Brought to you by Omnisend:
Cybercriminals don’t discriminate. No matter how large or small a business is, every company needs to care about cybersecurity. The first mistake business owners make is assuming they’re not a target. Many business owners have an “it won’t happen to me” attitude – but this lack of awareness can lead to trouble. You can use this article to learn the best practices in cybersecurity so you avoid common – and dangerous – mistakes.
Develop a Cybersecurity Plan
Your plan should be cutting-edge and comprehensive. It should also begin by detailing the true data security threat your company faces. Next, outline your cybersecurity goals. Putting together a disaster recovery plan is also critical. No matter your security efforts, you still need to be prepared for the worst.
Train Employees
Employees are one of the main reasons for cyber breaches. When employees lack training, they can make mistakes that result in hackers finding a way into your systems. All businesses need to train their staff members on safe procedures to follow when online.
Some of the basic vulnerabilities you need to go over include:
- Handling or disposing of sensitive data
- Opening or responding to phishing apps or emails
- Opening infected web pages or email attachments
- Reusing passwords or choosing weak passwords
Businesses can improve their cybersecurity by training employees to spot and avoid common threats.
Implement Firewalls
Business owners underestimate the importance of having firewalls in place, and we don’t mean the free firewalls that can be downloaded online. You need something substantial that is going to act as an effective security layer; alerting you if any malware is trying to infect your computer so you can prevent it from finding a way in.
Stay Ahead of Emerging Threats
Once you have cybersecurity measures in place, your work isn’t done. You need to continually measure the effectiveness of your efforts and use data to make intelligent decisions on an ongoing basis.
Segment Your Network
If you have everything from point-of-sale (POS) systems to self-service kiosks on the same network, you’re leaving your business exposed. After all, as soon as a hacker breaches one area of your business, they’re going to have access to everything on the network.
Invest in Strong Website Security
Your website is one part of your online presence that requires a stringent security strategy. If you use outdated software or you fail to choose a reliable and trustworthy third-party hosting provider, you could find yourself falling victim to an attack. This highlights why you need to work with the best and most trusted providers. These should include your hosting, domain, web service provider, email service provider, SMS software provider, and others.
Encrypt Sensitive Data
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to make your business 100% secure, no matter how hard you try. Therefore, you should not focus all of your efforts on keeping hackers out. You also need to pay some attention to what would happen if cybercriminals found their way in. By encrypting your data, you ensure that it cannot be read. Therefore, while hackers may have breached your system, they can’t steal any sensitive data because it’s in unreadable code.
Think Beyond Malware
There is no denying that malware is something that a lot of criminal hackers use as a part of an attack. Nevertheless, once they’ve found their way into your system, there are lots of different strategies that can be utilized to exploit your network.
Create Strong Passwords
There is no excuse for having a weak password, yet many people use weak passwords such as “1234” or the name of their business. You should always change the default passwords you’re supplied with, and your new password should contain numbers, upper and lower case letters, and special characters. Plus, make sure that your employees change their passwords regularly for enhanced security.
All Businesses Need Strong Cybersecurity
There is no denying the very real threat of a data breach in the current day and age. No business is immune from this threat, big or small. This is why you need to ensure that you do everything in your power to protect your business and ultimately, your clients.