Businesses trying to work on their cyber defenses need to focus on precautionary and preventive steps. Unfortunately, almost every other sector has been affected by breaches and data theft, and hackers have left no stone unturned to attack companies of all sizes. In most cases, existing security vulnerabilities are exploited to cause a breach, which can have devastating consequences. In this post, we are talking of how to take cybersecurity to the next level, especially for small businesses.
- Create cybersecurity policies. Many small companies still don’t think of cybersecurity beyond compliance, and that’s where they fail to act. Just knowing the basics won’t help, but what your company needs is a comprehensive policy that stands out and addresses all concerns.
- Get teams to work together. Collaborative effort towards cybersecurity always pays off. Your employees are on the frontline of managing cybersecurity, and they have to know their role and take up responsibility for their actions. Make sure that you get teams together and bring down departmental silos.
- Focus on passwords. Password protection measures are rather simple. Create strong and long passwords, with complex characters and ensure that all default details are changed immediately. Secondly, ask your employees to use a password manager, and make it a rule to never reuse or double-use existing and previous passwords.
- Consider the lockout feature. Brute force attacks are really common but can be prevented. The lockout feature basically cancels out attempts to try multiple logins. If someone tries or uses more than three wrong passwords, the account or device will get locked out immediately.
- Create policies for WFH. Given the current pandemic, chances are high that your employees are working from home. If you cannot give them different secure connections and devices, at least create a basic list of dos and don’ts. For instance, employees should be using VPNs.
- Updates must be installed immediately. There’s a reason why manufacturers and vendors offer updates on software, firmware and apps. These updates fix various issues, like bugs and other flaws that can be potentially misused by hackers. Consider updating everything as soon as a new version of the app/software is available.
Finally, don’t forget to spend on cybersecurity training. You want your teams to know that they are capable of ensuring security and have a big role in protecting IT devices. Check for companies that can aid with your cybersecurity efforts, if need be, so that you can be more proactive.
