As local authorities endeavour to innovative their digital services and improve productivity, cybersecurity has shifted to the top of their agenda. Cyber incidents can be costly, disruptive and lead to a loss of data. And local authorities in the UK face an average of 19.5 million cyberattacks a year. So here are our top five tips to help local authorities protect themselves.
1. Utilise Anti-Virus Protection and Firewalls
Anti-virus (AV) protection software is an effective solution to fight malicious attacks. AV software can block malware and other malicious viruses from entering local authority devices and potentially compromising your data. Using a firewall is also vitally important when defending your data against attacks. Leading AV software can provide a realtime scanning of your system, quarantine any harmful files and report on any security breaches.
2. Investigate the Security of Your Software Provider
When making decisions about the local authority’s business automation software provider, make sure to investigate the provider’s security governance. Are they fully GDPR compliant? And do they have the latest ISO Certification and Cyber Essentials accreditation? It’s reasonable to request to review the Data Protection Policies of your potential suppliers too, in your efforts to ensure that they meet the strictest security standards imaginable.
3. Back Up Your Data
It’s important that local authorities rigorously and regularly back up all their data. Malicious hackers don’t necessarily want to steal your data, sometimes their aim is to delete it, so it’s best to always be prepared. Your SaaS (software as a service) providers should offer a backup service with their products. Leading providers will make a daily backup copy of your data, which can be reloaded in the event of any corruption. Backing up is your ultimate recovery tool.
4. Carry Out Regular Security Health Checks
Carrying out health checks, penetration tests and cyber resilience exercises is an important way to assess the security strength of a local authority’s operations. Make sure you’re complying with all the government’s stringent cyber security guidance, eg 10 Steps to Cyber Security (www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/10-steps-cybersecurity) or Cyber Essentials (www.cyberessentials.ncsc.gov.uk).
5. Use Mobile Devices and Tablets Securely
Many employees are now working away from the office via mobile devices and tablets, and if so they should stick to some important security procedures: avoid sending personal or sensitive information over text or email, perform regular mobile backups, install apps from trusted sources and ideally leverage Find my iPhone or the Android Device Manager to prevent loss or theft of their devices.
Cyber security crucial to ensuring local authority’s important services are kept up and running. So contact Lateral Technology today to discover how our customized solutions can protect your data from malware, ransomware and phishing.