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According to research done by the Ponemon Institute, people use one password for up to five accounts on average. If this password is compromised, all their accounts are at risk of hacking, leading to data loss and even financial loss. Statistics also show that at least 60% of passwords used by companies do not meet the minimum-security threshold.

Since the inception of the internet, password security has been one of the most discussed topics regarding online security. While it was ok to use simple passwords like your name or year of birth as your password 20 years ago, this is impossible in the modern-day where hackers lurk online waiting to pounce on weak passwords.

The use of weak passwords has had catastrophic consequences for businesses and individuals, with more than 80% of data breaches occurring because of weak Password security. As more people and institutions rely on the cloud to store data, login credentials are the only line of defense for this data, hence the need for well-protected credentials.

Here is how to secure your passwords in 2021.

Use a Password Manager

Most people use the same password for multiple accounts to avoid having to memorize different passwords. If this sounds like you, a password manager is the solution you need. There are numerous password managers available in the market. With a password manager, you do not have to memorize your password since it creates and saves unique passwords for all your accounts.

The best password manager also alerts you whenever a password is compromised or too weak and needs changing. The password manager auto-fills the login details whenever you need to access an account, taking away the need to remember all your credentials.

Set strong passwords

The first line of defense against password loss is to use a strong password. The length of your password matters as it reduces the odds that a hacker would crack all the characters. Ensure it comprises letters, special characters, and numbers.

Avoid reusing passwords

Reusing passwords is one of the most common causes of multiple account hacks. Imagine having to use one key for your home, car, mailbox, office, and storage. If you lost this key, the one who finds it would have access to all these places. The same goes for passwords. If you use one password for multiple accounts, a hacker can access all these accounts if they get hold of your password.

Reinforce security with 2FA

2FA has become a requirement for password security. It provides additional protection for your accounts even after your password is hacked. With 2FA, anyone trying to access your account will need to verify their identity using a unique code sent to a mobile device. Unless a hacker has access to all your devices, their hacking attempts are rendered useless by 2FA.

]]> http://www.cyberlaws.org/how-organisations-can-ensure-cyber-security-during-remote-working/ Sat, 03 Apr 2021 16:12:16 +0000 http://www.cyberlaws.org/?p=667 HOW ORGANISATIONS CAN ENSURE CYBER SECURITY DURING REMOTE WORKING

Global pandemic has entirely changed the work culture of the organisation, while over 75 percentage  of the private sector employees are working from home and rest of the employees are working remotely at least once a week  percent of global employees work remotely at least once per week and willing to work from home more often if their job permits.

Presently, most of the organisations including start-ups ever are offering the option to work from home because of the serious health threats to the employees and to ensure the business continuity.Top managements and business leaders from all sorts of companies including the start-ups are recognising the benefits of permitting remote work for their companies

Previously, most of the organisation’s weren’t set up to work remotely, and most of the time prefers working on office premises only,but, the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdown of many countries mean that many companies and their employees are now mostly full-time working from home (WFH).

Keeping business continuity in focus organisations allowed remote working, however the cyber security and information security has become a serious concern. One side work from home option has reduced commuting time for employees, more liberty for workers and even increased productivity, on the other side there are cyber security risks and challenges that come with allowing their employees to work from home or from any remote location.

What are the Risks of Work from Home/Remote Work?

Data security and cyber security is paramount, while work from home. Organisations need to have secure communication channels to access their Information systems hosted on premises, some organisations mainly start-ups may face operational risks such as not being able to support a huge number of simultaneous remote connections to their infrastructure and IT services. This could be troublesome for employees that need access to internal resources for business support and may even place additional burden on IT teams if they’re not properly prepared.

While this is a business disruption risk, and can cause unnecessary stress for an IT department that’s already overworked and overburdened trying to fix the issue on-the-go. Which could lead to the risk k of not properly implementing access, authorization and authentication policies which may result in employees accessing resources that they shouldn’t.

In order to reduce the risk of unapproved remote access to organisation’s Information Technology infrastructure, IT teams and information/ cyber security teams shall make it explicit which applications, services and VPN clients are supported by the organization IT infrastructure. Any unauthorised attempt to access internal Information Technology infrastructure with illegitimate and unknown tools should be treated as a cyber risk and blocked immediately.

