How do you protect yourself effectively against cyber attacks?
The threat of cyber attacks is constantly increasing – both in terms of frequency and sophistication. Hacker attacks, phishing, fake invoices or data leaks can have serious consequences for companies.
Small companies in particular are increasingly becoming the target of cybercriminals – not least because the effort required by attackers is comparatively low. Where there is no in-house IT team and security-related tasks are outsourced to external service providers, gaps in responsibility and control can easily arise. Confusing access rights or poorly secured remote access points provide ideal efor ransomware and other attacks.
We would like to raise your awareness of these risks and provide you with specific assistance to protect your systems, data and employees in the best possible way. Use the following proven measures, which we have developed in collaboration with data security specialists, to arm yourself against digital threats:
Don't click: Beware of suspicious emails and attachments
Cyber criminals use phishing emails to obtain login information or other personal data. It is therefore important to be vigilant when dealing with emails:
Do not open or respond to any e-mails from unknown, untrustworthy senders.
Never click on links from unknown senders and never open attachments of unknown origin.
If you are unsure about the authenticity of the sender of an e-mail, please get in touch with the contact person you know. Use the contact details you know. In e-mail communication with CAS Software, for example, this would be your supervising partner or your contact at CAS Software.
Complex encryption: setting up and managing passwords securely using 2FA
Never use the same password for different websites, but strong and unique passwords, i. e. passwords consisting of a combination of upper- and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters.
Passwords should never be stored unencrypted on the PC or digitally. Instead, use a password manager for secure organization and encryption.
For highly sensitive systems, content and data, you should activate two-factor authentication (2FA) in addition to the password manager.
This is also offered by our CRM solutions CAS genesisWorld and SmartWe.
Handling Passwords Securely: a Step-by-step Guide
The German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) provides tips on how to use passwords securely.
Who do I speak to: Sensitizing employees in dealing with calls
Question all unexpected requests, even if the caller sounds trustworthy.
Also, if your employees are contacted by a supposed business partner, caution is advised.
Never disclose sensitive data such as bank details over the phone.
Caution should also be exercised when contacting unknown persons by telephone who have not previously been involved in any correspondence.
Attention: We as CAS would never call and urge you to follow a link in order to extend a license activation or to prevent your license from expiring. Such calls are a clear warning sign of attempted fraud.
Important: Simply hang up if you have any doubts about the authenticity of the caller and do not share any sensitive information – regardless of the communication channel (phone or messenger app).
Attention, rip-off: Beware of fake invoices
Company data is freely accessible. Criminals use this information to obtain sums of money. Therefore: If you make transfers to companies, only use the bank details you know, as these don’t tend to change frequently. If in doubt, please ask the contact persons you know using the known contact details.
Up to date: always keep systems and software up to date
Cyber criminals often use known security vulnerabilities to gain access to systems.
Therefore, always keep your systems and software up to date and install security updates regularly.
Also make sure that you use up-to-date anti-virus and anti-malware software.
Ensure that your servers and central systems are also protected by up-to-date security software, not just the end devices.
Make sure that all backup and storage systems are integrated into the security strategy and are also monitored.
Use modern security solutions that go beyond classic virus protection to detect even complex threats at an early stage.
It is also important to observe and install the latest software releases for our CRM solutions.
