Cybersecurity is more important than ever before. An incident response breach can have a far-reaching impact that businesses of all sizes take years to recover from. This means having better preventative measures in place is crucial Security awareness training.
There are a lot of things that small businesses can be doing to improve their cybersecurity. Here are five tips in particular that can help them to shore up those concerns and be safer while establishing an online footprint.
- Keep Software Updated
Without a doubt, one of the biggest mistakes that small businesses make with their cybersecurity measures is not having the latest in software. Though it sounds like a selling tactic at times, that updated software is best equipped to handle the potential threat of a breach.
Outdated software may not have the proper updates to protect against malware, viruses, and the litany of threats that exist online. Make sure that any antivirus software is up to date, running a scan after updating. Any other software updates should be installed sooner rather than later as well. All of which contributes to a safer online presence.
- Firewalls are a Must
It would be shocking to learn how many small businesses don’t employ a firewall. As a matter of fact, it is the single most valuable tool that could prevent things like an incident response breach. A firewall, in short, prevents any unwanted outsiders from being able to access the data on your company’s private network.
The firewall should always be enabled and if your business doesn’t have one, there are plenty of free versions out there online. When allowing employees to work remotely, ensure that they have a firewall for their home system. The firewall is the single most important thing protecting your business.
- Back Up Data
It can be easy to fall into routines or simply forget to back systems up. After all, we all have a lot of things going on without having to take into consideration backing up all that data. But things can and do go wrong all the time and that backup can be invaluable.
If possible, set automatic backups to happen on at least a weekly basis. It is also beneficial to keep copies of those backups stored either in the cloud or somewhere offsite to ensure that some catastrophic event does not wipe everything out.
- Control Access
Physical access is one of the most consistent weak points for small businesses. It is all too easy for employees to share their login credentials and, before long, someone who shouldn’t have access suddenly finds themselves with access.
Most of the time, this happens between employees and the results aren’t bad. But all it takes is one slip up to allow those credentials to fall into the wrong hands. By creating user accounts for employees and controlling physical access to the machines, it is possible to cut down on the number of these incidents that occur.
- Secure WiFi
If there is a workplace WiFi network, it is important to ensure that it is properly secured. Even more so, it should be encrypted and hidden. You don’t just want anyone who is within range to be able to sign in unless you have a separate public WiFi network.
It is simple to make your network hidden. When you set up the router or wireless access point, it is changeable through the Service Set Identifier (SSID). You can choose to both password protect the router and not broadcast the network name (that SSID). These are quick, easy steps to take to protect your WiFi network.