Since many companies have a well-defined and strict IT and Information security policy for centrally managing and deploying software. Security patch updates to endpoints, gradual rollout procedures should be designed for deploying those updates. Delivering them all at once to remote devices connected with secured VPN technology, could create bandwidth traffic jam and affect inbound and outbound traffic. Data backups of individual laptops could be a tough task if backup servers are hosted inside the premises. Last but not least, enabling disk encryption for all endpoints should be a priority as it minimizes the risk of having sensitive data accessed or compromised due to unauthorised access or device theft.

Cyber Security Guidelines for Work from Home?

1. Having a Teleworking/Work from Home Policy

First and foremost, thing -Define “Remote,” “Work from Home” or “Teleworking” policy is a must if your organisation or start-up is allowing employees to work from home or locations outside of the office premise. This policy shall establish a set of procedures and guidelines that employees must follow in order to work from home. will reduce the inherent risks of working remotely since the organisation and employees are explicitly aware of the WFH responsibilities and its consequences.

Teleworking/ remote working policy shall include:

• Employee responsibilities
• Procedure of reporting of information security incident.
• Approval process from remote connections
• Workspace security mandates.
• System configuration/ hardening steps
• Use of encryption for data stored and in transit and Ensure encryption is used for all data that is stored and in transit
• Mandate use of a secured channel such as VPN for remote workers

2. Information security training’s to Top management and employees.

Conduct periodic monthly or quarterly training sessions to keep your employees and top management aware and educated on cyber security and information security risks and their responsibilities when it comes to organisation’s information security program and working from home.

Basic cyber security drills shall be conducted on regular basis and organisation’s information security awareness program shall be updated accordingly. Employees shall be aware of phishing attacks, spam mails as well as securing home Wi-Fi network.

Each and every employee shall be aware about the risk of using public Wi-Fi for organisation’s system. Employees should be aware whom to contact in case of any cyber security incidents.

Top management is more prone to cyber security attacks. They shall be adequately trained.

Organisation shall assess the Information Security awareness status of the employees and top management on timely basis.

3. Use of advance technology and tools for Data Protection

A well-defined policy in place will help employees know what they need to do and how to do it, but providing them with the right technology tools will also reduce the risks of working remotely. Depending on the organisations and the role of their employees, the technology could vary. Below are the few examples of some tools helpful in data protection during remote working:

• Enable built-in Firewalls: Firewalls are the defence for information security risks. Now a days every Operating Systems has inbuilt firewall which can prevent malicious inbound or outbound requests
• Enable built-in Encryption: Systems data will be encrypted by using built in encryption techniques, this is helpful in case the drive is lost or stolen. However, the passkeys shall be remembered by the IT administrator.
• Use Virtual Private Network (VPN): VPN provides a secured tunnel to the data travelling to the servers and make it difficult to crack for malicious users or hackers. Organisation shall only accept traffic coming through VPNs and employees shall always use VPN for connection to office network specially when they are in a shared network at home or outside
• Use of Password Managers:This will help employees to store their passwords and generate secure password.This reduces the risk of using the same password for all services and applications by employees.

4. Enablement of two-factor authentication

Use of two factor authentications to critical information assets is a must, since it provides a surety that the data request is coming from a genuine source. This method reduces the risk of phishing and malware attacks.

5. Monitor your third-party vendors and service providers

Many a times organisations outsource few services for them. In this case the vendors shall be regularly monitored as the Suppliers information security policy. Assess your vendors cyber security program on regular basis because a vendor can also be sometimes acting a risk for organisations information security

6. Use of access control

Organisation shall implement an access control policy in order to reduce the data breach or data leaks. Least privileged shall be given while granting permission to any user. Access should be based on the role of employees in the organisation, and these accesses shall be monitored on timely basis

7. Enforcement of strong passwords on Applications, servers and employee devices

Organisation shall ensure that strong password policy is enforced on employee devices applications and servers,

8. Use of web security protection

Last but not the least organizations should deploy security solution like antivirus, anti-phishing, anti-malware security solutions employee endpoints and technologies capable of preventing network vulnerabilities from exploitation. There are many solutions available in the market nowadays.

Only deploying these solutions is not sufficient, it shall be updated and monitored regularly and necessary actions shall be taken on it. Organisation shall deploy the solutions which can accurately detect the phishing attempts and any known malware attacks.

