Keeping Your Business Safe - 4 Must Do’s

The biggest talking point of 2017 was, without a doubt, the sheer amount of security-related issues that have plagued almost every conceivable market. Many business and companies, ranging from the startups and SMBs to large-scale corporations have all been subjected to various hacks, leaks and security breaches and the general population has become increasingly wary regarding the way companies handle their personal data. Instead of becoming just another in a long line of poor cybersecurity statistic, you might want to consider the following advice on how to secure your business and avoid damaging your brand, ruining your reputation and losing the trust of your customers.

Create a company policy

Every business, whether a startup or a corporation, needs to have a clearly defined company policy that will detail exactly how each employee needs to behave in various situations. You need to limit the number of applications on company computers and stick to only those that are absolutely necessary for business. Start enforcing the use of strong passwords and limit the amount of access non-essential personnel has. Additionally, you should appoint a chief of security and have them not only be there when they’re needed by other employees but also be there to enforce the consequences in case the company policy isn’t properly followed.

Secure your infrastructure

Having a business infrastructure operating without a firewall is the same as leaving your car unlocked at night, hoping no one would steal it. If your company computers are left unsecured, you are at high risk of becoming infected with malware and other types of malicious software used to infiltrate a network without your explicit knowledge and consent. While the average internet router already has a built-in firewall, this is far from being a perfect solution. Invest in security software to protect your machines, but also find a solution that will help you monitor and protect the mobile users.

Make sure your website is PCI DSS compliant

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, or PCI DSS for short, refers to a specific set of technical, as well as operational standards used to protect user data and credit card information, in particular. These standards follow three rather common-sense steps: assessing, inventorying and reviewing data for security vulnerabilities, fixing said vulnerabilities and compiling and submitting validation records to banks and credit card brands you’re working with. Making sure your website is PCI DSS compliant is a small price to pay in order to ensure that your customers’ information and credit card data are secure and avoid any unfortunate situation that could potentially damage your brand.

Educate your employees

Once you have implemented an adequate privacy policy, secured your company’s infrastructure and made sure your website is compliant with the latest security standards, it’s time to start educating your employees. Each of your workers needs to be aware of their individual rights and responsibilities online, make sure they can spot a fraudulent e-mail and report any suspicious activity they see online. Phishing attacks rely solely on the naivety of the person getting scammed, and scammers have become eerily good at making e-mails and entire website seem legitimate, when in fact, they are not.

As you can see, safeguarding your business against cyber-attacks is all about preventing them from happening in the first place. Any data you might have needs be secured, but also backed up, in case you experience an unfortunate event of losing your data or anything bad happens to the main server. Strong passwords and security protocols are a must, but so is keeping the overall infrastructure secure and making sure your workers know how to avoid and handle a security issue if and when it occurs.