cisco Umbrella, we can help you with that.

Categorise And Sandbox Websites To Minimise Risk

An issue to constantly manage and keep on top of as new websites pop up is sandboxing.

Quite simply, this manages the level of access employees have to websites. It’s done by categorising URLs and implementing filters to determine whether they can be accessed from your system.

Avoid Free To Download Tools

There’s a certain appeal to free tools, especially if you have been looking at an alternative that is otherwise expensive to purchase officially. It’s easy to look at the free tool and acknowledge that it isn’t exactly what you wanted, but it will do the trick.

An appealing free online tool could be disguised as malware or viruses, built to wreak havoc as soon as it is downloaded. Many of these come with Adware, which isn’t particularly dangerous but clogs up, slows your system down, and can showcase dangerous websites.

Finally, there is the danger that a downloaded free tool will unleash spyware on your system, which integrates into your system and steals valuable data.

All the above sounds incredibly scary but is easily avoidable.

Prune Your Active Directory Each Year

Updating your active directory is the most basic (yet laborious) task on this list.
However, its importance is undeniable.

Leaving it untouched means former employees will have free rein to dive right back into your system, and if someone fancies the challenge of messing around, they’re already halfway there.

Advanced Network Security Solutions with Performance Networks

With technological advancements and businesses relying increasingly on networks for their day-to-day operations and data and document storage, network security has never been more critical.

The steps above should provide some tips and tricks to try and prevent cyber-attacks on your business. By partnering with Performance Networks, you can safeguard your business against cyber threats.