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The Consciously Secure Entrepreneur

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The Consciously Secure Entrepreneur

I know…I get it! Security can be overwhelming, scary, and unpredictable. It can be risky just living in the world and navigating the minefield of checking emails without clicking on a bad link, let alone trying to a figure out all the things we need to do to protect ourselves.

Well, can the same be said about money. It’s there for us to hold, utilize, empower ourselves, and support our basic needs of shelter and food. When not given enough attention, some scary things can happen like missed payments, debt, or lack of savings. Thinking about how we protect our money, as well as our data and systems, is something we all must learn how to do in the digital age we inhabit.

Yes, money and security are, or can be, physical assets in our lives, but it’s also energy. Being informed and operating from a place to confidence can be the gamechanger in living the life you want, being consciously secure, and living a life of freedom.

As an entrepreneur, personal security and business security can run together. The Consciously Secure Entrepreneur is one who lives consistent, secure habits daily that are needed to run a secure business and be safe on journey of life.

Managing your own small business? Here are 5 ways to upgrade your security and privacy today to be on the road to becoming a Consciously Secure Entrepreneur:

  1. Update your privacy settings in Chrome: This is not too complicated, but do set aside at least 10 minutes as you review these settings:
  • Pull up the Chrome browser.
  • Click the three dots (vertical row) to the right of your Google personal image at the top of the page (far right of the URL).
  • Scroll down to settings.
  • On the far right of the screen click on Privacy and Security. Here there are multiple things you can do:
    • Confirm your password manager is active.
    • Check if payment methods are saved. I would confirm its not saved in the browser but in the password manager.
    • Can check your location settings, clear browsing data, and check your security settings (select the safest option for secure browsing).
  1. Stop playing the “waiting game” on privacy. Privacy and cybersecurity regulations are increasing annually. As a Consciously Secure Entrepreneur, are you reviewing the type of data you collect, what you do with it, and how you protect it? The Global Data Protection Regulation, GDPR (privacy regulation in Europe), and the California Consumer Privacy Act, CCPA (effective January 1, 2020), indicate maintaining reasonable data security is no longer enough. If operating in regulated areas, you must determine how to align your business goals with privacy rights of individuals around the world. Adherence to GDPR (which applies to all businesses, large and small, that collect data on European residents), CCPA or PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Documents Act in Canada) is a must as well as understanding how it impacts the roles and responsibilities you have as a business owner. The European Data Protection Board’s recap of GDPR activities between May 2018 and May 2019 states 144,376 complaints or queries were lodged with EU data protection authorities during that year (The Legal Intelligence).
  2. Do not use public WiFi networks: If you do, use a VPN (virtual private network). Try CyberGhost, Express VPN, McAfee, IPVanish VPN. When working remotely, at home or on a personal device, use VPN software to access business email. Avoid accessing business email from public WiFi connections.
  3. Utilize password managers:Change passwords often. I recommend every 120 days – 180 days if utilizing tools such as 1 Password, KeePass, and LastPass to either store your passsswords, maintain longer passwords that you won’t need to remember directly, and to create passwords for you.
  4. Understand the importance of a Business Continuity Plan: As an entrepreneur, do you think you think you need a Business Continuity Plan. A Consciously Secure Entrepreneur would say yes! What if there was a cybersecurity incident, a major health issue, a natural disaster, or even a pandemic (oh no!)! Do you have an employee, or consultants, who work with a company critical system, or data, that may need a back up plan for access if there was a concern? If that occurred who is their back up and how will your company continue to operate? Thinking though all of this is critical for Consciously Secure Entrepreneurs.

You don’t have to be a security professional to protect your information, but you do have to be consistent. Taking steps now to document what challenges are occurring is a way to prevent these same challenges in the future. The good news is you can start today.

 

Jessica Robinson, CEO of PurePoint International, and works as a Virtual/Outsourced CISO to middle market business in financial services and insurance. You can reach her at jessica@purepoint-international.com.

How do you transition during uncertainty?

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Do you sometimes feel drowned out in a world of noise and distractions? How do you transition during uncertainty? Are you looking at taking that next step and can’t decide? Now more than ever leaders need to take a stand to find their voice and use it too!

Whether it’s building a company or brand, uncovering your purpose or leading through a crisis, how do you use your voice?

Join me on LinkedIn Friday, February 26th at 9:30 AM EST to GoalDigger with Cate Luzio, Founder and CEO of Luminary, to hear how leaders are navigating through uncertainty, redefining their business or brand, and finding/using their voice. Click here to join.

