When, not if

While you’re getting on with your job, publishing great content, bad people are trying to break into your systems to steal your data, either to sell on or to blackmail you with, or do disable your operations in order to extort money from you.

They never stop looking for a way in, which means that you must never stop trying to remain one step ahead of them.

Our webinar on Tuesday, presented by Mark McCartney and Dan Arnott of Lineup Systems, focused on this crucial and all-too-easily overlooked area.

As the webinar title (Hackers vs Publishers: 5 key considerations to get ahead of evolving cybercrimes) suggested, there were indeed five considerations, but also, as importantly, an extensive checklist of things you need to do to keep your brand, customers and staff, safe.

My takeaways from the webinar included:

1. Having a back-up, is not in itself sufficient. How many back-ups have you got, where are they held and how securely? Are they immutable? You need to stress-test your back-up procedures.
2. Publishers volunteer too much information. The ‘about us’ pages of most publisher websites are full of useful staff information (names, bios, pics, contact details) that can provide criminals with a helping hand.
3. A large percentage of data breaches are caused by human error, so you need to instil a culture of cybersecurity within your company. This should include regular and ongoing training and education.
4. Work on the basis of ‘when, not if’ and plan accordingly. Draw up a data breach plan which will detail precisely what you do in the event of a breach.
5. With many publishers integrating their data with a plethora of third parties, there are lots of additional risk factors. Don’t assume your partners have the right security processes in place. Do due diligence and audit them.
6. When the inevitable happens, never try and cover it up. Put your plan into effect, tell the appropriate people and… never ever negotiate.

The webinar contained a lot of valuable information which will help you improve your defences. You can catch a recording of it by registering here.