Cyber security for the new year

January 3, 2020

Almost half of data breaches that have occurred the past few years have been against small to medium sized businesses. This may seem like surprising news, but think about it. Small businesses have less security, they don’t have as much manpower behind them to stop relentless attacks from seasoned cybercriminals.

Small businesses are often attacked like this because they usually have little knowledge about the kind of security they need. They invest in promoting their business and building websites without spending the same amount on security. This leaves them vulnerable to a variety of security risks and cyber attacks. The best way to keep you business safe is to budget some of your money towards security so that you can make sure your business will be protected from threats.

Just because you’re “small” doesn’t mean you’re safe

Educating yourself and your employees is the first step in protecting your business. The more you know about the dangers the better prepared you are to prevent them from having catastrophic results. Employees are usually the ones who fall for cyber attacks so your first priority should be to educate them in order to reduce their chances of compromising your security. Being able to identify a security risk is the first step in avoiding them.

Step one for your company should be to educate all employees on your companies policies on security and safety. You should also train them on identifying different types of security threats and how they can deal with them. Phishing attacks, phone scams, email scams, un secure websites, teach them how to spot and avoid everything they could come across.

Get an SSL

Google recommends all companies use HTTPS but that doesn’t mean that people will listen. But if you want to secure your user data and guarantee their safety it’s something you absolutely have to invest in. Not switching over is a big deal, because not only will people browsing find your website unsafe but so will Google. They will make sure to alert every visitor that comes to your website that it is insecure and severely impact your websites SEO.

If your website’s SEO suffers, then that means it will be receiving less traffic and you’ll be missing out on potential customers. This can be detrimental to small businesses starting out which is why you should opt for it.

You need a firewall and antivirus

It might be basic but they do keep a lot of unwanted stuff away from your devices. Setting one up for your website will help block malicious traffic and protect not only your visitors but also your employees while they are navigating.

Likewise antivirus software is one of the most reliable ways to protect your company from having compromised devices. They are designed to detect potential dangers and safeguard so no viruses can latch onto your devices and compromise your security. Though there are different kinds, you should pick the best one suited for your companies needs.

Ideally it will detect and protect against spyware and have a general scanning feature that you can use to protect your devices. Some can even give you warnings when you visit potentially harmful websites, protect against malware, and limit access to your business data by other websites.

Have protected Wi-Fi

An un secure network is an easy way to having compromised security. There are plenty of hackers that haunt coffee shops and search for networks without security in order to compromised devices and steal data. As a small business you really can’t afford risking someone getting into your network and causing mayhem. By securing your Wi-Fi you protect not only your workplace, but also any guests looking to connect.

Secure passwords are key

Businesses deal with a lot of sense information, theirs and their customers. So it makes sense that you would want to protect that information with a good lock. But a lock is only as strong as the key, which means you need to make sure you have a strong one. Strong passwords can be tough to remember, but with the use of password managers it’s easy to keep track of all of them. Which will allow you to make a password that has a good mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Each of these adds more difficulty for a hacker to be able to get into your accounts.

You can increase the security by also enabling multi factor authentication  which will require an additional measure in order to get into your account. This extra layer of verification makes it nearly impossible for hackers to get into your account since it usually requires them to have your phone or a biometric requirement. This is a great way to keep your accounts safe because even if they manage to snag your password it will be nearly impossible for a thief to access your data.

The main takeaway is that security requires knowledge. You need to know what you’re fighting in order to best prevent disaster. And the best way of gaining that knowledge is consulting experts who understands the dangers and can help you navigate them.