Work from home or remote working has given a golden opportunity to hackers and cyber criminals as well as it is a challenge for organisations IT Team and information security team. Managing Cyber Security during remote working is really tedious job for the organisations, however use of proper technology and monitoring can certainly mange this work. Organisations shall take cyber security as a risk and shall appropriately invest in safeguarding their Information assets. A vigilant and aware team can save organisation from cyber attacks and hence from financial, reputation and business operational loss.

# Keyword: Information security, cyber security, data protection, VPN, training and awareness VPN, strong password, business continuity, access control, remote working, work from home, cyber security risk.

A crypto currency as the name suggest is a secured virtual or digital currency. Crypto currency is secured by using cryptography techniques, which makes it highly secure and nearly impossible to forge or replicate. Crypto currencies are based on block chain technology on decentralized networks—a distributed ledger enforced by a disparate network of computers.

As crypto currencies become more popular worldwide, there’s concern that cyber criminals or hackers will try to use them to masquerade their illegitimate activities in other platforms, particularly when it comes to laundering funds.

The digital currency using principles of cryptography to secure transactions. Where the regulators and governments are still trying to figure out appropriate legal structures and business norms governing crypto currencies., hackers and cybercriminals are finding intelligent ways to exploit that window of opportunity by identifying the vulnerabilities in crypto currency business.

 Since Cyber Security of crypto currency is a concerning issue and it is obvious that the cyber security industry has to significantly consider crypto currency security and the issues surrounding it. The crypto currency being untrack able and irreversible transactions leads to many potential issues for consumers and organizations alike who occupy crypto currency.

Despite the cyber security threats and risk, many individuals still want to participate in the crypto currency market and would want to acquire it – few of them are technology enthusiasts who would want to be the part of new wave of technology and another big number is of those who wants to become a millionaire in quick span of time. If you’re either of the category of those people, these tips may help secure your crypto currency account.

There are few To Do’s on which the security experts agree to keep crypto currency out of the hands of cyber criminals or hackers-

Use of Hard Wallets

The first and foremost thing to consider is to keep cyber security the topmost priority, since an individual’s private key is the way to access crypto currency, therefore it’s essential to keep it safe. Do not keep your keys online in safeguard yourself. One may use a hardware wallet — an item that looks like a USB and contains their private code. Your key will be kept in an encoded format in hardware wallets and one can simply plug the wallet to your system in case of any transaction, code will always remain in the device and hence there will be hardly any chance that it would be accessed or stolen from your system by cyber criminals or any other unauthorised users. One can make duplicates of the wallets which can be kept another safe place, so that there would be a backup always available with you. It is highly recommended to use crypto currency hard for the strong security.

Use unique and strong Passwords/Passphrases:

Use of strong passwords will help to keep crypto currency security safer, the passwords/passphrase used for crypto currency accounts should not resemble any passwords/passphrases utilized for other types of logins. Passwords should always be considered as security and not as a convenience. Long and complex phrases with digits and letters and special characters that would be impossible to guess are recommended to use. A good password should be non-guessable by cybercriminals or hackers. Avoid using personal information like name, age, date of birth and spouse name as password. Also don’t share too much personal information online. Try to remember your password, in any case if you want to stored it at some place, better to keep it offline and out of reach from any unauthorised person.

Create Separate encrypted email accounts

Next recommendation is to create a separate encrypted email account for the communication regarding crypto currency. There are ample of secured and encrypted email services which offers free accounts which are often best to use, one can get extra premium features by paying a small amount which enhances the security of the account. Commonly free available email servers can be easily compromised and can leave important information accessible to unauthorized personal or cyber criminals. Having a separate encrypted email account which is not connected to other types of activities especially social media, keeps confidential & critical information and communication separate from each other and less prone to cyber-attack.

Use Ad Blocker Software:

Use of ad blocker software for computers and devices utilized for crypto currency is vital, now a days many anti-viruses are providing ad-blocking services. The ad blocker features on the browsers shall also be enabled for extra security. Keeping your systems free of malware and other types of cyber-attacks automatically reduce the risk. Restarting the computer and cleaning the cookies after each is highly advisable in conjunction with the software.

