Data breaches happen all the time. All organizations can fall victim to malicious cyberattacks, regardless of their size and type. Well-known companies such as Yahoo, Marriott International, eBay, and even Uber have experienced such data assaults and had to pay millions of dollars in fines and restitution.
As a business owner, protecting all the sensitive information of your customers and those of your company should always top priorities. By doing so, you retain customer loyalty, which works to benefit your organization. You will avoid hefty fines and becoming the object of legal and public scrutiny as well.
Whether you have a small business or a large enterprise, you can step up your IT security to defend your organization from various forms of cyber-attacks in the following ways:
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Understand your data
Separating information that is critical to your business from those that are sensitive is essential to know how and where to best store them.
Visualizing what could happen if a breach occurs and your financial data and employee and customer records are compromised will enable you to create a cybersecurity blueprint that will meet the different business impact levels.
High-risk data, of course, needs to be appropriately secured. You will have to devote more of your resources in this area. However, don’t disregard data that you have categorized as less risky. You have to prioritize your cybersecurity efforts accordingly, which means that you have to find ways to protect these, too.
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Continuously update your IT security policy
Your company’s cybersecurity policy should not be a document that everyone reads when they join the company and stores in their drawer afterward, only to be forgotten. If you want your strategy to protect sensitive and critical data effectively, it has to be consistently updated and circulated to all employees in a timely manner.
This policy needs to be a dynamic device that will help your business prepare for any type of cyberattack. This means adding every new kind of cyber-threat that pops up and detailing the ways to safeguard your data from them.
By creating a structured response in advance, you will be fully prepared to deal with any kind of attack your company will face.
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Educate and train your employees
Cyber-security education involves more than just giving your team a copy of your IT security policy and asking them to read it.
You have to provide continuous training to your employees and communicate the risks they can put your data in. You need to explain to them the sanctity of the information the company receives as well.
Additionally, whenever you update your IT security policy, conduct a training session. Explain to your team how new cyber-threats can harm your business and what they should watch out for in terms of suspicious activities. Also, give individuals working remotely for your company an email security list of best practices.
If you regularly invest in learning programs, consider adding one cyber-security learning course that you and your employees can take at least once a year.
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Instill the importance of password protection and authentication
Hackers are always targeting passwords, so even if your employees are getting tired of hearing it, remind them to follow corporate policies and practices for creating and protecting them.
These best practices include:
- Creating strong and unique passwords for each account
- Changing passwords frequently
- Avoiding reusing old passwords
- Never storing or writing passwords on paper, text files, or in the cloud
To strengthen security, implement a two-factor authentication step to complement your password policy, particularly when allowing employees access to sensitive company data.
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Always back up sensitive and critical data
Backing up your data should be an important element of your IT security strategy. In the event that hackers attack your computer or server, your data may be compromised.
In order to reinstall your system successfully, you need to have access to your latest data. If you did not back these up, it is possible that you will not recover them again.
Use the cloud or a hosted service to back up sensitive data. To further protect these from ransomware, back up your files on one or two physical storage devices, such as an SD card or external hard drive.
As an added level of protection, encrypt the sensitive data you back up.
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Keep all systems and software updated
Hackers are constantly finding ways to look for system vulnerabilities and how they can exploit these. You can keep their attacks at bay by making sure all your operating systems and antivirus software programs are up-to-date.
The new security patches and updates will protect your system from malware, ransomware, and other forms of viruses. These act as additional barriers that can decrease the chances of your company becoming the target of an attack.
To ensure all computers and devices are up-to-date, choose a time of the week to update all systems when new versions are available.
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Always secure all hardware
Since sensitive and critical data can also be stored on laptops, smartphones, and tablets, it is also vital that your company also takes steps to protect these mobile devices.
Instruct all employees to store company-owned devices that they use in drawers or cabinets with locks at the end of each day. Ensure all windows and doors are locked securely before leaving the office as well.
Additionally, be careful about whom you let into your workplace. Unscrupulous individuals can walk into your office and steal a laptop or smartphone and potentially steal your sensitive data, too.
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Use an email encryption service
Lastly, with email as one of the most used forms of communication today, it is always one of the main targets of hackers. You can protect your emails and all the sensitive information they contain by having them encrypted.
By using an email encryption solution, you will ensure these correspondences will be read only by the intended recipients.
Most email encryption services can be integrated into popularly used platforms. They are easy to use as well. As such, they are worth investing in.
If you are looking into this option, try to find a service that also scans for suspicious emails and stops them from going to inboxes. This feature will prevent you and your employees from opening and clicking on anything that may be harmful.
Although all these security measures require a lot of hard work and investment, these will be worth all your effort and money since you will minimize the chances of your company becoming a victim of cyberattacks and all the repercussions that come with these.
AUTHOR BIO
Sharon Mallorca is the Sales Manager at Create IT in Dubai. Established by innovative digital agency Create Media Group, Create IT has rapidly become the Middle East’s leading IT Support and IT Solutions company, providing the highest quality IT support and services to a growing portfolio of global brands.