Cybersecurity has taken center stage, with Ashley Madison, Anthem, and the IRS all taking hits and making headlines. BigSpeak’s Eric O’Neill spoke at LegalTech New York this week, discussing the history of espionage, as well as potential future threats to companies and government agencies.

The first key to strengthening your company’s security? Understanding your enemy. “I want to dispel the myth of the hacker,” O’Neill says. “Hollywood is responsible for this perception that hackers are some overweight guy, sitting in a dark basement … Dispel that myth. Hackers are not doing those brute force methods? they’re trying to hack people, finding easy ways in.”

Despite the ever-growing technological prowess of hackers and spies, there are some ways to ensure that your company stays safe.    

• Compartmentalization: First, know where it is and where you keep it. Second, limit access to it, as not everybody has to have access to that info.

• Diligence: “Don’t fall asleep behind the wheel,” O’Neill said. Actively use methods to know if information is being accessed. For example, need to know what endpoints there are, and whitelist apps that have insufficient security.

• Beware social media: O’Neill said that he “can’t say this enough.” This message is equally for young people and adults, but he stressed that those in attendance should tell young people to be more careful than they are being.

If your company could use a refresher on cybersecurity, consider booking an expert to help create a strategy to fight information leaks.