Did you know that around 45 percent of businesses in the United States of America have experienced data breaches? Cybersecurity is vital to running a safe and successful business in the 21st century. It might sound daunting, but much of your information security is firmly in your control.
Many businesses are turning to a cybersecurity company to help them bolster their security measures for keeping confidential and delicate business information safe from hackers and malware with cybersecurity tips. Losing business information to people that wish to harm your business and your customers is a scary ordeal to contemplate.
The good news is that you’re in the perfect spot to learn all about seven great things that you can do to protect information at your business. Keep reading this article to learn more today!
1. Back Up Everything
Backing up your information and your business documents is easy and important if you want to keep your business safe from potential hacks and breaches. You need to make it a habit to back up your data on a consistent basis so that you don’t even lose anything important.
Not only will making the decision to back everything up help you in the event of a data breach but it will also keep you protected if your computer network crashes. There are tons of helpful and effective cloud storage options out there that you can use to backup all of your business data.
You can also look into backing up your data on external hard drives and your own personal business servers if you want to opt against going with cloud technology.
2. Encrypt Everything
Another important step that your business needs to take in order to keep your business information safe is using encryption. Backing up your data is helpful if your computer crashes, but the majority of its value comes from keeping that information safe. The best way to keep it safe while you’re storing it is to keep it encrypted.
Make sure that you invest in encryption on all computers and devices that your business uses if you want to maximize information security. It is also a wise move to start encrypting the emails that get sent within your business operations.
3. Firewalls
Firewalls have been around for some time, and they’ve proven quite adept at stopping potential hackers in their tracks. It is a smart move to do your research and find the best firewalls to use to keep your network and your business information locked away from prying eyes.
There are tons of great options available on the market if you decide that you need to invest in or upgrade your existing firewall. Do your research and make sure that you read plenty of online reviews prior to purchasing a firewall for your business’s network and devices.
4. Prevent Physical Theft
Many people look at cybersecurity tips and think only of the potential for hackers and malicious software. You also need to be diligent when it comes to physical theft. It is just as easy for hackers to steal physical hardware from your business. This is where finding a data eradication partner makes a lot of sense for your business operations.
Make sure that all of your employees are well-versed on the importance of locking important documents and pieces of equipment away when they’re not in use at the office. You should also make it known that they should keep important business data off of their personal devices and laptops.
If they’re working from their personal devices and those devices get stolen then they’ve given hackers access to a treasure chest of valuable information to use.
5. Protect Against Viruses and Malware
The most common thing that people picture in their minds when it comes to cybersecurity threats is viruses and malware. Any device that is connected to the internet is at risk of getting viruses and malware on it at some point or another. Make sure that you’re investing in anti-virus software in order to keep all of the devices on your business’s network protected.
All it takes is one device that lacks protection from a virus or for malware to penetrate into your business network. It is also smart to appoint someone that you trust to take responsibility for updating the anti-virus and malware protection software at regular intervals. One of the worst things that you can do with virus protection software is fail to update it.
6. Strong Passwords
Strong passwords are a great deterrent to any would-be hacker that wants to gain access to your business information. Sadly, all it takes is one employee with a weak password to compromise the entire business network and run your information security.
A smart move is to put a rule in place that requires your employees to have passwords at a certain strength and to change those passwords at fixed intervals. Changing them on a quarterly basis is a nice starting point.
7. Train Your Employees
It sounds dumb, but training your employees goes a long way towards preventing mistakes that lead to data breaches. You should work with a cybersecurity company to go over the basics of preventing hackers from accessing your network. Simple things like how to spot phishing attempts through email will go a long way for your information security.
Your employees are one of your first and strongest lines of defense against data breaches and hackers. If you invest time and money into training them on how to protect business information then it will pay big dividends in the long run. Invest in training your employees at least twice per year on how to prevent risks to your business cybersecurity.
Follow These Cybersecurity Tips Today
There are tons of helpful cybersecurity tips out there that make keeping your business information safe a much easier task. Make sure that you train your employees on how to identify suspicious emails and behavior, and don’t be afraid to invest in a firewall for your business network. You should also work with a cybersecurity company to identify weak areas in your information security.
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