Cyber security has entered the mainstream discourse as companies and political parties reel in public after suffering severe hacks. The damage it can do to large and small companies is catastrophic: it’s difficult for large companies to restore their reputation afterwards, and the financial drain can cause headaches and hardship.
Actually, most cyber crime targets are small companies, who often don’t have the resources to invest in cyber security. Most small companies go bankrupt months after getting hacked — they literally cannot recover.
Most companies have responded to the rash of hacks by increasing their cyber security, but there’s a lesser-known liability they still have to worry about even if they increase their IT personnel: their own employees. Read on to learn about the latest mobile encryption technology and all the ways it can keep you safe — even from your own employees.
The Risks Employees Pose
Your own employees can pose enormous risks to your organization without intending to! They don’t have to be double-agents working for the enemy: hackers try to exploit their naivety using phish spam to get a foothold in your computer system
A hacker will send an email purporting to be from a real institution. If the employee opens this email and clicks a link, your system will be infected with spyware which can reveal to the hacker passwords and other sensitive information.
They may only be checking personal email, but if it’s with a company-issued device it can impact your entire network. Making sure that all employees have devices with true end-to-end encryption on them can prevent this from happening in the first place.
Devices to Keep Your Business Safe
It used to be that all the devices which offered truly sufficient encryption weren’t functional enough to keep up with the fast pace of business. But today’s phones offer both world-class encryption technology and seamless and powerful functionality.
Industry leaders in encryption use unbreakable encryption protocols protecting not just your messages but all the data in your phone. Only devices using the same encryption protocol can message with each other, locking out cyber criminals.
Ideally the device uses both Elliptical Curve Cryptography for when messaging devices also using the same platform, and standard PGP encryption to connect with devices using this encryption.
Beyond encryption protocols, other security measures offer even more protection. Auto-delete can be set for messages, notes, and pictures sent — they can’t be favourited or forwarded, so they truly don’t spread accidentally. Phones that do not store information on a server at all can only be accessed with the password through the physical phone itself, and only by the person who has the password.
Taking the proactive step to safeguard your company’s communications by getting real devices with real encryption on them for your employees lets you operate your business with confidence. Your employees will no longer need to look over their shoulder constantly; they can just focus on growing the company. Let your rivals risk getting hacked, while you and your employees have the tools they need to stay protected.
