Business Owners!, What do need to do to be a Cyber leader for your business?

 Being a cyber leader does not require technical expertise, but rather an ability to change the culture of your organization. Reducing your organization’s cyber risks requires awareness of cybersecurity basics. As a leader, you need to drive your organization’s approach to cybersecurity as you would any other hazard (e.g. how you identify risk, reduce vulnerabilities, and plan for contingencies). This requires an investment of time and money, as well as the collective buy-in of your management team. Your investment drives actions and activities, and these build and sustain a culture of cybersecurity.

Approach cyber as a business risk. Ask yourself what type of impact would be catastrophic to your operations? What information if compromised or breached would cause damage to employees, customers, or business partners? What is your level of risk appetite and risk tolerance? Raising the level of awareness helps reinforce the culture of making informed decisions and understanding the level of risk to the organization.

Determine how much of your organization’s operations are dependent on IT. Consider how much your organization relies on information technology to conduct business and make it a part of your culture to plan for contingencies in the event of a cyber incident. Identify and prioritize your organization’s critical assets and the associated impacts to operations if an incident were to occur. Ask the questions that are necessary to understanding your security planning, operations, and security-related goals. Develop an understanding of how long it would take to restore normal operations. Resist the “it can’t happen here” pattern of thinking. Instead, focus cyber risk discussions on “what-if” scenarios and develop an incident response plan to prepare for various cyber events and scenarios.

Lead investment in basic cybersecurity. Invest in cybersecurity capabilities for your organization and staff. This includes not only investments in technological capabilities, but also a continuous investment in cybersecurity training and awareness capabilities for your organization’s personnel. Use the Cyber Essentials to have conversations with your staff, business partners, vendors, managed service providers, and others within your supply chain. Use risk assessments to identify and prioritize allocation of resources and cyber investment.

Build a network of trusted relationships for access to timely cyber threat information. Maintain  situational awareness of cybersecurity threats and explore available communities of interest. These may include sector-specific Information Sharing and Analysis Centers, government agencies, law enforcement, associations, vendors, etc.

Lead development of cybersecurity policies. Business leaders and technical staff should collaborate on policy development and ensure policies are well understood by the organization. Perform a review of all current cybersecurity and risk policies to identify gaps or weaknesses by comparing them against recognized cyber risk management frameworks. Develop a policy roadmap, prioritizing policy creation and updates based on the risk to the organization as determined by business leaders and technical staff.

(Source: CISA)

Ten key cybersecurity tips to protect your small business

 Information technology and high-speed Internet are great enablers of small business success, but with the benefits comes the need to guard against growing cyber threats. As larger companies take steps to secure their systems, less secure small businesses are easier targets for cyber criminals.

1. Train employees in security principles. Establish basic security practices and policies for employees, such as requiring strong passwords and establish appropriate Internet use guidelines, that detail penalties for violating company cybersecurity policies. Establish rules of behavior describing how to handle and protect customer information and other vital data.

2. Protect information, computers, and networks from cyber attacks. Keep clean machines: having the latest security software, web browser, and operating system are the best defenses against viruses, malware, and other online threats. Set antivirus software to run a scan after each update. Install other key software updates as soon as they are available.

3. Provide firewall security for your Internet connection. A firewall is a set of related programs that prevent outsiders from accessing data on a private network. Make sure the operating system’s firewall is enabled or install free firewall software available online. If employees work from home, ensure that their home system(s) are protected by a firewall.

4. Create a mobile device action plan. Mobile devices can create significant security and management challenges, especially if they hold confidential information or can access the corporate network. Require users to password protect their devices, encrypt their data, and install security apps to prevent criminals from stealing information while the phone is on public networks. Be sure to set reporting procedures for lost or stolen equipment.

5. Make backup copies of important business data and information. Regularly backup the data on all computers. Critical data includes word processing documents, electronic spreadsheets, databases, financial files, human resources files, and accounts receivable/payable files. Backup data automatically if possible, or at least weekly and store the copies either offsite or in the cloud.

6. Control physical access to your computers and create user accounts for each employee. Prevent access or use of business computers by unauthorized individuals. Laptops can be particularly easy targets for theft or can be lost, so lock them up when unattended. Make sure a separate user account is created for each employee and require strong passwords. Administrative privileges should only be given to trusted IT staff and key personnel.

7. Secure your Wi-Fi networks. If you have a Wi-Fi network for your workplace, make sure it is secure, encrypted, and hidden. To hide your Wi-Fi network, set up your wireless access point or router so it does not broadcast the network name, known as the Service Set Identifier (SSID). Password protect access to the router.

8. Employ best practices on payment cards. Work with banks or processors to ensure the most trusted and validated tools and anti-fraud services are being used. You may also have additional security obligations pursuant to agreements with your bank or processor. Isolate payment systems from other, less secure programs and don’t use the same computer to process payments and surf the Internet.

9. Limit employee access to data and information, and limit authority to install software. Do not provide any one employee with access to all data systems. Employees should only be given access to the specific data systems that they need for their jobs, and should not be able to install any software without permission.

10. Passwords and authentication. Require employees to use unique passwords and change passwords every three months. Consider implementing multifactor authentication that requires additional information beyond a password to gain entry. Check with your vendors that handle sensitive data, especially financial institutions, to see if they offer multifactor authentication for your account.

Source: FCC