Validate the URL:

While you are dealing with crypto currency it is very important to validate the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the site you were utilizing before entering any critical information. Phishing attacks are very common attacks regarding crypto currency websites. Avoid clicking on any link received on mail or message without verifying it. Phishing attacks can be avoided by confirming the web address is correct address associated with the desired account or platform.

Unlike paper-based currencies which are controlled by governments, crypto currencies or digital currencies are fully decentralized and operate independently of any regulation. Crypto currency is still not regulated in many countries, so there are no security audits assessments or controls when it comes to crypto currency systems, In spite of that a lot of media coverage and high returns are luring customers to invest in it. The security risks, however, are real and that can be financially disastrous for those who don’t pay attention towards them and not keen to know how to safeguard themselves from the dangers associated with digital currency.

Crypto currency is certainly providing an ease of use and globalisation of currency, however the improper and insure   can lead to a catastrophic result. Technology if not used properly can results into disaster.

Undoubtedly, acquiring crypto currency is both extremely interesting and filled with risk. Knowing what the threats are and how to safeguard digital assets will help you make an informed decision to determine if investing in digital currency is the right choice for you or not.

Keywords: Cryptocurrency, cybersecurity, digital currency, cybercriminals, hackers, password protection, ad-blocker, digital keys, cyber attacks.

In the current age where information technology has penetrated in almost every area of our lives, both personal and professional has huge impact of Information technology, in other words our live has been completely dependent on technology. Be it organizational or personal, the amount of data collected and processed by big-companies and start -ups is alarming. Human beings have become so much dependent on technology, be it hardware or software, holdable to wearables to insertable, technology is all but inseparable.

Be it office or daily household tasks, technology has invaded in every sector and make the work easier and more efficient to perform., however, all the technology gadgets and services have one thing in common, that is data processing. In order to process the data like PII(Personally Identifiable Information),PHI Protected health information about individuals, and critical financial, scientific, confidential  data of organizations and countries is  extremely lucrative  to competitors and cybercriminals, ranging  hackers to , script kiddies, the wannabes, elites, activists, crackers, and phreakers to punks ciphers

For an example you are start-up organization providing information technology services to any government or any other big organization which is processing critical data, then a vulnerability in your system can be a potential risk which could lead to data breach of your client. As per recent trends, at least one new zero-day vulnerability was found each week. As zero-day vulnerabilities are discovered, they just serve as a tool for cybercriminals/hackers to intensify attacks. Hence by enabling proactive measures such as incident management or cyber crisis management plan can be an effective way to limit or even prevent the propagation of a cyber security attack.

IMPACTS OF CYBER SECURITY BREACHES IN START-UPS

Cybersecurity breaches impacts   organizations and companies in different ways. Many of which cause serious damage to the organizations and start-ups, if not permanent. Some effects of cyber breaches are:

• Organizations leads to financial losses: An intense cyber security breach can damage critical servers and hardware which could lead to financial loss. In addition to it an organisation which is not capable to secure its information assets and prone to frequent cyber security attacks is liable for penalties imposed by client or government.
• Organizations do experience loss of confidential data. This is often the major consequence of a cybersecurity attack. Confidential Data, which could range from credit card numbers, Aadhar number, PAN number, phone numbers, social security numbers, health records, right up to software design, code, military confidential or classified information, medical formulas could be stolen.
• Loss in Reputation and value degradation in the business market have often been cited as a significant concern. Trust and value built from customers (service providers) to companies(clients) after a mishandled cybersecurity attack starts discrediting and is brought into question, especially when the company fails to respond promptly to a cybersecurity attack.
• Competitiveness between firms and organizations becomes compromised. This can cause disaster, from which small to medium organizations or start-ups might never recover.

 Cyber security breaches or incidents can sustain by opting different kind of strategies. Few of them is setting up preventive measures to avoid a potential attack, and the other being how to respond when a breach or attack occurs as a corrective measure in case of any Zero-day attack. However, both the methodologies require intense monitoring of the information systems.

