Online platforms and solutions are becoming increasingly noteworthy in the business world, to the point that most people couldn’t imagine carrying out their daily work tasks in their absence. While there are countless benefits that come with the digital ecosystem, it also means that large amounts of data and a huge number of processes and procedures are vulnerable to hacker attacks as a result. Companies have to guard the well-being of the information they hold on a daily basis since cyber criminals are constantly looking for ways to access the confidential information and extract bank details and credentials from customers that they can reuse for malicious purposes in the future.
The damage to the victims can be severe, with many struggling as a result of the financial issues and the effects of identity theft months or even years after the events took place. For companies, the loss of reputation is the most challenging aspect. And while the large enterprises might have an easier time recovering, small and medium-sized companies might find themselves forced to go out of business as a result, since the customers might just not trust them anymore. This is precisely why it is imperative for smaller organizations to secure their protocols and safeguard their digital ecosystems.
Strong passwords
Good, robust passwords are the first line of defense in the digital world, but their importance is unfortunately overlooked precisely because they are so ubiquitous. Rogue actors always attempt to crack passwords, and it’s easy for them to do so when the codes are very simple or when the same password is used for several accounts. To make sure things are safe, the passwords you choose should be entirely different from each other. There’s no denying that keeping up with and remembering all of them can be quite challenging, which is why you should also consider employing the help of a professional business password manager.
The tools designed for business use help you share logins in a secure environment and control access to all your accounts, as well as create new and unique passwords. Since you should ideally change all passwords after a few months, having them stored will ensure that you don’t forget about any of them. The best password managers are simple to use and deploy in your entire company, allowing you to revoke access for the employees who left and onboard the new ones right away. The logs and reporting will make procedures more transparent and provide you with better visibility, while the customizable policies mean that you can scale proceedings however you see fit.
Raising awareness
While there’s no denying the fact that the business owner and managers must be aware of the importance of cybersecurity, employees don’t get a free pass either. All your employees must be aware of how hacker attacks occur and what are the best ways to prevent them. Remember that the hazards change all the time, and in order to be truly protected, you must keep up with what’s going on in the digital world. Otherwise, your employees won’t be able to recognize the threats as they occur. Since the methods hackers use have become increasingly sophisticated, figuring out when something is wrong can be quite challenging, especially for employees who are not very tech-savvy.
Ensuring your entire team gets basic cybersecurity training has become a must, as any computer could be targeted, and everyone needs to know how to respond efficiently and prevent threats from leaching into the entire system. Moreover, you should also design a comprehensive business continuity plan in the event of an attack. Focus on minimizing the harm as much as feasible and ensure all your documents are backed up so that you can continue working as soon as possible.
The Wi-Fi networks and payments
All the Wi-fi networks you use in the workplace must be encrypted, fully secure, and hidden. If you have any employees who work from home, they should be informed that they must operate by the same standards. Many malicious actors will seek to gain access to your networks via Wi-Fi, which is why these defenses must be in place to stop them. The name of your network mustn’t be broadcast, and all access to the routers needs to be protected with strong passwords.
The payments are the ones you must be absolutely sure you’re carrying out in complete safety, as bank data and details are the ones hackers look for the most. Work directly with the banks and the payment processors so that you use the best anti-fraud services and tools. If you’re looking to implement additional policies, you can discuss them with the bank as well. Ideally, payment systems should be entirely isolated from all other programs you use, especially if you know that some of them are not fully secure.
Frequent updates
Installing antivirus software is important, but so is keeping the software you work with up-to-date. When you install the updates, you get to benefit from the new features, fix bugs and issues that hackers might exploit, and upgrade the security features as well. Developers do their research on the latest methods used by hackers in order to come up with the best solutions for your business, so make sure you don’t skip any upgrades. All systems have security vulnerabilities, so don’t believe that these upgrades couldn’t help you at all, simply because you haven’t been targeted by a data breach yet.
Keeping hardware up to date is crucial as well, and often not given the importance it deserves. Outdated hardware will typically be unable to support the installation of the latest security upgrades, putting your computer at risk. If your hardware is old, you will typically not be able to respond to cyberattacks in due manner either. A swift response is of paramount importance, and can make the difference between a breach that is a nuisance but can be solved quickly and one with disastrous consequences.
To sum up, investing time and resources into security is crucial for the well-being of your business. Make sure you don’t underestimate the importance of these features.
-In collaboration with Proton
