What Do Breaches and Beaches Have in Common? 

Summertime is prime beach season! Between the sun and sand, cybersecurity might not be the first thing on your customers’ minds. But dig a little deeper and you’ll be surprised to find that cybersecurity has a few similarities to a great trip to the beach – check out three beachy tips that can help promote a safe and cybersecure summer:

1. Heads Out of the Sand

At work, you don’t need to watch for the kids swimming too far from shore, but it’s important to keep a careful eye on your customers’ cyber-safety. The unfortunate reality is that almost 50% of cyberattacks target small businesses and the average cost of a cyberattack to a small business is $120,000. Cybersecurity is not something you or your customers can afford to have their head in the sand on.

Staying aware typically starts with a cybersecurity assessment of key questions that give an overall picture of your cybersecurity posture. Once you know where they stand, you can help your customers put together a plan to improve their security. On an ongoing basis, keeping to a regular testing cadence helps keep an eye out for future vulnerabilities that need to be shored up.

2. Layer Your Protection

To best protect from the sun’s powerful rays, it’s important to apply sunblock continuously throughout the day, layer up with clothing, a hat, and sunglasses, and periodically seek out shade.

Cybersecurity also works best in a layered, continuous model – it isn’t something you do only once. If you don’t keep up with it, or fail to cover certain areas, it only increases the chances of getting burned.

An effective cybersecurity program combines a solid foundation of policies and procedures, a culture of employee awareness, and an effective technology selection to provide more than just SPF-15.

3. Enjoy Yourself!

Naturally, safety isn’t the #1 reason for going to the beach – it’s usually to enjoy, relax, and have a bit of fun! While it’s important to take cybersecurity seriously, that doesn’t mean it has to be boring. So, don’t be afraid to add some pizzazz! The fun factor has been shown to improve engagement and motivation, meaning that employees will better remember the training. For example, try these techniques:

• Select engaging training content that keeps employees interested.
• Provide a variety of education channels, including videos, quizzes, posters and other printed content, and encourage team discussion.
• Consider a “leaderboard” of employees or departments consistently completing their training and offer prizes for high performance.

While many will be enjoying the beach this summer, it’s a good time to remember that a strong cybersecurity program is what helps push cybersecurity risk out to sea.

Stay Safe,

Your Friends @ Defendify