3 Ways Manufacturers Can Protect Against Cyber Attacks
By Scott Cranford
As businesses' computer systems become more evolved, so do methods of conducting data breaches. Many experts, in fact, consider 2017 the worst year yet for cyberattacks. This is due mainly to increased use of ransomware. The nonprofit internet security firm Online Trust Alliance (OTA) did research that year showing that cyberattacks nearly doubled over the previous year.
Cybersecurity expert Roel Schouwenberg addressed the manufacturing industry's susceptibility to cyberattacks at the 2018 IndustryWeek Manufacturing & Technology Conference & Expo. Here are three ways manufacturers can help diminish chances of a crippling cyberattack.
Secure Your Computers
Safeguarding your computers is paramount. For one thing, you should install a firewall and antivirus software as well anti-spyware. You can find it online through any of a number of software vendors. A Wi-Fi network, furthermore, should be secure.
You can hide it from potential attackers by providing a router or wireless access point -- it's important to keep the network's name or Service Set Identifier (SSID) anonymous. In fact, you should protect all your information, especially if you keep it in servers or databases, by encrypting it. You would also be wise to protect all access to your router with a password.
Involve Your Employees
Since employees are only human, they're capable of making mistakes. Unfortunately, those mistakes could prove costly to the company. It's imperative, therefore, that employees become educated on how to guard against online threats, spot suspicious emails, and protect sensitive information.
Educating your employees on cybersecurity issues would perhaps best be accomplished by providing them with a thorough training course by a cybersecurity expert. Moreover, businesses need to make sure their employees can only access data that's pertinent to their job in order to limit any damage done in the case of a cyberattack. This is especially true if an employee works from a remote location such as their home.
Passwords and Data Backup
Make sure your data is backed up regularly so you could recover it should a breach occur. Using both offsite and onsite backups, which you could easily do through the cloud, would be ideal. Data should be backed up automatically if possible. In fact, daily vigilance is necessary.
Passwords should be checked to make sure they're strong, though it can be inconvenient dealing with a combination of symbols, numbers, and upper and lowercase letters. Nevertheless, using such a password can be a surefire way to protect sensitive data. Another way would be to implement a two-step verification system -- reserved, of course, for the most sensitive data.
Contact Visibility Today
Here at Visibility, cybersecurity is of the utmost important to us. Could Visibility be the right ERP solution for your manufacturing business? Get in touch with us with all your pertinent questions! You can contact us online or by calling 978-269-6500.
