October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and this year’s theme is “Securing the Next 250.” The theme, established by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), recognizes the nation’s 250th anniversary while looking ahead to the need for a more secure digital future. For businesses, that future starts with the security decisions being made today.
Cybersecurity is no longer something organizations can address once a year or after an incident occurs. Businesses rely on cloud applications, connected devices, remote access, digital communications, and increasingly AI-powered tools every day. Each creates opportunities for productivity, but each can also introduce new risks.
National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a good opportunity to take a closer look at your organization's security practices and identify areas where improvements can be made. Strong cybersecurity doesn't always require complicated technology. Many important security practices start with simple habits that employees and organizations can consistently follow.
Be Cautious with Unexpected Emails
Phishing remains one of the most common ways attackers attempt to gain access to organizations.
Be careful with unexpected messages that ask you to:
- Click a link or open an attachment
- Provide credentials or sensitive information
- Change payment information
- Transfer money
- Act urgently or bypass normal procedures
Pay close attention to the sender, the actual destination of links, unusual requests, and messages that create a sense of urgency.
When in doubt, verify the request through another trusted communication channel.
Use Strong Passwords and Multi-Factor Authentication
A simple 8-character lowercase password can be cracked by hackers in less than a second, while a complex 11-character password can take up to 400 years to crack (U.S. Army).
Passwords should be long, unique, and difficult to guess. Employees should avoid reusing the same password across multiple accounts, particularly when those accounts contain sensitive business information. A password manager can help employees create and securely store unique passwords.
Organizations should also enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible. MFA adds another layer of verification, making it more difficult for an attacker to gain access with a stolen password alone.
Keep Software and Systems Updated
Software updates aren't only about new features. They frequently include security patches that address vulnerabilities attackers could exploit. Organizations should maintain a process for identifying, prioritizing, and applying security updates across endpoints, applications, network infrastructure, and other technology. This is particularly important for systems that are exposed to the internet or contain sensitive information.
Know What Is Connected to Your Environment
You can't protect what you can't see. Organizations should maintain an understanding of the devices, applications, accounts, cloud services, and other assets connected to their environment. Regular asset discovery and vulnerability scanning can help identify outdated systems, misconfigurations, and vulnerabilities before attackers find them.
Back Up Important Data
Backups can play a critical role in recovering from ransomware, hardware failures, accidental deletion, and other disruptive events. Data loss can destroy a business and 93% of companies that lose data for 10 or more days file for bankruptcy within 1 year (Ontech).
Important data should be backed up regularly and organizations should periodically test whether those backups can actually be restored. A backup that has never been tested may not provide the protection an organization expects when it is needed.
Have a Plan for When Something Goes Wrong
Even strong security controls cannot guarantee that an organization will never experience a cyber incident. Organizations should establish clear procedures for identifying, containing, investigating, communicating, and recovering from security incidents. Employees should also know how and where to report suspicious activity. A response plan is much easier to execute when roles and responsibilities have been established before an incident occurs.
How Total Assure Supports a More Secure Future
At Total Assure, our mission is to make effective cybersecurity accessible to small and medium-sized businesses without requiring them to build and maintain an enterprise-scale security operation on their own. Our cybersecurity services combine technology with continuous monitoring and security expertise.
Our Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service provides 24/7/365 human-led threat monitoring through our U.S.-based, in-house Security Operations Center. Our analysts investigate suspicious activity, hunt for signs of compromise, and can take action to contain validated threats based on established rules of engagement.
Total Assure also provides:
- Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) to monitor endpoints and identify suspicious behavior.
- Managed Email Security to help protect against phishing, malware, impersonation, and business email compromise.
- Vulnerability Management to continuously identify and prioritize security weaknesses.
- Incident Response and Recovery to help organizations respond when an incident occurs.
- Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance services to help organizations address cybersecurity requirements and build stronger security programs.
These capabilities work together to provide layers of protection across an organization's environment rather than relying on a single security product.
Securing the Next 250 Starts Today
The next 250 years of digital innovation will bring new technologies, new opportunities, and new cybersecurity challenges. Businesses don't need to predict every threat that may emerge. They do need to build security practices that can adapt as their technology and the threat landscape change.
At Total Assure, we're helping small and medium-sized businesses put those practices into action with managed cybersecurity services, continuous monitoring, incident response, and security expertise backed by more than 30 years of federal systems experience.
Ready to take a closer look at your organization's cybersecurity posture? Contact Total Assure to learn how our managed cybersecurity services can help protect your business 24/7/365.
About Total Assure
Total Assure provides uninterrupted business operations with our dedicated 24/7/365 U.S.-based, in-house SOC, robust managed security solutions, and expert consulting services. Total Assure’s cost-efficient, comprehensive, and scalable cybersecurity solutions leverage 30+ years of experience and expertise. We partner with our customers to identify security gaps, develop attainable cybersecurity objectives, and deliver comprehensive cybersecurity solutions that protect your business from modern cybersecurity threats.
For more information on how Total Assure can assist your organization in achieving 24/7/365 protection, contact our team directly.
