4 Practices CIOs Should Know to Prevent Hacking

By Emily Pribanic - Last Updated on January 6, 2020
best practices to prevent hacking cios must know

As a CIO, preventing hacking is essential to your job security.

When it comes to keeping your company’s secure information safe, you can never implement too many measures. Try these best practices to keep your company as safe as possible.

Preventing hacking in your business is a very important aspect of security. With the amount of time we spend online, we are constantly vulnerable to hacking and other malicious activities. There are many ways, though, to ensure that we’re safe online and many are easy and preemptive. Follow the following tips on how to protect your computer from hackers and viruses to ensure that your company and employees are well equipped to defend themselves against malicious activities.

Best Practices to Prevent Hacking

One of the best tips on how to prevent hacking in business operations is to use managed IT services. Using managed IT services will not only monitor your network when it comes to employees accessing it but when anyone, even non-employees, accesses it. With managed IT services, your network will be monitored 24/7, any security patches or updates that are needed will be applied immediately, your servers will be maintained, and your software will be kept up-to-date which will all save you money in the long run.

Another excellent way to protect your business and employees from hacking is to implement a smart password policy. People today have a password for everything which makes them choose a password they can easily remember. This isn’t smart, though, because using a simple password or a password that is common knowledge like your kids’ names, pet’s name or your anniversary are easily figured out. Also, use a specific password each time you need to use one and never reuse a password. When people stick to two-three main passwords, they’re more vulnerable to online hackers to access their personal information like their bank accounts or secure business information. It is also wise to change your passwords every 60-90 days.

When thinking about security for your company, try implementing a two-step authentication process to ensure that company information stays secure. If your company only uses passwords or key cards to access vital information, this is not enough to ensure that this information remains safe. Try implementing a two-step process like adding biometric scanners with keycards or passwords for employees to access any information that is top secret for your company. Keycards can be stolen or lost, and passwords can be hacked. Biometric scanners, though, are much more difficult, if not impossible, to replicate ensuring that only employees with access to this secure information are the only ones accessing it.

One of the most important things you can do to ensure that your company stays safe against malicious activity is to make your employees knowledgeable about information security and make sure that they’re aware of the information they’re sharing and with whom. Many websites will ask for personal identifiers to verify users, like mother’s maiden name, but if this website is compromised, your employee just gave away secret information that can be used against them or used to access their personal information.

If you are concerned about hacking in your company, try hacker protection software to enhance your security measures. Some of the best hacker protection software on the market includes:

  • Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection
  • Reason Core Security
  • Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit
  • SUPERAntiSpyware
  • Anti-hacker
  • Trojan Remover
  • Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
  • Hitman Pro
  • McAfee Security Scan Plus
  • Spybot Search & Destroy

These hacker protection solutions are sure to add that extra bit of security to your company to ensure that your company’s information remains safe. Some of the software listed above even offers free editions, so you can try before you buy.

Emily Pribanic | Emily is a graduate of the University of North Texas. She has her B.A. in Advertising with a concentration in Copywriting. Emily has been writing since she was young and has a creative imagination. She lives in Dallas, Texas with her family and two cats.

Emily Pribanic | Emily is a graduate of the University of North Texas. She has her B.A. in Advertising with a concentration in Copywriting. Emily has been writing s...

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