Cyber Security: Secure the human

A. Your employees are your greatest asset, but when it comes to cyber security, they are also your biggest threat. According to a recent study by McAfee, 43% of all company data loss or breaches are caused by employees and only half are accidental. How do we prevent such a catastrophe?  We secure the human!

Last month, we focused on how to prepare your cyber security defense, and next month we will focus on your patients/customers. This month, we'll discuss four ways you can prevent a security breach from the inside. 

� Educate your employees on proper cyber security measures and retrain regularly to keep employees on their toes.  As new cyber threats present themselves, make your team aware and prepared!

� What if your employees access their email or company programs on their mobile devices from a non-secure Wi-Fi network?  You can either ban your employees from accessing company email while using public Wi-Fi, provide a mobile broadband device or set their mobile devices to automatically run the company's VPN (virtual private network) when using public Wi-Fi.

� A practice we highly recommend for companies whose employees regularly access company email or files on-the-go is two-factor authentication. This is an extra layer of security that requires a user to provide two means of identity confirmation before accessing company
programs.

� When you're an involved leader, you are aware of major events in your employees' lives and can be prepared for times when an employee could be vulnerable to a security breach.

In summary, you'll need to know your team, educate them and secure how they access your information. The choice is yours: Are they a cyber security asset or liability?

Rob Duryea is president of VGM Forbin. Reach him at robd@forbin.com.