12 Best Cybersecurity Practices for 2019

Is your sensitive data safe?

It’s not an exaggeration: any company can become a victim of cybercrime. Reports of attacks come from government agencies, educational and medical institutions, banks, law firms, non‑profits, and many other organizations.

Hackers, insider threats, ransomware and other dangers are present.

Smart enterprises are increasing investment in cybersecurity to eliminate risk and ensure sensitive data safety, and early results are already visible. See the infographic below for the latest cybersecurity trends.

The next question is: as a business owner, what can I do in 2019 to protect my data?

The chart shows that as both government agencies and enterprises increase cybersecurity investment, the number of data breaches has significantly declined.

Not sure where to start strengthening your cybersecurity policy? We are ready to tell you about cybersecurity trends and the latest technologies.

Here is our 2020 IT security best‑practice checklist:

1. Consider Biometric Security

Biometric technologies provide fast authentication, secure access management, and precise employee monitoring.

Verifying a user’s identity before granting access to valuable assets is critical. Voice recognition, fingerprint scanning, palm biometrics, facial recognition, behavioral biometrics and gait analysis are perfect choices for confirming a user’s claimed identity.

Biometrics offer more secure authentication than passwords or SMS codes and have become an important component of multi‑factor authentication.

Beyond authentication, security teams benefit from biometric‑driven tools that enable real‑time detection of compromised privileged accounts.

Behavioral biometrics analyze how users interact with input devices; abnormal behavior triggers alerts for immediate response.

User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) systems can use the following behavioral biometric techniques:

Keystroke dynamics – analyzing typing speed and typical errors to build a user behavior profile.

Mouse dynamics – tracking click timing, movement speed, rhythm and style.

Eye‑tracking biometrics – recording eye movements with gaze‑tracking devices to detect unique patterns.

Market forecasts predict the biometric market will grow from $16.8 billion in 2018 to $41.8 billion by 2023, so keep an eye on biometric security technologies and choose the best fit for your use case.

2. Establish Tiered Cybersecurity Policies

Why are written cybersecurity policies so important?

First, a written policy serves as the formal guide for all of your company’s security measures.

It aligns security experts and employees on the same page and provides a method to enforce data‑protection rules, while allowing each department to maintain its unique workflow without unnecessary disruption.

While a centralized policy is beneficial as a baseline, it should not blanket every department’s every process. Instead, allow each department to create its own security policy based on the central guidelines.

This layered approach lets you consider each department’s needs and ensures workflows and business goals are not compromised in the name of security.

The Illinois government website offers a solid cybersecurity policy template that can serve as a starting point for tiered management.

If you want to learn how to prevent, detect, and remediate insider attacks, consider building an internal‑threat program.

3. Adopt a Risk‑Based Security Approach

Regulatory compliance alone cannot protect your data.

Each industry has specific and hidden risks; focusing only on compliance and meeting standards is insufficient to safeguard sensitive information.

Identify the risks your company faces and understand how they affect your bottom line. A comprehensive risk assessment is the best tool.

Below is an illustration of what a risk assessment enables you to do:

Identify all valuable assets, assess your current security posture, and manage your security strategy wisely.

A proper risk assessment helps you avoid fines for non‑compliance, remediation costs for potential leaks, and losses caused by inefficient processes.

Identify weak points in your security and adjust accordingly. Also keep an eye on new hacking techniques targeting databases and frameworks, such as MITRE ATT&CK for enterprise.

A thorough risk assessment will help you prioritize security measures and align your strategy with business objectives.

You can find a risk‑assessment worksheet and sample reports on the Compliance Forge website.

4. Backup Data

Regularly back up data to ensure its safety.

Backup is one of the increasingly important information‑security best practices, especially with ransomware on the rise; a complete, up‑to‑date backup can be a lifesaver.

Backups must be fully protected, encrypted, and frequently refreshed. Assign backup responsibilities to multiple people to mitigate insider threats.

US‑CERT provides a document detailing various backup options, and the FBI has an excellent article on ransomware.

5. IoT Security Management

The trend from 2018 continues: IoT devices are becoming more popular.

Consulting firm Bain predicts the IoT market will reach about $520 billion by 2021. However, security must remain the top priority.

IoT devices pose the greatest challenge because they can access sensitive information.

Security cameras, doorbells, smart locks, heating systems, office equipment – all are potential entry points.

For example, a compromised printer can allow an attacker to view or scan all documents.

Best practices for enterprise IoT security include:

Conduct penetration testing to understand real risks and shape security policies.

Provide encryption for data at rest and in transit (end‑to‑end encryption).

Ensure proper authentication to allow only trusted connections to endpoints.

Avoid default hard‑coded credentials; common passwords are easily found online.

Purchase secure, up‑to‑date routers and enable firewalls.

Develop a scalable security framework to support all IoT deployments.

