Cybersecurity is an important consideration for every business owner today. Yet many people don’t know how to protect their company’s sensitive data, and unsavory actors can exploit these vulnerabilities. It’s important for entrepreneurs to be proactive when it comes to cybersecurity and data protection. With the following tips, you’ll be able to implement basic cybersecurity protections for your business.
Establish a Recovery Plan
Do you know what you would do if your company’s data was compromised by a cyberattack? If you’re not sure, you need to design a recovery plan. This works best if your data is managed through one interface rather than several. You don’t have to create a complicated plan – ideally, you’ll be able to come up with a simple, flexible, effective strategy that you can easily follow. A recovery plan should include multiple forms of infrastructure protection so that if one security barrier is compromised, you have a backup in place. You should also schedule recovery plan tests to make sure that you haven’t overlooked anything.
Ideally, your plan will be part of your regular IT management, but if you’re still working to fill that role, you’re better off finding someone sooner rather than later. To ensure you have at least a temporary hand with this, connect with a staffing agency to help you recruit skilled professionals with the talents you need.
Secure Your Cloud Storage
Today, many businesses store their files with cloud software. This is certainly convenient for file sharing with large teams – employees can access relevant files from anywhere. But if a cyberattacker manages to get unauthorized access to your company’s cloud storage system, you could end up dealing with serious consequences.
What steps can you take to protect the files you have stored in the cloud? Idexcel recommends encrypting data before you upload it if possible. You can also create a second security check with local encryption. Using trustworthy antivirus software and setting up additional administrative controls doesn’t hurt, either!
Backup Company Data
Whether you are storing files in a cloud system or a hardware storage system, backing up your data is essential. If someone accesses your storage and erases or corrupts your files, you could lose a significant amount of money and face major setbacks for important projects. TechAdvisory states that some businesses might also benefit from using disk-based backups. Having a physical method for backing up data can keep your files safe in case of a cyberattack, and this storage method is relatively affordable.
Create Strong Passwords
Many people do not know how to create strong passwords. You might be tempted to use the same password over and over again so that you can always remember it, or you might use phrases that anyone who knew you could easily guess. But it’s important for every entrepreneur and their employees to learn how to choose truly secure passwords. Try to avoid including predictable words and character combinations in your passwords, and make sure that all of your passwords are at least eight letters long – in fact, the longer your passwords are, the better!
Protect Your Network
Finally, you want to ensure that your company’s network connections are secure. If the wrong person gets into your company network, it could spell problems for your business. Thankfully, there are some easy fixes. To protect your wireless access points, you can switch on encryption, and you can also use dual-factor authentication to stop cyberattackers. Take some time to brief your employees on any information they will need to access the network.
It can take some time to learn what you need to do in order to keep your company’s data secure. Understanding cybersecurity can be complicated for anyone! But with these basic tips, you’ll be able to gain a working knowledge of the most important aspects of cybersecurity.