Top 5 Security Mistakes Made By Companies
As organisations focus more and more on technology, deploying new hardware and devices, this comes with the downside of making effective cybersecurity more difficult. In order to effectively protect an organisation, a number of things need to be put in place, as tools alone, is not enough. That’s not to say that the tools aren’t important, as they very much are so, especially as new technology is introduced. However, today, the cybersecurity situation is so complex, that no organisation can possibly have all the appropriate tools, resources and people to effectively protect itself against all threats.
Depending on the organisation, their approach to security will differ, but the ultimate goal remains the same. To narrow everything down to manageable proportions, so that security can be deployed in a more expansive and effective manner.
In this article, I will be listing, 5 ways that companies impede their own security efforts. Such information is important, as it’ll ensure you don’t make the same mistakes.
- Relying Solely On Installers or Vendors
Just because the vendor setup your network system, it doesn’t mean they properly secured everything, when they left. A lot of IT companies, tend to ignore security, when it comes to setting up networks for clients. A lot of companies thus, make the mistake of thinking their network system is safe, just because it was setup by a good IT company. But the reality is that security is its own industry. If you want a secure network, you’ll have to hire specialists to secure everything, after the network has been setup. This can be done effectively with the assistance of HackEDU that will train your developers on the multiple coding languages and security compliances.
- Ineffective Password Management
You want to make your passwords long, but easy to remember. There are many methods you can use to do this, like using the last or first letters of a favourite quote.
When it comes to password management, you have to think about the amount of times a password will have to be re-entered, as users key them in. This makes choosing passwords that are easier to remember, more crucial. You want to think about the number of times a password will be used, and balance it with the amount of times you will need to change it.
You don’t want to keep a password for too long, even if it’s a complex one. This is because, the longer you keep a password, the more time hackers have to infiltrate your network system. And when they do manage to infiltrate your system, they’ll have considerably more time to act.
- Missing Security Updates
Hackers are constantly looking at and creating new methods of exploitation. Whenever a new method of breaking into a system is found, security experts gather together to find ways of defending against it. Once such methods have been discovered, updates are sent out to user’s machines. Thus, it’s in your best interest to ensure these updates are installed, as quickly as possible, to ensure that your network is safe from any potential hacker exploits. Such threats exist for all operating systems, and all industries.
- No Security Strategy
Most organisations will only devise a security strategy when reacting to a security breach. This means, the strategy may be tactical, but lack the elements that would make it a long term overarching strategy.
Companies want to develop appropriate strategies, ones that identify people, the most crucial missions, technology and processes in order to combat these important problems. When it comes to an organisations security process, prioritization becomes one of its most crucial parts. Any company will have a finite amount of resources, which makes it increasingly important that the appropriate security strategy be deployed, to take advantage of these assets.
- Keeping Default Login Credentials
Whenever you purchase a new device, with its own security protocols, you can expect it to have its own default password. For example, your wireless device will likely come with the username “admin” and password “password”. These are login credentials that most people are already familiar with, so it’s crucial that you change it. In the event that you do not, any hacker can infiltrate your network, then change the settings of your wireless device to lock you out. You want to ensure that all the default login details are changed, from the onset.
Changing these default details is just a preliminary step to securing your network. But must be emphasised, because of the number of users and organisations that tend to make this same mistake.
–AUTHOR INFO—
Uchenna Ani-Okoye is a former IT Manager who now runs his own computer support website https://www.compuchenna.co.uk
