Consolidated: Passwords and people are top cybersecurity risks for businesses

During Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Consolidated reminds businesses that 81% of breaches are caused by weak or stolen passwords

Vermont Business Magazine Your employees may pose the greatest network security risk, reports Aaron Reason, senior director of Network Security for Consolidated Communications (NASDAQ: CNSL), a leading provider of broadband and enterprise communications. October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and in addition to serving business customers with the best broadband and security services, Consolidated aims to educate businesses and individuals about safe online practices at Consolidated.com/staysafeonline .

“Between phishing, vishing, and poor password practices, bad actors are shooting at your business,” Reason recently shared on LinkedIn. “Of course, you need to have strong network security partners and ensure your firewalls are ready for the next attack, but you also need to actively educate and train your employees.”

Passwords continue to be the number one cause of cyber breaches, and for good reason. Erroneous memories lead the mmajority of people to reuse passwords across platforms, and three out of four say they don’t know how to create a secure password at all. This creates an ideal scenario for hackers, and once they’re in, new forms of attacks make them harder to detect than ever.

In the business world, proactive network management and a strong firewall are crucial, as are zero-trust network security policies. While artificial intelligence can be a useful tool in defending a business, Reason explains that “there is no substitute for knowing your network security environment and working with a trusted partner.” With respect to employee training, Reason recommends ongoing training to ensure that each employee:

• Knows how to recognize and report phishing – still one of the top threats used by cybercriminals today;
• Understands the benefits of using a password manager;
• Enables multi-factor authentication on personal devices and corporate networks, wherever available; and
• Install updates regularly and enable automatic updates.

For organizations looking for additional help with training their employees, the National Cybersecurity Alliance offers a range of resources at https://staysafeonline.org.

Businesses of all sizes can visit Consolidated.com to learn more about online security for their business, their employees and their customers. People looking for tips for staying safe online can visit Consolidated.com/staysafeonline.

About Consolidated Communications
Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSL) is dedicated to advancing people, businesses and communities by providing the latest in reliable fiber communication solutions. Wireless and wireline consumers, businesses and carriers depend on Consolidated for a wide range of high-speed Internet, data, telephony, security, cloud and wholesale solutions. With a network spanning more than 80,000 miles of fiber, Consolidated is a top 10 fiber provider in the United States, turning technology into solutions backed by exceptional customer support. For more information, visit consolidated.com. Join us on social networks.

About Cyber ​​Security Awareness Month
Cyber ​​Security Awareness Month is designed to engage and educate public and private sector partners with the goal of raising cyber security awareness to increase the nation’s resilience in the event of a cyber incident. This unified effort is necessary to maintain a safer and more resilient cyberspace and remains a source of tremendous opportunity and growth for years to come. For more information visit staysafeonline.org/cybersecurity-awareness-month/

About the National Cyber ​​Security Alliance

The National Cybersecurity Alliance is a non-profit organization whose mission is to create a more secure and interconnected world. We advocate for the safe use of all technology and educate everyone on how best to protect ourselves, our families and our organizations from cybercrime. We create strong partnerships between governments and businesses to amplify our message and foster a greater “digital” good. Major National Cybersecurity Alliance efforts include Cybersecurity Awareness Month (October); Data Privacy Week (January 24-28); and CyberSecure My Business™, which offers webinars, web resources and workshops to help businesses resist and withstand cyberattacks. For more information, please visit https://staysafeonline.org.

MATTON, ill. – October 26, 2022 – Consolidated Communications