When considering the different IT packages of IT consultants in Los Angeles, ensure you look for email services. The Sony email hack of 2014 left other businesses wondering how they could avoid having vulnerable communication channels. The attack also revealed how advanced hackers have become, making it necessary for small and big companies alike to implement multiple layers of digital protection. Organizations depend on email to send sensitive information, including negotiation agreements. This method of communication is especially vulnerable because it unfolds over the internet. You can maintain the email privacy of your firm through:
Invest in Email Encryption
As IT consultants in Los Angeles will advise you, sending email without encrypting allows hackers to intercept and read it. Email encryption only allows specific users to access emails.
There are numerous methods of encrypting email communication, including the use of a third-party encrypted mail service. Email certificates let your staff share a public key with parties that want to send them emails, while they will use private keys to decrypt incoming emails. Services like Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) make it easy to use private and public keypairs.
Create Strong and Secure Password
All of the staff in your company should make use of complex passwords for all email accounts. Strong passwords contain 12 characters, which should be a combination of numbers, symbols, and upper and lowercase letters.
Avoid predictable words like the names of pets and family members, or any clues that can easily be identified in social media accounts like birthdays. IT consultants discourage employees from relying on one password for several accounts.
Hackers use password guessing tools to generate thousands of words, which is why you should go the extra mile to make yours foolproof and only memorable to you.
Include Email in your Cybersecurity Plan
The internet landscape is constantly shifting, making it necessary for companies to have a comprehensive cybersecurity plan.
The plan should include technological requirements, policies, and practices designed to protect your firm’s information. While bigger businesses have significant resources available when formulating these plans, the case is more tasking for smaller ventures. The Federal Trade Commission published the Cyberplanner 2.0 with this in mind, which you can customize according to your company’s requirements.
Employee Training
For the cybersecurity policies to be effective, your employees will need to assume active roles within the digital structure of the business.
If one of them receives a phishing email, for example, they can open the attachment and compromise the company’s entire network. Your staff should know how to handle spam and other malicious emails. They should also not follow unsolicited invitations to click on URLs. Hackers are always advancing in their methods, which is why your employees should be kept up to date at all times.
Conclusion
Hackers who target businesses commonly use emails. Thanks to several technical limitations, beyond end-to-end encryption and two-factor authentication, IT consultants in Los Angeles will provide additional services to secure your company’s communication. At Advanced Networks, we are well-versed with all the tools hackers use and the best practices to render them ineffective. Contact us now for a comprehensive and foolproof cybersecurity plan that includes email.
