When it comes to data security, sharing is not caring. Organisations are more connected digitally than ever, however, these digital connections also leave us exposed and vulnerable to cyber security attacks, particularly during international upheaval.
Cyber security involves protecting digital systems, data, networks, software and programs from malevolent and unwanted attacks that would cause harm.
A lot has changed over the past two years that can cause us to become more vulnerable to cyber attacks than ever before. The COVID-19 pandemic means more of us are working remotely, sometimes using our own personal devices, leaving us more open to malicious cyber attacks.
The tensions overseas also mean the risk of cyber attacks has risen worldwide. Now is when you and your organisation or department should be taking extra precautions to limit the number and severity of these cyber attacks. But what can you do to help limit these cyber attacks?
United security mindset
First, it’s time to realise that cyber security isn’t just the job of your IT team, it’s up to all of us to educate ourselves on cyber security. It’s usually the people most unfamiliar with cyber security that often make innocent yet fatal mistakes that can lead to an attack. When starting to increase cyber security, you should:
♦ Familiarise yourself with your company’s cyber security plan
♦ Audit how you currently store data
♦ Run a security health check on your third-party vendors
♦ Educate and train your team on cybersecurity awareness
Secure platforms
With cyber attacks on the rise, it’s becoming more important to use third-party software and platforms that not only talk about data and security, but also have procedures and processes in place to protect you. There are a few things to look out for from third-party vendors including:
♦ Australian hosted data
♦ Use of data disaster recovery plans
♦ Performance of regular security platform updates
♦ Understanding the use of your data
♦ Access and user permissions
Australian held data
Knowing what happens to your data has become critical. Global uncertainty and unrest between countries can increase cyber attack risk and threaten data sovereignty. The demand for data to stay on Australian shores and secured within Australian data centres is increasing daily. Data held in Australia is fully compliant with Australian anti-spam and privacy laws.
Cyber security health assessment
Another way to stay on top of your cyber security is to run regular cyber security health assessments on your company, department, team and, of course, your third-party vendors. Download Swift Digital’s security and data checklist using the QR code to run security health checks on your organisation, third-party platforms, and vendors.
Swift Digital works with public and private sector companies, including government organisations, educational institutions and the utility and infrastructure sectors, to help improve its communications and stakeholder management.
This sponsored editorial is brought to you by Swift Digital. For further information, please contact info@swiftdigital.com.au.
