In this strange time we currently live in, cyber attacks might not be at the top of your mind. While that’s understandable, now more than ever, it’s important to be aware of them.

Amongst this time when much of our country’s workforce is working from home, cyber attacks are a growing threat to companies of all sizes and their employees.

As you rely more on digital technology in your daily business operations, the damage that a cyber attack can do increases dramatically. If you are working from home, it can be much easier to fall victim to a cyber attack without the protective measures which may be in place within the network at your regular workplace. 

Some Examples of Cyber Attacks

There are many different types of cyber attacks that target businesses and their employees, but these are the most common:

• Malicious code that renders your company’s website unusable

• Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks that make your website inaccessible to employees and customers

• Viruses, worms or other code that deletes critical information on a business’ hard drives and other hardware

Small businesses are especially vulnerable as they could even suffer more due to the lack of resources for detection and immediate resolution, increasing the length of a halt to the business.

Preventing a Cyber Attack in Your Workspace

Reduce your risk of falling victim to a cyber attack by doing the following through collaboration between all members within your organization:

• Create a formal, documented risk management plan that addresses the scope, roles, responsibilities, compliance criteria and methodology for performing cyber risk assessments. This plan should include a characterization of all systems based on their functions, the data they store and process, and their importance to the company.

• Make sure all firewalls and routers are secure and kept up to date.

• Implement a cyber security policy that educates employees about the dangers of computer intrusions and how to prevent them.

• Limit employee access to company data and information, and limit authority to install software.

Cyber Risk Pressure Test

One more preventative measure we recommend that you take the Travelers Insurance “Cyber Risk Pressure Test,” a four-part questionnaire which only takes about 5 minutes to complete. If you don’t know the answer to a question, that’s okay! Just select “not sure.” Click here to take the test to see how vulnerable you might be to cyber threats.