Cyber attacks are one of the biggest concerns for businesses today and no one is immune from them. Some of the largest ones have been reported in the media, but they happen to much smaller businesses all the time. All you can do is try to protect your business from them, and here are a few pointers that might help.
Safeguard Your Hardware
Many businesses are more concerned about securing their software than their hardware. but you should start with the basics. Protect all your devices with a password that is complicated as that is not so easy for the hackers to find by chance. Make sure only the user of the device and the device knows what the password is, and it should never be anywhere other than in their memory.
Also, you should not overlook the possibility of a break-in and your devices being stolen. Install ‘find my device’ software on them all whether they are desktops or laptops.
Use reputable IT support and consulting services to ensure that all your hardware is as protected as possible. Once that is done, you can think of your next step.
Back Up And Encrypt Data
There are two elements here that need to be dealt with. Encrypting data will make it useless if it falls into the wrong hands, which is why most companies do this with all sensitive information. Customer details, employee details, and financial details of the business at the very least should be encrypted.
Most software includes the encryption tool these days, and you should use it all the time. The software usually does the encryption when a computer is at rest, so each time one is left alone for a while it should be put into ‘sleep’ mode.
Backups should be done at least once a day and kept somewhere away from the business premises. There are ways of doing the backups remotely, and that is a great way to save your information.
Update Again And Again
When software updates are issued it is often because the developers have found a security issue and they want to fix it. All devices should have their programs updated, and that includes any anti-virus software you may have. You can tell the computers to update automatically, and that is not a bad idea because then they cannot be forgotten.
Make Sure Your Staff Are Aware
All your employees should be made aware that they should never open an email from a source that is not trusted, and that if they are unsure they should play by the golden rule of don’t. This is often how cyber attacks start, but as we all receive so many trash emails every day it is not always easy to pick them out. Therefore, you should have a rule that no trash emails are ever opened and then your computers are less likely to be exposed to a cyber attack.
They should also be aware of the dangers of accessing unsecured networks for work information, as this could also increase the risk of you being hacked.
Hackers keep up with all the latest developments in technology and it is a constant fight to keep them away. Software companies work hard to try to prevent them from being successful, but just sometimes there is nothing that stops them.
