The Cyber Essentials Plan is a security standard against which organizations can be evaluated and standardized. The organization’s IT system must have security controls to handle cybersecurity effectively and minimize the risk of Internet-based threats.
The top tips for passing cyber essentials are given below:
1. Understand the threat to your organization
Cyber security is one of the essential parts of your business. Without cyber security software, your business is at risk of thousands of security breaches and hacking, and the list goes on! Unfortunately, once your business has been the victim of a cyber-attack, you will likely experience it again without proper software and security measures.
Since the onset of the epidemic, statistics show that there has been an enormous increase in cyberattacks. As a result, cyber security is significant for everyone, from individual teams to international companies.
2. Learn about the technical controls of cyber essentials
Technical controls are security measures built into your computer’s hardware, software, or firmware, and you can follow these five steps to secure your business online!
Step 1: Access control permission
It is essential to control the access of data in your business. All users must have their accounts with specific access to the data they need for their roles.
Important rules to follow to control access:
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Without entering a username and password, you should not guarantee access to any device.
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All user accounts must be personal and not accessible to each other.
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Access to anyone who leaves your business accounts and systems should be removed.
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Administrator accounts should only be used when necessary, such as installing software.
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You should regularly review the list of employees with administrator accounts, as some may have changed roles in the company.
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Enable multi-factor authentication for all the user accounts.
Step 2: Firewalls and Internet portals
A firewall is a protection between your system and the external systems you use. If you find something that could harm your system, the firewall will filter it out and prevent it from happening.
Follow these essential rules for firewalls:
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If you have employees working from home, all of them must have a firewall to keep the data accessed on the Internet safe at home.
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We recommend using a 16-digit password to increase password entropy when grouping firewall passwords together.
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You must have a firewall enabled for all your work equipment.
Step 3: Device configuration
When you receive a new work device or personal device, it is not ready for safety. In addition, software and applications will be pre-installed on the device, posing some security risks.
Important rules to follow to configure the device:
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You should remove or shut down pre-installed apps and systems that you do not need.
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Change all the default passwords for accounts and enter robust password options.
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Make sure you can’t guess the password; you can achieve this by creating a secure password from LastPass or creating an 8-character password with uppercase and special characters.
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The number of login attempt failures must not exceed ten within 5 minutes if someone tries to hack your account with more than one password in a row.
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Disable all automatic downloads and autoplay on all your systems.
Step 4: Patch management
Another way to protect your organization from security risks is to ensure your software is constantly updated with the latest patches.
Follow important rules for patch management:
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Make sure all operating systems and applications you use are supported by vendors who can provide regular solutions to any security issues that may arise.
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Use only licensed software.
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Be sure to consider the security updates once they are released and install them on your system as soon as possible.
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Remove all unsupported apps from your devices when the developer does not support them.
Step 5: Malware protection
Malware, also known as ransomware, is used to recover or destroy company data. It can also be combined with various attacks, such as phishing to create more dynamic and focused attacks.
Important rules to follow to protect against malware:
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Install anti-malware software.
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Once the software is installed, be sure to update it regularly.
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Your anti-malware software must have a plug-in that prevents you from accessing any malicious websites that could endanger your security.
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Prevent users from installing unsigned applications or applications not approved by the company.
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Create a list of approved apps.
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3. Perform regular security checks
It is essential to review the effectiveness of your current cyber security measures and keep track of necessary updates.
For this, you should do regular security reviews:
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Review all hardware and software.
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Stay updated with the types of devices in use throughout your organization.
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Determine the effectiveness of existing cybersecurity measures and whether they need to be updated.
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Make sure all software and hardware are configured correctly.
Whom to contact to pass cyber essentials?
After understanding the importance of cyber essentials, you may need a service provider to pass cyber essentials. We at ITofUS will assist you to save your business from security threats..
