How to Protect Your Business Data

Another day, another vicious cyber-attack is reported in the papers. Will it ever end? Probably not.

According to Information Age, Trojans and devious ransomware have risen to 200% in detection rates this year alone. Meaning, small businesses can no longer ignore the threat of possible cyber-attacks and have to start working on strong preventive measures. This puts small businesses in a David vs. Goliath scenario. Yet, as in the original story, victory can be achieved without the use of brute strength. How you may ask? Take a look down below and find out!

Train Your Staff

According to Harvard Business Review, 60% of all cyber-attacks happen from the inside! Now, this does not necessarily mean that all your employees are in cahoots with the hackers. Namely, in a vast majority of these attacks, the employees aided the hackers unknowingly. This is why employee training and education is essential for keeping your business data safe and secure; the last thing you want is for them to open a potential door for cybercriminals. Therefore, you must teach your employees how to successfully spot and report suspicious activity. Hold monthly seminars about harmful software and other security risks they may come in contact with, and try to engage them as much as possible. Be careful not to bore them to death; otherwise, they won’t take you seriously. 

Encrypt Your Data

If it wasn’t for the Enigma Machine, the Allies would never have deciphered Nazi military directives in WWII. The same goes for your business data. If you go on to encrypt all of your sensitive information, hackers will have a hard time deciphering the stolen data, keeping it safe even in a potential security breach. 

Now, let’s take a closer look at the area where most companies fail — emails. These are regularly forgotten and they present huge security issues to businesses both big and small. For instance, in 2017 HBO suffered a horrific cyber-attack and whole episodes of yet unseen content (Game of Thrones) were stolen and held for ransom (an estimated 1.5 million terabytes of data); all due to an email breach. The moral of the story? 

Encrypt your data; all of it!

Keep Backups

It just takes one pesky ransomware to screw you over and all your business data goes down the drain. If you haven’t previously done any backups of your critical data, now’s a good time as any. 

Consider searching for a company that offers impeccable cloud services as your security solution. This simple and easy-to-use technology will store all of your data “on the cloud,” automatically. Meaning, you won’t have to deal with those boring weekly, monthly, or quarterly backup cycles ever again. 

That is if you aren’t completely paranoid by now. If that indeed be the case, look for a few physical storage devices to store all your sensitive business data and keep them under lock and key. Also, don’t forget to unplug them; otherwise, your data is up for grabs. 

Implement Robust Security Protocols

Having the latest software, additional backups, and encrypting your data won’t amount to much if you have poor security protocols. It’s like dinning with the Queen without exercising proper etiquette — that fancy suit won’t save you from making a complete fool out of yourself. 

Think about all the ways you can improve your company’s safety structure. Do you have freelancers and remote workers working for you? Include them into your security policies as well. Leave no stone unturned as any loose end is a potential data breach. 

Limit access to vital systems and machines to only a handful of people; practice safe browsing; use secure VPN connections; don’t use default passwords; and so on.

With a solid security system in place, you decrease your chances of becoming a victim of a vicious cyber-attack. 

Keep Your Software Updated

A lot of times I see people skipping critical updates due to sheer impatience. They’re there for a reason. Don’t just skip them because you have “better things to do.” Older software, in general, is more susceptible to cyber-attacks. After all, hackers had plenty of time to practice their skills since the last update.

To ensure a safe and secure environment for your business, you need to make sure your software — especially your operating system and antivirus programs — are up-to-date at all times.

Schedule weekly maintenance checks and install new patches and versions of your software whenever possible. Think of it as your cyber hygiene; you don’t skip brushing your teeth (I hope).

In conclusion, keep your staff from pressing that shiny red button with shiny red alerts and malware, and teach them how to use emails safely. Encrypt your data, use cloud storage, implement some safety protocols, and remember — an update a day keeps the hacker away.