4 Cybersecurity Tips Every Business Owner Needs to Know
In a recent study, researchers found that nearly 73 percent of the businesses they surveyed were not prepared for a cyberattack. Many business owners abide by the “it will never happen to me” philosophy when it comes to data hacks.
Each year, over 45 percent of the cyberattacks perpetrated by hackers target small to medium-sized businesses. Instead of laboring under the delusion that this will not happen to your business, it’s time to take action to secure your network.
These are the most important cybersecurity tips business owners need to stay prepared.
1. Keep your software updated
Utilizing the power and convenience of technology is essential for any small business trying to get ahead in the 21st century. Most businesses use a number of software programs on a daily basis to get work done or communicate with clients. While these programs can help to increase productivity levels, they can also be problematic if they are not managed properly.
Failing to update the software on your network regularly can create security issues. Hackers can use the gaps left by outdated software to infiltrate a business network. If you can’t remember to update programs manually, it may be time to consider cloud-based software. This approach ensures that software updates occur automatically, making tools safer and more convenient for businesses to use anywhere, anytime.
2. Educate your employees
Some business owners think that only IT and management staff need to know about cybersecurity. The truth is that any employee can create security problems if they are uneducated about risky behaviors and activities to avoid and how they can better protect company assets.
Educating your team about things like spear phishing attacks is beneficial. In these attacks, hackers send emails to employees with links or downloadable files included. If employees open these attachments by mistake or out of curiosity, they may inadvertently unleash a virus on your entire network.
Working with experienced IT professionals to train your team is a proactive way to ensure all employees stay current on cybersecurity risks.
3. Hire professionals for network penetration tests
Are you trying to assess just how secure your business network is? If so, the best way to get this information is by hiring an IT professional to perform a penetration test.
These penetration tests are designed to test a network and discover any existing flaws by creating real-world scenarios that hackers use to invade your systems. Routinely performing this type of testing makes it harder for hackers to compromise your IT infrastructure. The time and money you invest in network testing will pay off in useful information to protect your business.
4. Maintain data backups
The data stored on your network needs protection at all costs. Businesses like yours collect lots of sensitive information from clients, and you are responsible to protect it from falling into the wrong hands or losing it during system failures. The best way to keep this information safe and accessible is by establishing a cloud-based backup.
When you are regularly backing up all of your data, you can reduce the impact of an unexpected network crash or ransomware attack. In fact, cloud-based systems back up data automatically, which means you don’t have the stress of remembering to do the job manually.
Are you taking every action to properly secure your business network? Contact us now to find out more about how we can help strengthen and protect your network against evolving cybersecurity risks.
