For many years, IT security has been perceived as an obstacle and a costly process for business. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. Cyber security is a deciding factor that can predict whether a company will succeed or not.
Many people make the mistake of thinking that cyber security is only for big corporations like banks or tech giants, failing to realize that cyber-attacks are a concern for any business, regardless of size. In fact, most attacks happen to small companies that don’t pay all that much attention to online security and are therefore vulnerable.
Knowing that, here are steps you can take to address your own business’s cyber security risks:
1. Impose a Strong Password Policy
A lot of major cyber incidents are caused by weak passwords. While there is no 100% foolproof method for thwarting this, you can resort to long passwords. The idea is that the longer the password is, the more difficult it is for others to crack it. A minimum of 12 characters is often advisable, especially passwords that include a mix of letters, symbols, and numbers.
2. Investigate Breaches Thoroughly
Any breach should not be ignored. Instead, it should be completely investigated by IT experts that you trust. A business that’s left vulnerable to an attack can become a victim again and lose even more important data needed for day-to-day operations in the process. If you’re unable to learn your lesson from a breach, that means you risk dealing with the same kind of cyber-attack in the future.
3. Manage Employee Access
An effective way to mitigate possible damage during a breach is to manage and limit staff access. Most businesses have IT systems that allow all employees full access to all aspects of the company. This is wrong and could be very dangerous. The only thing employees should have access to is the information and systems needed to finish their jobs – nothing else.
4. Conduct Regular Cyber Security Trainings
If you want to make sure your team is as protected as possible, impose security changes. Strategies and techniques that hackers use change all the time, so you’ll want to offer your employees regular cyber security training sessions to help them improve. Cyber security training should be held all throughout the year, if possible; it’s not something you should do only after a cyber-attack or security breach.
For instance, have all new staff members go through cyber security training once they join the company, followed up with a series of refresher sessions that your more seasoned employees can join. This helps you make sure all your employees stay updated on what’s going on in the IT landscape and what they should be looking out for.
It’s also vital that you give your employees the right resources and skills so they can help you better mitigate any cyber security risks.
While there’s no sure way to protect your business from attempted cyber-crime, you can do your part as a responsible business owner or manager, and that’s taking steps to prepare in the event of a hacking attack while making sure your employees know just what to do and when.