As a c-level executive, do you know who is the biggest target in your organization? YOU are! Globally, 40% of companies cited their executives, including the CEOs, as their highest security risk (Information Age/Prescient). In many cases, executives can be the target of malicious hacking scheme, and in other cases, an executive can fall prey to an attacker via social media, when traveling, or when accessing email. A couple of tips: be wary of short generic messages, be mindful of unusual communication with people you don’t know (and do know) on social media, and always double check before clicking on links or attachments.

After you, the greatest threat to an organization is your employee. I don’t mean an employee who could unintentionally click on a link that infects your system with malware (though that is a serious concern). I am referring to an insider threat; someone with the malicious intent of removing data from your environment. Over two-thirds (69%) of organizations say they were breached due to insider threat and confirm they had a prevention solution in place at the time of the breach (Code42/HelpNetSecurity).

A possible way to combat this is to create a culture that empowers employees to positively challenge each other when they see someone doing something they shouldn’t be doing. An organization will go through many changes as it grows and changes. A constant should always be improving the culture.

Join us on March 10th for this Cybersecurity Roundtable, with a special guest. We will cover:

  • What to pay attention to in your business when it comes to cybersecurity
  • The impact of not addressing concerns early
  • The challenge of trying to go back and fix it later

Jessica Robinson is CEO of PurePoint International and works as a Virtual/Outsourced CISO to middle market businesses in financial services and insurance. Jessica and her team specialize in working with companies with start-up – $350M in revenues. You can reach her at jessica@purepoint-international.com.

World Pulse Announces New Chairwoman of the Board of Directors and PowerShift Decision-making Body

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ANNOUNCEMENT:

In approaching nine years of serving on the board of World Pulse Jessica Robinson is taking on the role as Board Chair. This is a critical time for women globally. Along with the Powershift Inclusive Excellence (PIE) Steering Committee, and members of our magnificent Community of 75,000 + individuals worldwide, we look forward to advancing the values and strategy of World Pulse.

“World Pulse must be safeguarded as an online sanctuary for women’s voices and our community celebrated as the igniter of hope, love, and collective power that we are. These values are urgently needed to shift humanity to sustainable systems and achieve gender justice because the world’s women and gender-diverse continue to experience the brunt of the economic downturn, social unrest, and overlapping pandemics of COVID-19, violence, and mental health suffering.

We must remain focused on intersectional solutions during this time of profound insecurity. Recent data shows that more than half of young women online globally are experiencing cyber harassment; in addition, domestic violence has increased exponentially in every country worldwide,” says Robinson.

Click here to see the full announcement: https://bit.ly/3aRRD5o

I am COMMITTED and I want it ALL

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Someone said this to me about getting started on their cybersecurity journey. I LOVED the enthusiasm, but I had to remind them that cybersecurity improvement does not happen overnight. It cannot ALL happen right now. It takes time and there is a process. But one place to start is the CULTURE.

More than ever, companies need diverse teams to thrive in this global climate. Even small teams will need to think about cybersecurity, but not all teams need full-time cybersecurity or IT personnel.

Normalizing conversations around cybersecurity with all employees, including bringing in a bit of LOVE, is a way to make cybersecurity personal instead of the topic people want to avoid (it may not feel intuitive, but it’s possible).

Demystifying cybersecurity now will make it easier in the future to handle threats to your business in the new WFH environment.

Though there are varying statistics depending on the study (48% – 95%), it is generally understood that human error is the leading cause of breaches.

It is important that all employees take part in spreading and implementing understanding of cybersecurity concerns within their organization. It is also important to transfer this awareness to consumers, and other stakeholders of an organization. The formats and content of each training, and awareness activity, may vary based on variables, such as an organization’s industry and size, as well as the department and current needs within the organization. Nonetheless, this is no longer an option for businesses no matter how small; it’s a must have and an indirect factor of predictable growth of an organization.

Join us  tomorrow on February 10th for this Cybersecurity Roundtable. As a c-level leader or entrepreneur, we will cover:

• What to pay attention to in your business when it comes to cybersecurity
• The impact of not addressing concerns early
• The challenge of trying to go back and fix it later

Jessica Robinson is CEO of PurePoint International and works as a Virtual/Outsourced CISO to middle market businesses in financial services and insurance. Jessica and her team specialize in working with companies with start-up – $350M in revenues.