STEPS TO AVOID A POTENTIAL CYBERSECURITY ATTACK

Cyber security attacks are of various kinds and natures, and there is an enormous number of resources out there stating how to prepare for the inevitability of a cyber-attack. Cyber risk can come from various points like open ports, unattended laptops, desktops, improper patch management etc and this activity requires involvement of top to lowest level of employees the organisation. There is no perfect methodology or solution available to handle cyber security incidents or attacks in any organisation, however the impact can be minimised if handled properly. Below are the points to strengthen cyber security:

• Perform Cyber Security Risk Assessment: Perform an intensive risk assessment for your business and identify all the possible weak points which could lead to cyber security attack and find out a risk mitigation plan for each risk, don’t leave any risk unattended
• Employees Training. In any organisation aware employees can be helpful to handle cyber security incidents. Any organisation or start-up should provide adequate training those handling sensitive data.
• Regularly backup sensitive data. Data is the core of every company. Unavailability of data can destabilize, disrupt, and even lead to shut down of start-ups, or organizations. Having data backup at an alternate location online/offline is the key of surviving a cybersecurity breach or incident. Remember, data availability is one of the key components of cybersecurity.
• Employee Screening prior to employment. A proper policy and SOP for employee screening shall be developed and followed with due diligence. Since employees are often the weakest link in a cyber-security plan, all the future employees should be screened to validate their cyber-security skill sets desired for their respective positions in the organisation or start-ups.
• Keep systems updated by regular patch updates. Most of the start -ups and small companies don’t have proper patch management programs for systems and software which could lead to a serious cyber threat because these vulnerabilities can be exploited by cybercriminals to access your systems. Applying timely security patches to software and hardware systems routinely can reduce cyber security threats, as most of the threats exploit known vulnerabilities(weaknesses).
• Adapt Security culture and take cyber threat seriously. As part of the organisation’s culture, cyber-security must be priority by the management. Negligence can lead to unrecoverable cyber-attacks. Management should provide adequate budget for enhancement of cyber-security in the organisation.
• Develop Cyber Crisis Management Plan. Since Cyber incidents comes unannounced organizations and start-ups should identify and classify different cyber -security attack scenarios and generate mitigation plan for it. Table top exercises are helpful to understand the readiness. A contingency plan shall be developed

A well skilled team for handling cyber security in any organisation is very important. Having the Data Privacy Officer (DPO), Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), and the Chief Information Officer (CIO), etc., with well-defined role are helpful for any organisation

HOW TO RESPOND TO SECURITY BREACHES?

1. Establish an Incident Response Team (IRT).

Create an IRT with skillsets and capable to handle Cyber security incidents. Define roles and responsibilities of each member which may in some cases, take precedence over normal duties. The IRT can be comprised of a variety of departments including Information Technology, Finance Compliance and Human Resources.

Your (IRT)Incident Response Team should include your Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), who will lead the team organisation’s security policy direction. In case of start-up Virtual CISO can be a guide.

2. Identify the type and extent of incident.

A impact matrix for incident should be clearly defined for damage assessment and determine the appropriate response. For example, an incident where a computer virus is easily detected and removed and which has not impacted any external or internal parties can be categorised as low and should not be escalated.

However, an incident which impacts clients and customers should be escalated to the IRT.

3. Escalate incidents as necessary.

Employees are the first one to observe the cyber security incidents, any kind of incidents including abnormal system behaviour, phishing mails, fraud mails etc shall be immediately escalated to IRT so that timely corrective action can be taken.to mitigate suspicious vulnerabilities and avoid unexpected downtime.

4. Notify affected parties, government bodies and outside organizations.

Identify and assign responsibility to one member of the IRT managing communication to affected parties (e.g.  government bodies, investors, third party vendors, etc.). Depending on the severity of the incident, the IRT member should inform the affected parties and law enforcement agencies

5. Gather and analyse evidence.

IRT is responsible for identifying, gathering and analysing both physical and electronic evidence as part of the investigation. These evidences shall be kept securely as a part of artefacts. Lesson learnt should be documented for future.

6. Mitigate risk and exposure.

Technical members of the IRT shall be responsible for monitoring the situation and ensuring any effects or damage created as a result of the incident are appropriately repaired and measures are taken to minimize future occurrences.

Since cyber security is the responsibility of everybody in the organisation the necessary disciplinary action shall be defined for the guilty. An adequate amount of penalty or action shall act as a deterrence and helpful in reducing the cyber-security incidents.

Keywords: Cyber-Security, Information Security, Cyber-Security incidents, CISO, Virtual-CISO, hacking, cybercriminal, start-ups,incident-response

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