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Online security is something that is becoming more and more important for start-ups, as well as an established business. There have been reports, though, that if you are a small or medium business, there is a one in two chance that you will be subject to a cyber breach, which is a pretty shocking statistic. And the worrying thing is that if you have a business hack, then it can result in loss of business, but can end up costing a lot of money too; you have customer data to keep safe, as well as employees details and all of the ‘trade secrets’ around your business.
With more threats appearing tan ever, your business needs to do all that it can to stay secure. It can be tricky to know where to start with it all, which is why a cyber security service could help. But if you’re looking to do things alone, then here are some things that you need to do to keep your business safe online.
Managing Riskwebs
By creating a list of your assets, you can then consider what the potential risks would be to your business. If you are thinking of the assets to your business, then it would be things like laptops, smartphones, and data, as these are all things that need to be secure. If you have a lot of assets, then it could be a good idea to be listing things like this in the order of importance.
Passwords
Passwords are something really important to keep things secure for your business. Passwords can be used to keep important information and accounts secure, so it is important to make sure that the passwords are fairly complex to help to prevent a breach. It is recommended to have some passwords that are long, perhaps a phrase, and they should be changed quite often too. This is something that needs to happen all across the team too, so make sure everyone knows what the expectations are.
Preventing Viruses
If you get a virus on your computer, then it can lead to damage, as well as corrupt files and computer. And it can be much easier to get a virus than you might think. It could be from something as simple as opening a suspicious attachment in an email, using portable devices like USBs that haven’t been checked, as well as clicking on the links in emails or downloading files from unsecure websites. So having a firewall and anti-virus software installed to the computer is a must, as well as having your team being up to date with the risks and also the expectations (such as not replying to suspicious emails and so on).
Securing your own equipment
If you are using personal devices for personal use, but as well as business activities, then make sure that what you are using is protected and encrypted. Passwords, again, are something that is really important. This should be done when you have team members leave as well, so they can’t pass it on to someone else.
