Proactive Cybersecurity Measures for Today’s Small Businesses
Sadly, small businesses tend to be one of the biggest targets for cybercriminals and hackers, mainly because the owners of these companies do not believe that their business is large or valuable enough for hackers to take notice of. But just like burglars are more likely to break into poorly secured houses rather than high-value properties with cameras and alarms due to the ease, small businesses are more likely to be the main target of hackers who believe that they are less likely to come up against any security measures on the way in.
The truth is that since many small business owners don’t believe their business is worth being a target, they will often make it easy for hackers to walk straight in and steal their data. With cyberattacks on small businesses on the rise, it’s important to change that mindset. Here are several things that small business owners should put in place to protect their company and data from cybercrime.
Work With Experts
Getting expert help and support is always worth considering when it comes to keeping your business safe from cybercrime. Working with an expert IT company allows you to access expert IT support including cybersecurity support for your small business. Texaport is a managed IT services provider well-versed in cybersecurity and able to help you implement best practices to keep your company and its data safe from hackers. Outsourcing is often the best option for small businesses that may not always have the budget to hire in-house IT and cybersecurity experts.
Be Wary of Phishing
Phishing attempts are one of the most common ways for cybercriminals to get into a small company where they can breach data and cause havoc. Sadly, phishing is only getting more and more common and sophisticated, and anybody can fall for it. It’s important to ensure that you and everybody who works for your business understands what phishing is, how it works, and what to look out for when it comes to spotting and preventing it. Make sure that all message senders are verified before replying to emails and text messages and educate employees on checking links and email sender information.
Use a VPN
A VPN or virtual private network can be a valuable investment for your business. The VPN will encrypt the traffic travelling to and from the devices on your network, which ultimately makes it more difficult for hackers and cybercriminals to intercept it. Many small business owners today don’t work from an office – if you run your business remotely and often work from public spaces like libraries, coffee shops, or even airports with public Wi-Fi, then using a VPN is especially important since public Wi-Fi is often one of the easiest connections for hackers to intercept. Along with this, any employees that you have working from home should use a VPN cause VPNs are effective for security to their home network.
Put Solid Policies in Place
The sooner you start with implementing solid cybersecurity policies in your business, the better. Don’t assume that all your employees are going to be aware of cybersecurity and what they can do to keep your business safe; make sure that there are policies and guidelines in place that they can use to inform their actions and decisions. You can put cybersecurity policies for your business in place with the help of IT and cybersecurity experts. Make sure that any policies you have are regularly revisited and revised if needed. Since hackers and cybercriminals are always learning new ways to sneak into your business and steal data or hold you to ransom, it’s important to make sure that your policies and other security measures are always one step ahead.
Use a Firewall
Setting up a firewall for your business is an important part of cybersecurity and protection. A firewall can be either hardware or software and is usually the first line of defence against any potential risks to your company network such as malware. Setting up a firewall is recommended by cybersecurity experts for all small businesses since it acts as a protective barrier between your company and any hackers trying to gain malicious access.
Encourage a Culture of Cybersecurity
Whether you only have one or two employees working for your business or are in the process of growing your team, it’s important to promote a culture of cybersecurity and make it something that people are always talking about. Instead of leaving cybersecurity to the IT department, get everybody involved with making sure that the business stays safe. After all, non-IT staff are often targeted by phishing attempts and other social engineering attacks, so the more education and conversation is had regarding cybersecurity in the workplace, the better.
Cybersecurity is a hugely important concern for any small business today. Don’t assume that an attack won’t happen to your small business – it probably will, so it’s best to be prepared.
