As a side effect of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the face of the professional landscape has changed in a broad number of ways and is looking set to change even more going forward.
One of the side effects of the pandemic, and the ensuing lockdowns, has been to drive more companies to focus to a greater extent on their web presence, while also replacing formerly office-based teams with remote workers.
Between a primarily digital setup becoming more commonplace, and conventional office staff giving way to remote work, adequate digital security measures are more important now than perhaps ever before, and financial institutions, in particular, require the utmost security measures to stay secure in 2020.
What’s more, the COVID-19 pandemic has, in and of itself, been associated with a spike in vulnerabilities.
Here’s a look at a few things you can do in order to help better secure your company going forward.
Minimize Human Error and Practice Good Email Hygiene
It has long been known that people are vulnerable to phishing scams, malicious spyware, and other forms of a data security breach via emails and email attachments that end up in their personal inboxes.
What’s true in this regard for individuals is also true for businesses.
It has been reported that 90% of all security breaches involve human error and that opening bad attachments, clicking on bad links, and otherwise interacting with malicious emails and websites makes up a significant part of that statistic.
Ensure that all the members of your team have been properly briefed and coached on best practice when dealing with potentially fishy emails, among other things.
Take Innovation and New Features in Stride
Established financial service providers are increasingly being put under pressure to innovate rapidly, largely in a bid to remain relevant and competitive against upstart digital disruptors.
While this trend has been ongoing for some time, the pandemic has certainly exacerbated it, particularly as businesses with a dynamic web presence and digital services are at a distinct advantage in the current climate.
But, experts have warned that fast-paced innovation can substantially increase the number of vulnerabilities in a business. When things are set up in a hurry, proper due diligence is unlikely to be taken with regards to data security considerations, and more loopholes are bound to exist as a consequence.
Every business needs to innovate in order to remain competitive. But to protect the security of your business, keep your innovations focused and on a longer timeline, and be sure to do your due diligence with regards to security. Especially if you do, in fact, have to rush something through.
Invest In Proactive Protection
Among all the investments that a financial institution needs to make in order to keep its operation running smoothly, digital security should certainly be considered no less serious than many other investments that are taken, as a given, to be crucial.
Utilize an effective digital security company such as Emerge, offering services ranging from consulting to firewall and data management, and more.
In any case, invest in proactive protection – whether that means bringing on board third party security services, better cataloging and managing your “dark” data, or any number of other things.