For the first time, business transactions occur online more often than in person. Your association’s infrastructure is part of an ecosystem that needs constant care and attention. Failure to keep up will damage your member’s confidence that powers your mission.
So, when was the last time you checked your security posture?
Earlier this month the Digital Insider interviewed 34 industry experts on the single biggest mistake organisations make with their data security. Their answers were all eerily similar; not enough care goes into recognising and reacting to threats. And the worst part; these threats are predicable and their vulnerabilities easy to find and exploit.
So what can you do about it?
Interrogate Your Digital Ecosystem
You need to know what’s going on in every facet of your digital infrastructure. Every server, machine and service should be searched for vulnerabilities and opportunities to be more secure.
Look out for:
- Exposed services
- Potential exploits and vulnerabilities
- Outstanding patches and updates
- Public records and online footprint exposure
- Security certificates errors
- Server configuration issues
Train Your Staff and Your Members
Be sure to train your staff and members on how to maintain the integrity of your data. First, staff should be aware of how to access their information safely and how to recognise when there is a threat. Share examples of scam emails, inform staff on how to choose strong passwords and keep them informed about security upgrades so they can participate in keeping your member data safe.
Your members data is the lifeblood of your association. Reassure your members their data (personal, payment and identifying) is secure. By informing your members about your strict protocols for data security you will assure them of their protection and create trust in your association’s technology structure. The next step is to train them on what to expect. Let them know what information they can expect over the phone (no passwords, or member information without identity verification), via email and through the mail.
Finally, Aptify can help you protect your members. Our team of security researchers can perform a Cyber Security Threat Assessment for your association that can quickly identify potential exploits and vulnerabilities. The results are reported back to you in easy to read detail so you can mitigate issues before they are used against you and your members.
