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As a content marketer, you’re not just crafting compelling stories; you’re also handling sensitive information that can become a target for cybercriminals.
If you want to get better results and avoid compromising your brand’s most important digital assets, you need to take cyber security seriously.
The Threat Landscape for Content Marketers
The digital world is like a two-sided coin for content marketers. On one side, it’s full of opportunities for cost-effectively growing your brand and increasing reach. On the flip side, it’s also riddled with cyber threats that must be acknowledged and neutralized on a continual basis. These threats can take on any number of different forms and content marketers always seem to be stuck in the middle of the prize they want: valuable data.
Cyber attackers have hundreds of different tricks and tools available at their disposal. One of the most common threats is phishing. With phishing scams, attackers masquerade as legitimate individuals in an attempt to gain access to sensitive data. They usually do this through emails or messages that appear to come from a trusted source. The attacker requests that the recipient share something sensitive, such as a password or credit card information, in order to access something important.
Then there’s malware, which has been a preferred cyber attack method for decades. It involves malicious software, viruses, spyware, or ransomware, which can wreak havoc on a content system once access is gained. As these viruses infiltrate, they can cause damage, data loss, and serious network errors.
It should go without saying that cyber threats can have far-reaching implications for businesses and their customers. For businesses, a successful cyber attack can lead to financial losses due to fraud, the cost of incident response, and potential regulatory fines. The loss or theft of proprietary content can also undermine a company’s competitive position. Then there’s the issue of sensitive customer data ending up in the wrong hands, which can lead to identity theft and other forms of cybercrime (all of which the business can become responsible for).
How to Master Cyber Security for Content Marketing
You’re a content marketer – not a cyber security professional. Having said that, you have to understand that your job does entail some level of cyber security awareness. As part of this, you’ll want to do the following:
Practice Secure Password Management
You can overcome a lot of weaknesses as long as you have a secure password management strategy in place. Passwords act as the very first line of defense against an online attack.
You can instantly upgrade your passwords by using complex strings of characters, avoiding the inclusion of personal information, and not reusing passwords across multiple accounts. It’s also a wise idea to regularly update passwords (and to force all employees to do the same).
Upgrade Your Content Management System
Umbraco is known as the number one Microsoft open source CMS in the world. But if you’re currently using an outdated Umbraco version, it’s highly recommended that you upgrade to the latest Umbraco setup.
“Before diving into the upgrade process, it’s essential to take stock of your existing Umbraco setup,” Marcel Digital advises. “Review your website’s structure, content, and functionality to assess its compatibility with Umbraco 11. This comprehensive review will help you identify any potential challenges and plan accordingly.”
Once you’ve taken stock of where you currently are, begin the process of upgrading your CMS in order to get access to the best native security features that exist.
Conduct Regular Backup and Recovery
Regular data backups are a crucial part of any cyber security strategy. Despite your best efforts to secure your systems and protect your content, the reality is that no defense is completely infallible. Data can be lost or compromised due to a variety of reasons, including cyber attacks, physical damage to servers, or simple human error.
Regular backups ensure that even in the worst-case scenario, you can recover your important files and minimize downtime. If you’re creating new content daily, consider daily or weekly backups. If it’s less frequent, you might be able to get away with a bi-weekly backup. Another tip is to create multiple copies of content. It’s helpful to follow the 3-2-1 rule, which says you need three copies of your data stored on two different types of media with one backup copy offsite or in the cloud.
Adding it All Up
There are dozens of proactive steps you can take to avoid becoming a victim of cyber attacks, such as phishing scams or malware. However, the four tips highlighted above are enough to get you moving in the right direction. Focus on following these suggestions and then expand your security strategy over time. Good luck!