Cybersecurity Best Practices for IT Management

As COVID-19 containment efforts intensify, the vast majority of employees at many organizations are working remotely, and the internet has become the primary means of workplace communication. Increased dependence on digital tools can open up your company to significant risks, including cyberattacks. A cyberattack that deprives organizations or families of access to their devices, data or the internet could be devastating and even deadly.

Strategies to maintain cybersecurity include maintaining good cyber hygiene, verifying sources and staying up-to-date on official updates. Here are some basic cybersecurity best practices that your company can perform to reduce your digital risk:

• Provide cybersecurity awareness training or webinars specifically around phishing attempts
• Review Department of Homeland Security guidance on avoiding social engineering and phishing scams for more information on recognizing and protecting against phishing
• Review the Federal Trade Commission’s blog post on how to avoid COVID-19 scams.
• Use trusted sources — such as legitimate government websites — for up-to-date, fact-based information about COVID-19.
• Assess your organization’s third-party IT vendors for potential impacts from disruption of service resulting from COVID-19.
• Discuss with third-party IT vendors any challenges they may be facing or may expect to face due to the ongoing situation.
• Identify potential alternate sources of outsourced vendor services and/or conservation measures to mitigate disruptions.
• Communicate with key customers to keep them informed of any IT/security issues you have identified and the steps you are taking to mitigate them.
• Review and evaluate your existing disaster recovery and business continuity plans (DR/BCP) to confirm that they are still up-to-date and meet your enterprise business needs.
• Review existing controls that protect your network, as you are allowing more traffic in your network via remote sessions. Ensure that only authorized traffic and users are allowed to connect.

March 23, 2020