Does your business use MFA?

If you have Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) then you are entering two pieces of information to login to your apps and/or devices. This could be your password and an additional “factor” like your fingerprint, text code to your mobile phone or an MFA app.

Cyber criminals are using ever increasingly sophisticated techniques to guess your password or even bypass security. This means that the more barriers you can put up, the more difficult it becomes for them to break into your systems.

Everyone and especially businesses, should be using MFA as it provides great protection against cyber attacks and other security threats.

Out new guide will tell you all you need to know. And it’s free to download.

3 essential security tools for every business

Your data is one of your most valuable business assets. Keeping it safe should be one of your main priorities. So if you don’t have much security in place, there’s a minimum standard you should be implementing, right now.

There are dozens of security solutions available that all perform different tasks – from preventing criminals gaining access, to recognising attacks in progress, and then limiting the damage that can be done. There’s no one-size-fits-all as every business has different priorities and different types of data to protect.

Here are three essentials that every business should put in place as a basic level of protection.

All businesses should adopt MFA. Now

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) adds extra layers of security to your business.
It means you need at least two pieces of information to log in to a device or an app. Perhaps a password plus a fingerprint, and possibly an extra, single-use code sent to your phone.

Here’s why we recommend that all businesses should adopt MFA right now.

Microsoft 365 makes Multi-Factor Authentication easier

Microsoft is planning to enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) directly in its Outlook app for many 365 business users.

MFA is a vital tool to help protect your online accounts from cyber criminals. It works by generating a second, single-use passcode every time you log into an account. It’s usually sent to an authenticator app on your phone that you have to download and set up first.

Security codes can also be sent via SMS text message, by a phone call, or you might be given a special USB key to plug into your computer.

The process is often made quicker by using a biometric login like your fingerprint or face ID. It’s a minor chore, but the protection it offers far outweighs the couple of extra seconds it takes to access your account.

Bot malware is a growing security threat

If we talk about ‘bots’ you’d be forgiven for thinking of the amazing AI chatbots that have been all over the news lately.

But this isn’t a good news story. Bots are just automated programs, and bot malware is a worrying new security risk you need to defend your business against.

Malware bots are particularly dangerous because they steal whole user profiles – that’s a complete snapshot of your ID and settings. This potentially allows cyber crooks to bypass strong security measures like Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

Don’t forget your phone when you think about cyber security

Our phones are a goldmine of private information. Just think of all the financial details, personal messages, banking apps, photos and contact information that live behind that little glass screen.

And if your team use phones for work, they’ll often have access straight into company systems – email, contact lists, network access, file systems. So if they’re not kept as secure as any other device in your workplace, they can become a gaping hole in your cyber security.

Criminals know this, of course, which is why they target us through our phones just as much as they do through our networks and servers.

But cyber crime isn’t the only concern. Just losing your phone, or having it stolen, can put your data at huge risk.

Cyber attacks are getting bigger and smarter. Are you vulnerable?

Have you ever tried to buy tickets for a huge event and found that the seller’s website has collapsed under the weight of thousands of people all trying to do the same thing at the same time?

The ticket site falls over – usually temporarily – because the server is overloaded with traffic it doesn’t have the capacity for.

Criminal Distributed Denial of Service attacks – DDoS, for short – exploit the same principle.

When a DDoS attack targets a business, it floods it with internet traffic in an attempt to overwhelm the system and force it to fail.

This results in the business and its customers being unable to access services. That may trigger a temporary failure, or it could be more serious. Last year, the average DDoS attack lasted 50 minutes.

AI is making phishing scams more dangerous

AI chatbots have taken the world by storm in recent months. We’ve been having fun asking ChatGPT questions, trying to find out how much of our jobs it can do, and even getting it to tell us jokes.

But while lots of people have been having fun, cyber criminals have been powering ahead and finding ways to use AI for more sinister purposes.

They’ve worked out that AI can make their phishing scams harder to detect – and that makes them more successful.

Our advice has always been to be cautious with emails. Read them carefully. Look out for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Make sure it’s the real deal before clicking any links.

And that’s still excellent advice.

3 ways to protect your business email

Most cyber attacks start with an email.

So let’s show you three things you can do right now to make it harder for criminals to launch an email attack on your business.

Is your security focusing on the right things?

To protect your home from an intruder you make sure your doors and windows are all locked and secured. You might go further: build a fence around the perimeter, perhaps even get an angry-looking dog to stand guard.

But there’s no point going to all that effort if someone’s already broken in and set up camp in the basement.

Yet that’s the security policy of thousands of big businesses trying to protect their data from cyber criminals.