Small businesses are notoriously vulnerable to cyberattacks. Many small business owners fail to implement cybersecurity best practices right from the start, instead choosing to address the issue later down the road. But this is why hackers love to target small businesses. Think it won’t happen to you? Cybersecurity Magazine reports that 61% of all small and medium-sized businesses experienced a cyberattack in the past year!
Protecting your business from cyber threats is essential for preserving your reputation, avoiding legal trouble, and preventing irreparable damage to your business. Here’s what you need to know.
Secure Business Devices and Network Infrastructure
Securing your business hardware is an important line of defense against hackers. Protecting your devices from loss or theft will ensure they don’t get into the hands of potential cybercriminals, and if they do, can’t be accessed by people with ill intent. ZenBusiness recommends investing in key tech, including cost-effective cybersecurity solutions for all of your business hardware, from USB drivers and servers to desktop computers and mobile devices. Not sure where to start? Wolex Technologies can help you establish a custom security solution that best fits the needs of your business.
Establish Strong Passwords
Creating strong passwords will help safeguard your business devices and prevent unauthorized users from accessing important accounts. Learn how to create strong passwords and teach the rest of your team members to do the same. Using a reliable password manager like Bitwarden or 1Password is a great way to generate strong and unique passwords and store them securely for easy access. No more writing passwords on post-it notes!
Invest in the Right Software
When most people think about cybersecurity, antivirus software is what comes to mind. Antivirus software will protect your business from viruses that can spread over the internet and infect your devices. These viruses can slow down your business hardware, damage or delete important files, steal sensitive data, freeze your business devices, and more. Good antivirus software will shield your business from spyware, malware, ransomware, and many other types of online attacks.
Use a VPN
Deploying a VPN across your business is another great way to secure your network from viruses and hackers. A VPN will establish a secure connection between your business and the internet by routing your data through an encrypted tunnel. If this sounds confusing, don’t worry. What’s important to understand is that a VPN can act as an added layer of security for your business. And it’s affordable!
Encrypt Sensitive Data
Encryption solutions can do more than hide your internet traffic. Through encryption systems, you can protect everything from business emails to sensitive customer data stored on your local computers. To make your life easy, system-level data encryption is included in modern versions of Apple OS X and Microsoft Windows. If you use cloud computing solutions, make sure your cloud provider offers email and data encryption.
Perform Regular Backups
Ideally, your business will never have to deal with the fallout of a cyberattack. But unfortunately, the odds are not in your favor. Make sure your business is ready to respond to an attack and recover as quickly as possible. Performing regular data backups is essential! Losing important business data in an attack—or due to a hard drive crash—can end up costing a lot of money in downtime, revenue disruptions, productivity loss, regulatory fines, and damaged reputation.
Keeping backups will get your business back up and running ASAP after a loss event. BusinessBlogs Hub recommends using an online data backup service so you can perform regular backups as painlessly as possible. Look for a service that includes unrestricted access to data, redundancy, automatic backups, and quick data restoration.
Don’t overlook the importance of cybersecurity as you work to grow your small business. Understanding cybersecurity and implementing best practices will protect your business from all kinds of cyberattacks, ultimately saving you money and time in the long run. A cybersecurity improvement is always a smart investment!
Looking for cybersecurity services? Wolex Technologies provides network penetration testing to evaluate your current security environment and build a solution that offers better protection for your growing business. Contact us today! (503) 662-2190.