As businesses continue to grow, they become more reliant on modern technology. Technology is an essential piece of the puzzle for a business’s success. If a company doesn’t keep up with modern technology, it can fall behind its competitors as it will no longer continue to grow.
The internet is something else we heavily rely on, both for work and for communicating with friends and family. The Internet is essential for helping the world turn. Not literally but for modern businesses to make money, we need the internet.
A mistake many companies make is not protecting their files and data. Cyber security is more important than ever before due to how reliant we are on technology. Additionally, companies see this as an additional expense that doesn’t need to be paid. It is seen as a want more than a need.
If you are one of those businesses that doesn’t quite understand cyber security and how they should improve it, you have come to the right place. We will take you through several tips for improving cyber security without breaking the bank.
Keep Everything Updated
The first step is relatively simple yet so many businesses make the mistake of not doing it. If a company doesn’t update their systems, they leave themselves vulnerable to cyber attacks and other threats.
We all know that when you update a system, it can improve it. For example, the overlay could change or the function of it could improve. However, the main reason these systems are updated is so they improve their cyber security.
Apple for example releases updates nearly every month. Sometimes it can be more often. The reason why they do this is to improve the cyber security of iPhones. If they don’t they can leave millions of phones vulnerable to a cyber attack.
Create Strong Passwords
Creating strong passwords is also very important for a company. Furthermore, if you are a business owner, you will understand that you will have a lot of accounts created for your business. That is why having a good mixture of passwords is important for a company to be successful.
If you are unsure how to create a strong password, all you need to do is include an upper and lower case letter. You must also include symbols and numbers for the password. We also encourage you to have over 12 characters with your password to make it more difficult to remember.
If you are a person who tends to forget passwords, especially when they are this complicated, consider putting them in a document. Just make sure this document is encrypted so not everyone can get access to your company’s passwords.
Multi-Factor Authentication
Multi-factor authentication is a modern-day cyber security system. You may have noticed that when you have created an account with Sony or Google, it has asked you to set up 2-factor authentication. It is another great method that gives your account the extra level of security to keep everything protected.
Two-factor authentication will keep cyber attackers out of your accounts but will also delay them when trying to gain access. The more layers of cyber security you provide your accounts with, the more difficult it will be to gain access to. Not to mention that they will need the device to unlock your phone.
Gmail has a great two-factor authentication system in place if you have set it up. Once you log in to Google, it will ask you to remember a number. You will then have to go on your phone to click one of the three numbers on your Gmail app. Once you click the correct number, you will then be able to access your Gmail account. If you don’t click that number, you will not be able to gain access to the account.
Teach Your Employees
Despite growing up using technology, there are still many people who don’t understand the risks they face when working in IT, especially inside a business. That is where you will need to step up and educate your employees. If they don’t know how to protect your business, you’re failing the first part of cyber protection.
There are many types of cyber-attacks however one of the most common is emails from outsiders. An employee must understand how to identify one of these emails to ensure their company is protected.
Sometimes emails will try to impersonate an employee inside the company. However, there will always be something wrong with the email itself. Look closely at the email you have received to see if it is identical to the email it should be. For example, the actual domain could be wrong or the name on the email could be spelt incorrectly.
Another way to identify whether an email is legitimate or not is punctuation and grammar. These emails are never perfect in the English language. Some can be so bad that the email doesn’t make sense. If that is the case with the email received, it is highly unlikely the email is legit.
If there are any suspicious links or downloads in the email, that should also be a clear indication that the email is not legit.
Educating your employees on the risks they face at work is essential. They need to understand the basics of cyber security, such as identifying spam emails and understanding the importance of updating their security software. If an employee doesn’t do any of this, your cyber security isn’t going to be wrong.
Incident Response Team
If you have the budget available for cyber security, it is encouraged you pay for it. The damages that a cyber attack can cause are always much larger than anticipated. It isn’t just the repairs you have to do after the cyber attack. You also need to worry about the reputational damage it can cause your company. That is why you need to have a backup plan for your company.
Having a cyber security team at your company is great and is also your plan B. Not only will they help improve your cyber security but they also act upon a cyber attack if one occurs. It is essential for keeping cyber attackers out of your company and reducing the damage caused by them.
To Conclude
Cyber attacks are becoming more common by the day. That is why businesses need to have some form of cyber security to keep their company safe. Business cyber security is highly encouraged if you store important information about employees and customers so make sure you keep everything protected as much as possible.
