Best practices for remote desktop access Remote desktop access is an essential in these days when businesses are expected to be responsive to their clients almost 24/7. Moreover, there has been a surge in the remote desktop access practice with coronavirus pandemic. But, did you know that remote desktop access, while almost indispensable now, can threaten your network security? In this post, we discuss a few best practices that you should engage in for safe remote desktop access. Have your basics in place Make sure your security basics are covered. Your systems should be secured with the latest Firewalls, anti-malware software and up-to-date with all security patches and software upgrades. Another item on this list is passwords. Make sure you are following good password hygiene such as no password sharing, setting secure passwords, not repeating passwords, etc., Train your employees Train your employees who will be accessing your network via remote desktop connections to identify cyber

How to manage cookies effectively so they are not a threat to your data Avoid third-party cookies: Third-party cookies are primarily used for online advertising and retargeting, so you won’t miss anything significant by avoiding these cookies. So, whenever you see a cookie alert on any site, first, check if it is for third-party cookies and if yes, it’s best to ‘Not accept cookies’. As a business, don’t allow third-party cookies on your site. Secure sites: Make sure the sites you visit are secure (HTTPS) and have a valid SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate. The SSL certificate ensures that any data that’s exchanged is encrypted, meaning even if the hackers get access to the cookies, the information will be garbled eliminating any data leakage. As a business, make sure your site is secure and has a valid SSL certificate. Anti-malware software and security patches: Install antimalware software programs on your computers and make sure they are up-to-date. Install security plug-ins an

Insider threats: Not as uncommon as you think When we speak of cybercrime and data theft, we typically think of seasoned cybercriminals. But you’d be surprised to know that the cause of businesses becoming victims of cybercrime is most often their own employees--sometimes on purpose, sometimes inadvertently. Remember Bob from accounting who was let go? Or the new intern who worked for 3 days and never showed up? Yep! They could engage in cybercrime activities to ‘get back at you’. Many businesses have been victims of cyberattacks brought on by disgruntled employees, both current and ex. No matter who attacks you virtually, whether it is a seasoned cybercriminal or an employee who is simply upset with the kind of coffee your office coffee machine makes, becoming a victim of cybercrime causes you a lot of damage. For starters it erodes the trust your customers have in your brand, it affects your brand negatively. If your data is held ransom, you have no choice, but to pay up the demanded

Eight common password mistakes to avoid Research points out that more 80% of data breaches happen due to password hacking, meaning that poor password hygiene is responsible for a majority of cybercrimes that follow data breaches. To make sense of this statistic better, let’s first look at what constitutes poor password hygiene. Using simple passwords Often passwords that are easy-to-remember are easy-to-hack. Do you use passwords such as password, password1234, delta123, etc.,? If yes, then you should be changing them at the earliest to something less obvious. Repeating passwords across platforms As another solution for remembering passwords, people tend to use one, single password universally. This dilutes the password even if it is a strong one. Plus, there’s always the risk of the password being hacked at one place and putting the data stored at all other places also at risk. Unauthorized password sharing Unauthorized password sharing for the sake of getting things done faster is a