You have probably seen stories in recent months about individuals and businesses that have been struck by cyber attacks. If you are a company owner, defending against these kinds of threats should be right up at the top of your priority list.
Hackers all over the world are on a mission to take your data, and their attacks are continually changing as technology advances. So, knowing about 2017 cyber security trends is the first step that you need to take. Beyond this, there are plenty of other ways that you can protect your business from cyber attacks. Here are just a few of them.
Understand the Risks
As we have just talked about briefly, you can never hope to fully protect yourself against the risks that are out there until you understand the internal and external vulnerabilities that your business faces. The best way that you can find out more about these threats is to turn to the experts. Consult with a firm who specializes in this field and they will be able to tell you about your main points of weakness and how to better defend them. Ultimately, this is not something you should delay as you never know when these threats may become real.
Secure All Your Hardware
When most people think of a cyber attack happening, they automatically assume that it will come through a computer system. But they can also happen when physical electronic equipment gets stolen. In your office, you should make sure that your office computers are physically locked down so that it isn’t as easy for potential thieves to walk off with all your data under their arm. If you use cloud-based software, this makes it much easier to track down stolen items so you can recover them without a problem.
Have a Cyber Safe Office Culture
You should fully brief all your employees about the risks they face when it comes to keeping information safe and secure. You should organize specific training sessions that deal with these issues and the common ways that hackers access information including emails, apps and pop-ups. You should have a formal internet policy detailing what internet practices they should avoid. Your employees accessing their private emails using the company’s WiFi can be a major problem that should be avoided at all costs.
Antivirus Software and Firewalls
As hackers become more sophisticated, so too does antivirus software and firewalls. It is worth doing plenty of research and checking out customer reviews before you settle on the right antivirus software for your business. When it comes to firewalls, some operating systems have these already built in so again, it pays to be well researched and well prepared.
Change Your Passwords on a Regular Basis
This one is pretty self-explanatory, but changing your password on a regular basis should become a habit for your business. As well as this, it is important that you use a strong password each time which basically means one that is at least 8 characters long that mixes letters, numbers and symbols.