Consider implementing endpoint‑security solutions.

6. Use Multi‑Factor Authentication

Multi‑factor authentication (MFA) is an essential component of advanced security strategies.

Although basic, MFA remains a top cybersecurity best practice and is so effective that the National Cybersecurity Alliance includes it in its awareness campaigns.

MFA adds an extra security layer, making it extremely difficult for attackers to log in as you.

Even if an attacker obtains your password, they still need a second or third factor such as a security token, mobile phone, fingerprint, or voice.

As an added benefit, MFA lets you clearly distinguish shared‑account users, improving access control.

See also: “Two‑Factor Authentication: Types, Methods, and Tasks”.

7. Manage Password Security

Discussing the importance of passwords and secure password handling is always worthwhile.

Password management is a critical part of enterprise security, especially for privileged access management (PAM). Privileged accounts are prized targets for cybercriminals seeking sensitive data.

Use dedicated tools such as password vaults and PAM solutions to prevent unauthorized access to privileged accounts while simplifying employee password management.

Threat actors still employ password‑spraying attacks to steal sensitive information, disrupt operations, and damage reputation.

When setting password requirements for employees, consider these key tips:

Use a unique password per account.

Prefer memorable passphrases over random short strings.

Use mnemonics or personal strategies to remember long passwords.

Never share credentials, even for convenience.

Require periodic password changes.

The National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) provides recommendations for selecting and protecting strong passwords.

8. Apply the Principle of Least Privilege

Note: Having too many privileged users accessing your data is extremely dangerous.

By default, new employees are often granted all privileges, even when they don’t need them, increasing insider‑threat risk and giving hackers broader access if any account is compromised.

The better solution is to apply the principle of least privilege.

In other words, assign the minimal necessary privileges to each new account and elevate only when required. Revoke privileges immediately when they are no longer needed.

Continuous privileged‑account management can be difficult and time‑consuming, especially for large organizations, but many access‑management solutions simplify the process.

Specialized PAM solutions can be a lifesaver when dealing with uncontrolled privileged access.

The principle of least privilege aligns with the zero‑trust security model, which reduces internal‑threat risk by minimizing implicit trust.

Zero‑trust practices grant access only to users and devices that have been authenticated and verified within the system.

9. Monitor Privileged Users

Privileged‑account users are both a valuable asset and a major data‑security threat.

These users have all the means to steal sensitive data without detection. No matter how much you trust them, risk remains.

How can you minimize this risk? Simple, effective steps include:

Limit the number of privileged users by enforcing the principle of least privilege.

Immediately delete privileged accounts when a user’s role ends.

Deploy user‑activity monitoring solutions to log any actions taken on the network.

For deeper insight, see the Ponemon Institute report on privileged users in insider‑threat scenarios.

10. Monitor Third‑Party Access to Data

Controlling third‑party access is a crucial part of your security strategy.

Remote employees, contractors, business partners, suppliers, and vendors are just a few of the entities that may access your data remotely.

Third‑party access not only raises internal‑attack risk but also opens doors for malware and hackers.

A good way to protect sensitive data from third‑party attacks is to monitor third‑party activities, limit their access scope, and know exactly who is connecting to your network and why.

User‑activity monitoring should be combined with one‑time passwords to provide a complete log of all actions, enabling detection of malicious activity and investigation when needed.

11. Beware of Phishing

Do all your employees know about phishing?

It’s worth noting that insider threats often arise from well‑meaning employees unintentionally aiding criminals by providing a foothold.

Attackers use spam emails, phone calls, and other phishing techniques to harvest employee credentials or deliver malware.

Your basic defense can be simple, consisting of two steps:

Deploy a properly configured spam filter and ensure the most obvious spam is always blocked.

Educate employees about common phishing tactics and best handling practices.

Fortunately, education works; awareness has risen dramatically. Verizon’s 2018 data‑breach report showed 73% of people did not click any malicious email in 2017, and the 2019 report indicated a 3% click‑through rate for phishing attempts.

More phishing information, including reports, can be found on the US‑CERT website.

12. Raise Employee Awareness

It may be hard to believe, but your employees are the key to protecting your data.

A reliable way to handle employee negligence and security errors is to educate them on why security matters:

Increase awareness of the cyber threats your company faces and how they affect the bottom line.

Explain the importance of each security measure to your staff.

Show real‑life examples of security breaches, their consequences, and the difficulty of recovery.

Solicit employee feedback on the current security system.

Invite ideas on how to combine robust security with efficient workflows.

When employees become part of your defense, incidents of negligence and error decrease. Proper training is far better than dealing with data‑leak fallout.

These cybersecurity best practices will help you protect your data and your enterprise’s reputation. Implementing them, however, is another challenge.

Source: https://pub.intelligentx.net/12-best-cybersecurity-practices-2019

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