Cybersecurity 2022: Your Biggest Risks And Best Solutions.

• Author: Stephens Jr., Thomas G.
• Position: Tech Talk

Technologies come and go, but there's one constant: cybersecurity risks. For decades, business professionals have battled to keep sensitive and confidential information protected. At times, it may feel like the bad actors are winning. However, if you understand the risks you face, you can create an environment that mitigates your cybersecurity exposure. Read on, and you will learn about 2022's most significant risks and best solutions.

Credential Compromise One of the most pervasive issues that we must address is credential compromise. Stated simply, if we can keep bad actors from accessing our devices, software, databases and various online accounts, the chances that we become victims of a cybersecurity attack diminish greatly. Historically, a combination of a username and password guarded these accounts. However, today's risky environment demands greater security.

The best way of reducing unauthorized access is to enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) where available. With MFA, we log in using at least two of the following:

* Something we know, such as username and password;

* Something we are, such as a fingerprint, facial recognition or retina scan; or

* Something we have in our possession, such as a cellphone.

To illustrate, suppose we enable MFA for access to our bank accounts. In that case, we might enter a username and password. Then the bank sends a six-digit code to our cellphone, and we enter the code to complete the authenticating to the website. In this scenario, for a bad actor to log in to our account, they would need our username and password and have our cellphone in their physical possession to receive the six-digit confirmation code. Although that's not impossible, it is highly improbable. Accordingly, MFA represents a best practice to minimize the risk of credential compromise.

Ransomware & Malware Attacks Ransomware and other forms of malware attacks continue to plague businesses of all sizes. These attacks often occur when end-users click on malicious links or attachments embedded in inbound email messages. Unfortunately, studies indicate that as many as 30 percent of end users continue to click on links and attachments, confirming a clear need to continually train and re-train team members on the importance of sound security practices.

Moreover, we should carefully look at our anti-malware tools and likely use a combination of tools to minimize risk. Specifically, we recommend using one anti-malware tool that...