A successfully carried out cyber attack not only affects you in terms of money but also impacts the organisation’s brand reputation. In this internet-driven era, every organisation is putting substantial measures to avoid data breaches. While many companies have understood the implications of cyber attacks, many companies are still lagging behind implementing security measures. There are instances when shortsighted decisions have made the way smoother for wrongdoers to compromise an organisation’s cyber infrastructure.

Here are the 5 common cybersecurity pitfalls organisations face:

In the wake of cost-cutting, don’t compromise on security tool renewal or upgradation

Budget definitely plays a vital role in an organisation’s entire ecosystem. However, that doesn’t mean you compromise with your organisation’s cybersecurity infrastructure. Whether it’s a hardware or software, when it comes to security, everything needs to be upgraded. Many companies operate with a notion that they cannot be a target of any hacker and end up not giving the required attention to their security elements. That shouldn’t be the case.

Considering the severity and impact of cyber attacks, keeping an eye on each and every cybersecurity element should top an organisations priority list. So, if you want your firm’s data to stay safe and sound, make sure you are renewing and upgrading your security tools timely. Furthermore, talking about the cybersecurity infrastructure, make sure the team reaches out to professionals who take a look at all the elements of the infrastructure and suggest you the top-notch solution.

Hiring professionals based on a degree not on skills

Most of the organisations hire professionals based on a degree, however, that shouldn’t be the case. Just because one has completed a number of courses that doesn’t mean s/he has the required skills to deal with high-profile cyber threats.

A strong information security culture needs a strong team of cybersecurity professionals. Because when it comes to cybersecurity, a company should always consider hiring professionals who know the nuts and bolts of the cyberspace and know how to deal with the nastiest cyber threats.

Irrespective of the core domain, everyone in an organisation should have knowledge about cyber threats

Think of a situation where one of your employees with access to some of the most sensitive data clicks on a malicious link and all the data gets compromised. Can you blame it on the security device now?  So, when we are talking about a company’s information security, it is not just hardware or software, it the humans too who are working at your firm.

Humans are considered to be one of the weakest links in terms of cybersecurity — they are more vulnerable. So, considering the safety of your organisation’s data/information, make sure the entire staff is trained on cybersecurity, covering not only the basics but also the advanced topics. This would make you cyber security infrastructure a bit stronger.

Trying to fix and implement everything all by yourself

When a company hires professionals to deal with all the cybersecurity problems, the company builds a notion they don’t need to reach out to anyone. While cybersecurity professionals always help in eliminating or mitigating almost every kind of threat, there are few threats that can only be looked after by the OEMs. And that is no surprise.  

Also, in terms of deploying new technologies, cybersecurity professionals that are hired to look for vulnerabilities and suggest a solution, cannot develop or implement new technology. For that, you have to reach out to third-party vendors who are specialized in that particular space.

Therefore, don’t rely completely on your cybersecurity professionals to do a job which is not from their domain. Rather, consider reaching out to OEMs or specialised third-party vendors.

The “we won’t be hacked” notion

Many organisations (mostly the small ones) believe that they cannot be or won’t be hacked. This shouldn’t be the case. Instead of setting up such a mindset, small organisations should also consider strengthening their cybersecurity infrastructure.

Cyber attackers nowadays are targeting more and more small business, because they believe that the security infrastructure wouldn’t be strong enough. And once compromised, it would be easy to exploit. So, irrespective of your business size, have a plan to deal with cyber attacks.