Top rated corporate IT cybersecurity recommendations by Ben Climer and Safe Network Solutions: Cybersecurity involves technologies and processes in the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks. A cyberattack is any attempt to expose, alter, disable, destroy, steal, or gain information through unauthorized access. Employees need to be aware of the types of cyber threats and attacks. They need to know how to identify threats to prevent attacks. There are many cyber threats that can lead to cyberattacks, such as: Phishing; Email Scams; Weak Passwords; Unsafe Websites; Spyware. Customer Confidence – Customers are aware of cyber threats, and they want to feel safe and secure. Improving awareness and training by educating your staff will show your customers that your organization is responsible and proactive. Find additional info on Ben Climer.
Ben Climer has been in the Service Team Lead and Solution Architect role for 5 years. His favorite aspect of SNS is the great team we have, which allows us to deliver excellent service to our clients. When there’s a challenging problem at hand, Ben is the one we can count on for complete answers and elegant solutions. Ben built his first computer at the age of 8, started building web applications at 12 and before joining SNS, went on to compete in National Computer Repair competitions. He worked for HP as well as music row clients prior to joining SNS. Outside of work, Ben enjoys working on cars and traveling.
With over 10 years of work experience in the IT industry, Ben Climer is a passionate and skilled CTO at Safe Network Solutions, a leading provider of network security and cloud solutions. Ben Climer has a strong background in technical sales, network administration, and solution architecture. His mission is to deliver innovative, reliable, and cost-effective solutions that meet the needs and expectations of our clients. Collaboration, learning, and excellence, and striving to create a culture of trust, empowerment, accountability within the team are Ben Climer’s goals.
As the CTO, Ben Climer is responsible for overseeing the technical direction, strategy, and vision of the company, as well as mentoring a team of talented engineers and consultants. He has successfully implemented and troubleshooted various projects involving Hyper-V, Azure, Office 365, AWS, and wireless point-to-point technologies, ensuring high performance, security, and scalability. He also participated in various CTF competitions, demonstrating proficiency in cloud and cybersecurity. Ben Climer enjoys staying updated on the latest trends and developments in the IT field, and sharing his knowledge and insights with the community.
Subscribing to a cloud service lets you hand over data-security duties to a company that specializes in handling these things. It’s also an easy way for employees to retrieve data remotely, although you should definitely control and limit access to the cloud account. Cloud services can monitor employee Internet use. But also be aware that you can’t just sit back and relax when you have a cloud service — they won’t make you invincible. You have to cede a lot of control to a third party and trust them to be reliable, which can be an uneasy proposition. Most experts recommend backing up your data to both a hard drive and the cloud. You can decrease your vulnerability to cybercrime — or at least minimize the damage of an attack — with a few pretty low-tech precautions. They require some time and effort, but you should be able to do it without outside help. First, you need to be aware of all the information that your business contains, from the minor stuff to the valuable records whose loss would be devastating. Record where it’s stored, exactly who has access to it, if it’s connected to the Internet (which makes it more vulnerable) and what its value is to you.
Make Sure Employees Look for the S in HTTPs When Searching the Web. Employees will, from time to time, use the corporate IT network to visit websites or sign up for services, either for personal use or for the company. Before submitting any information, they should always be on the lookout for the padlock and HTTPS in the address bar. If the site is unprotected, they should not enter any information. Note: It’s important to also educate employees on phishing websites (see tip 15 below). There have been cases of phishing websites using Domain Validated (DV) SSL Certificates to make their sites look more “real” and “trustworthy”.
Be Cautious of Public Wi-Fi. The laws and regulations that govern cyber security in other countries are typically not going to be the same as those found in the US. Free Wi-Fi access can be very appealing for business or leisure travelers but is also particularly vulnerable to security issues. Avoid unencrypted Wi-Fi networks; ask your hotel about its security protocol before connecting to the Web. Be extra cautious using Internet cafes and free Wi-Fi hotspots; if you must use them, avoid accessing personal accounts or sensitive data while connected to that network.
With the recent Equifax breach, it’s more important than ever for consumers to safeguard their online accounts and monitor their credit reports. A credit freeze is the most effective way for you to protect your personal credit information from cyber criminals right now. Essentially, it allows you to lock your credit and use a personal identification number (PIN) that only you will know. You can then use this PIN when you need to apply for credit. Hacking, phishing, and malware incidents are becoming the number one cause of security breaches today. But, what’s more troubling, these hacking attempts are the result of human errors in some way. Education and awareness are critically important in the fight against cybercriminal activity and preventing security breaches.
Ben Climer on data breaches: For business organizations: a data breach can have a devastating effect on an organization’s reputation and financial bottom line. Organizations such as Equifax, Target, and Yahoo, for example, have been the victims of a data breach. And today, many people associate/remember those companies for the data breach incident itself, rather than their actual business operations. For government organizations: compromised data can mean exposing highly confidential information to foreign parties. Military operations, political dealings, and details on essential national infrastructure can pose a major threat to a government and its citizens.