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Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Keeping Keys and Residents Safe

Cybersecurity Awareness MonthFor nearly 20 years, Cybersecurity Awareness Month has served to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity across the Nation. The overarching theme: “Do your part, #BeCyberSmart” encourages individuals and organizations to own their role in protecting their part of cyberspace, stressing personal accountability and the importance of taking proactive steps to enhance cybersecurity. With this in mind, we’ve compiled a list of recommendations to help you keep your data and online activities safe in an age of ongoing cybersecurity threats.

Secure Your System

Regardless of how your company’s online network is configured, make sure it’s running on a secure system. Use firewalls and encrypting to secure your internet connections and your servers. If you use Wi-Fi, make sure it’s hidden and protected by a strong password — and change the password frequently. Only grant network access to authorized personnel.

Require Strong Passwords for Employee Logins

Employees who log into the system should each have an individual login with a strong password that is difficult to guess. Employees should also be prompted to change passwords regularly.

Remote Access: Use With Caution

If you log into your company’s network offsite using a smartphone or other mobile device, remember that you aren’t necessarily accessing the system using a secure server. Don’t log in using public WiFi, for example — or if you do, log in using a virtual private network (VPN) to hide from hackers.

Perform Frequent Viruses, Spyware and Malware Scans

You should have a strong antivirus, anti-spyware program in place to guard your system, and make sure it receives the latest updates to make sure newer viruses can be detected and eradicated from the system.

Run Updates on All Software

It’s a pain to keep up with software updates, but when developers send these to you, they’re usually dealing with newly discovered cybersecurity threats. Always keep operating systems and other software up to date.

Back Up Your System

You should be running full backups regularly of your entire system, from shared drives to individual computers. That way, if a hacker crashes your system, you won’t lose data and you can restore at least most of your functionality.

Use Multi-Step Logins Whenever Possible

You don’t want to spend all day logging in, but in truth, the more steps to the login process, the safer it is. With HandyTrac key control, for example, our systems are designed for employees accessing key boxes to take several steps to verify their identity. Some units even include biometric (fingerprint) identification which provides excellent security against intruders and hackers.

To learn more about our secure key control systems, contact HandyTrac today!

Five Frequently Overlooked Security Measures

security measuresSecurity is one aspect of property management that often leaves something to be desired. Many organizations think they have their bases covered, yet there are a variety of factors that are often overlooked, and these factors can have lasting impacts if exploited.

With this in mind, we’ve compiled a list of five frequently overlooked security measures. Here we will examine the risks and offer some advice on how to address said measures.

1. Physical security

The use of traditional lock systems can be a great way to secure your units, buildings, and equipment; but what happens if the key goes missing?

To prevent physical keys from falling into the wrong hands, the use of an electronic key control system like HandyTrac is highly recommended. In addition to safe storage, electronic key control systems offer a variety of features designed to prevent key loss and theft including real time reporting, multi-factor authentication, key anonymization, randomized rotation, and audit trail maintenance.

2. Handling and disposal of paper records

Documents containing sensitive information are often disposed of improperly or left lying around in the office. Although these documents and bits of information may seem insignificant to some, they have the potential to hurt the company if discovered by a skilled criminal.

To ensure that all sensitive documentation is properly handled and disposed of, consider implementing a company-wide policy. Doing so helps to provide a standard for employees and promotes a culture of accountability. A great place to start is a company-wide shredding policy.

3. Network security

Much like your buildings, your network has various access points that must be protected. Effective network security targets a variety of threats and prevents them from accessing sensitive information. To determine the state of your network, consider conducting a network audit. An audit can help to uncover vulnerabilities within your network and improve overall security.

4. Breach Planning

Data breaches can hurt your brand, customer confidence and reputation, so it’s important to establish a breach response plan ahead of time to minimize the damage. To be effective, a data breach response plan should include the following:

– A definition of a breach
– A list of response team members
– The action steps for handling the breach
– A follow-up procedure

Once your plan is in place, educate your employees and test it often to ensure its effectiveness. A little bit of preparation can go a long way!

5. Security education for employees

People have quickly become the largest security vulnerability in any organization. Employees are frequently targeted  by hackers through various phishing attempts, and with over 90% of cybersecurity issues originating from human error within an organization, an investment in security education is worthwhile. Not sure where to begin? Here are some training best practices to get you started.

Key Management in the Age of Cybersecurity Threats

cybersecurityWith an increasing number of businesses integrating the internet into daily practices, it’s important that we all pay closer attention to the ongoing risk of cybersecurity threats. Modern key management systems are no exception. While the ability to pull reports instantly online via mobile devices makes our buildings and communities safer overall, the fact remains that any online connectivity comes with some risk of hacking. What can you do to keep your data and online activities safe in an age of ongoing cybersecurity threats?

Secure Your System

Regardless of how your company’s online network is configured, make sure it’s running on a secure system. Use firewalls and encrypting to secure your internet connections and your servers. If you use WiFi, make sure it’s hidden and protected by a strong password — and change the password frequently. Only grant network access to authorized personnel.

Require Strong Passwords for Employee Logins

Employees who log into the system should each have an individual login with a strong password that is difficult to guess. Employees should also be prompted to change passwords regularly.

Use Caution with Remote Access

If you log into your company’s network offsite using a smartphone or other mobile device, remember that you aren’t necessarily accessing the system using a secure server. Don’t log in using public WiFi, for example — or if you do, log in using a virtual private network (VPN) to hide from hackers.

Scan for Viruses, Spyware and Malware

You should have a strong antivirus, anti-spyware program in place to guard your system, and make sure it receives the latest updates to make sure newer viruses can be detected and eradicated from the system.

Run Updates on All Software

It’s a pain to keep up with software updates, but when developers send these to you, they’re usually dealing with newly discovered cybersecurity threats. Always keep operating systems and other software up to date.

Back Up Your System

You should be running full backups regularly of your entire system, from shared drives to individual computers. That way, if a hacker crashes your system, you won’t lose data and you can restore at least most of your functionality.

Use Multi-Step Logins Whenever Possible

You don’t want to spend all day logging in, but in truth, the more steps to the login process, the safer it is. With HandyTrac key control, for example, our systems are designed for employees accessing key boxes to take several steps to verify their identity. Some units even include biometric (fingerprint) identification which provides excellent security against intruders and hackers.

To learn more about our secure key control systems, contact HandyTrac today!