Some of the most basic cyber security practices can go a long way to
protecting systems and their users from falling victim to malware
Simply ensuring software is patched and up to date and all operating system updates are applied as quickly as possible after they're released will help protect users from falling victim to attacks using known exploits
Time and again, delays in patching has led to organisations falling victims to cyber attacks, which could've been prevented if patches had been applied as soon as they were released
One of the reasons the UK's National Health Service was so badly impacted by the WannaCry outbreak was because, despite warnings that they should be applied, vast swathes of systems hadn't been patched weeks after a security update for protecting against the EternalBlue exploit was available
It's also common for cyber espionage campaigns to leverage exploits for which fixes have long existed and still successfully compromise targets -- because nobody bothered to apply the patches. The lesson to be learned here is that sometimes it might seem time-consuming and inconvenient to apply patches especially across a whole network but it can prove to be an effective barrier against malware
installing some form of cyber security software is also a useful means of protecting against many forms of attack. Many vendors will update their programs on a weekly or even daily basis, providing as much protection as possible from malware, should something attempt to break into the system
Simply ensuring software is patched and up to date and all operating system updates are applied as quickly as possible after they're released will help protect users from falling victim to attacks using known exploits
Time and again, delays in patching has led to organisations falling victims to cyber attacks, which could've been prevented if patches had been applied as soon as they were released
One of the reasons the UK's National Health Service was so badly impacted by the WannaCry outbreak was because, despite warnings that they should be applied, vast swathes of systems hadn't been patched weeks after a security update for protecting against the EternalBlue exploit was available
It's also common for cyber espionage campaigns to leverage exploits for which fixes have long existed and still successfully compromise targets -- because nobody bothered to apply the patches. The lesson to be learned here is that sometimes it might seem time-consuming and inconvenient to apply patches especially across a whole network but it can prove to be an effective barrier against malware
installing some form of cyber security software is also a useful means of protecting against many forms of attack. Many vendors will update their programs on a weekly or even daily basis, providing as much protection as possible from malware, should something attempt to break into the system
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