Working from home, for many of us, it was fun while it lasted. For others, we couldn't wait to see it end. Now that we are reopening life as we knew it, people are scrambling to get back to the office. Many are eager to escape makeshift dining room desks that compete with family life and chaos or crave the social interaction and other structures that office environments provide. You might be in a combination situation, where you put in hours both at home and in the office. Either way, we are all going back, whether you are ready or not.

Social media allows you to stay connected to people you don’t get to see all of the time, and for that, it is a great thing. Family photos are easily shared, groups of like-minded people can gather together and share thoughts and ideas, and events are marketed to the masses for better visibility. With each of these occurrences, personal information is shared with individuals you have deemed trustworthy and deserving of insight into your life. But what about the people you don’t know and who have insight as well? Friends of friends are strangers who gain access without you even realizing that they can see your child’s school photos. Aside from staying off of social media altogether, how do you mitigate the risk?

Unless you have been living entirely off the grid for the past few years, you are aware of the risks associated with cybersecurity. Although still today, many think, “it won’t happen to me.” Unfortunately, cybercriminals do not discriminate. They do not care what industry your business is or even the size. Cybercriminals know that a breach of a small company can still lead to a payout. With so much uncertainty in our world, the payout from an attack will be worth it to them, whether it is data or ransom. CEOs need to take the “when,” not “if” approach when it comes to cybersecurity awareness and make it a consistent priority. Let’s take a look at three essential steps every CEO should take.

Just as it seemed we might be seeing clear skies ahead in terms of the pandemic; another dark cloud began to rise on the horizon. The Colonial Pipeline breach hit the news, and many people started to panic. We were all too familiar with the uncertainty of the future, and last year’s toilet paper rush was replaced with people filling gasoline in plastic containers of all sorts and sizes.

The amount of headlines regarding Cybersecurity and breaches is astronomically high in today’s news. Cybercrimes are increasing year over year at exponential rates, and they are proving to be successful. In 2019, 65% of businesses fell victim to a phishing email. Organizations are asking the question, “How do we stay safe?” Although there is no guaranteed way to stay safe from attacks, education is the key to create a solid line of defense against cybercrimes.

Verizon recently released their 2021 Mobile Security Index report, and in it, they summarized their research findings by looking at 856 IT professionals. These people buy, secure, and manage the mobile and internet of things (IoT) devices for their companies.

In a year of firsts and unexpected experiences, what did they find?

The majority of us aren't doing what needs to be done to secure our personal and professional information. 45% of people believe that their companies were rushed to mobilize remotely, and therefore have had to sacrifice security to "get the job done." And while remote working was at one point a necessity, now it is being evaluated as a permanent solution for many companies.

Cryptocurrency is a term that we hear all of the time, but many don’t seem to fully grasp what it is and how it works. We’ll take a look at it from a high level to provide some understanding. Why? Well, it isn’t going away, and it only seems to be gaining popularity. And also, because if you are a target of a ransomware attack, it could very likely be how the hacker demands payment. We are not suggesting that you pay that ransom demand, but getting familiar with cryptocurrency will help you understand how these cybercriminals can fly under the radar.