Businesses of all sizes are under constant threat from cybercriminals and malicious software. The risk is generally lower for smaller companies, as they aren’t primary targets, but it’s still essential to take every precaution to keep you, your employees and your customers safe. If you’re not doing the following, you could be leaving yourself open to disaster.
Encrypt your data
Encrypting your data greatly reduces its vulnerability to thieves and hackers. Used alongside other measures, encryption keeps data safe even if it ends up in the wrong hands – a hacker who reaches your storage usually can’t break into an encrypted file. It’s crucial for anything kept on cloud storage, and services exist for any device that handles digital information, including your internet connection itself.
Educate your employees
Because your IT resources are accessible to many people, your team is part of your security picture. Educate employees on data security and safe web use so they’re aware of the risks. If your business relies heavily on web-based resources, consider a security awareness training course for staff.
Stay updated
Keeping operating systems and software up to date is critical. Configure your systems to download and install all security-related updates automatically. Vendors release security updates regularly to close potential holes as soon as they become known.
Lock your wireless network
Wi-Fi is convenient but not secure unless you lock it down. Enable WPA2 (or better) protection rather than the older WEP and WPA protocols, hide the connection from the public, and if you offer Wi-Fi to guests or customers, provide a separate connection on its own network and hardware.
Use anti-malware protection
Free antivirus may suit a home user but rarely offers enough protection for business computers used by many people. Most major anti-malware developers provide solutions built for the corporate environment that detect and remove threats before they can do damage.
Limit user accounts
There’s rarely a reason to give employees full administrative access. Standard user accounts prevent staff from modifying system files, reaching administrative resources or installing software that changes system settings. Professional and enterprise tools let administrators control account security across all networked computers centrally.
Monitor online activities (carefully)
Monitoring can range from tracking websites visited to logging every keystroke, but for your employees’ privacy, don’t go too far – and always make any monitoring known to your team. Often, simply blocking inappropriate websites is enough.
Enforce a security policy
A clear security policy sets boundaries on how IT resources are used, defines acceptable behaviour and educates your team on handling threats. It should typically ban sharing or downloading non-work files and visiting inappropriate sites, and outline practices for user accounts and email.
Use a firewall
A firewall is a critical component of any network, controlling traffic and preventing unauthorised access. Business users may want something more secure and feature-rich than the built-in option – many business routers include an embedded firewall, and dedicated software or hardware firewalls suit networks of varying sizes.
Secure your mobile devices
Laptops, tablets and smartphones are at much higher risk of being lost or stolen, yet are critical to many businesses. Think about identity and access, data encryption and application security, enforce a strict password policy, and have a plan for devices that go missing. If you allow staff to bring their own devices, consider how much control you have over your data. It may seem like extra work and cost, but keeping your business safe from the constant stream of online threats is critical to its success.