Many online businesses fail to ensure the security of their sensitive data. That’s understandable. Running a business is extremely tiresome, and it’s no wonder that security isn’t the first thing to cross your mind. However, when a company isn’t secure enough, it’s just a matter of time until a devastating cyber attack occurs.
Don’t worry, you don’t need to hire a separate person to take care of cybersecurity and monitor it daily. Securing an online business isn’t difficult, especially now that there are so many helpful tools you can use. In this article, you’ll find 10 of the most important security tips that every online business should follow.
1. Use an enterprise password manager
Businesses have many accounts to take care of, and they often fail to ensure their safety. To keep accounts secure, it’s necessary to create long and complicated passwords. They must also be different for each account. However, it’s nearly impossible to ensure such password security without using any additional tools.
Keep your business safe and secure by using an enterprise password manager. An enterprise password manager will store and encrypt all of your passwords in a single account. Only users with the master password to the password manager will have access to all login information.
2. Set up two-factor authentication
No matter how strong your passwords are, you can never ensure that they won’t get leaked, especially if many people within your business have access to them.
Two-factor authentication will make your accounts much safer from intruders, and you should set it up for all important business accounts. It might take a little longer to log in, but you’ll be able to rest easy knowing your accounts are safe.
3. Conduct a cybersecurity risk assessment
A cybersecurity risk assessment helps understand the exact risks associated with a specific company. It’s not as complicated as it sounds, and you don’t even need to hire a separate person to perform this assessment. Anybody who is familiar with the company’s IT infrastructure can do it.
A cybersecurity risk assessment consists of analyzing a company’s assets and their value, recognizing the main threats and possible damage, and deciding on the best course of action to minimize the risks. By clearly defining the main risks, you’ll know the best way to keep your business safe.
4. Brief employees on cybersecurity
Hackers often target employees because they’re the easiest ones to deceive if they don’t have enough knowledge on cybersecurity. That’s why you should inform every employee about the main cybersecurity threats and ways to avoid them.
Here are some cybersecurity tips you can give your employees:
- Never click on random links and pop-ups
- Never share any sensitive company information with outsiders
- Always keep an eye out for phishing
- Avoid public wifi when working remotely (or at least use a VPN).
5. Always update software
We’re all familiar with the old “remind me tomorrow” game when it comes to software updates. They always seem to come when you’re too busy with work. Well, software updates are often aimed at patching security-related vulnerabilities, not just improving the design.
If you want to keep your business safe from hackers, you need to make sure that your software is always on the latest version. The few minutes you’ll spend updating your software are more than worth the added security.
6. Back up all data
No matter how great your cybersecurity efforts are, there’s always the possibility of a cyber attack, which is why every company should have a reliable data backup. Maybe even a couple of backups for the most important information.
Only 41% of companies have daily data backups. So even if your company already has one, we’d recommend reviewing it and making sure that it’s sufficient. If the data within your business constantly changes, set up automatic backup updates as often as possible, maybe even several times a day.
7. Limit access to sensitive data
You shouldn’t trust all of your employees to act ethically when it comes to sensitive company information. Data breaches caused by insider threats happen more frequently than you’d like to think.
Each year, around one-third of all companies worldwide experience insider threats. So limit access to sensitive company data to only those who directly need it, and avoid posting all passwords to company-wide cloud platforms.
8. Use a firewall
A firewall is a great tool to shield your business devices from outside threats. It filters out everything that’s sent to a device and alerts the user if there’s a potential risk. Even if you’re very careful about malicious links, you still might accidentally click on one. A firewall can prevent it from causing damage.
9. Use strong wifi encryption
It’s relatively easy for hackers to intercept a device’s connection to unencrypted or weakly encrypted wifi. That’s why people keep saying that you should avoid public wifi. It often has no encryption, and hackers love taking advantage of this.
A hacker might also try to intercept your company’s network. To protect company data, set up the strongest encryption you can for your office wifi, which will make it unattractive to hackers.
10. Use a VPN when necessary
A VPN is a tool used to encrypt a device’s data and change its IP address. It’s a great way to protect yourself and any sensitive data online.
You certainly don’t need to use a VPN at all times, especially if you have strong wifi encryption. However, it’s best to advise employees to enable a VPN when they’re working online, particularly if they’re working while traveling and using a lot of public wifi. If a hacker manages to access a device that’s using a VPN, they’ll only see a lot of encrypted text.
Conclusion
So those were the main cybersecurity tips that every company should follow. Don’t panic if you’ve been forgetting most of these. Many businesses do and will continue to in the future. However, now is the time to stop making these mistakes. Start taking these easy steps one by one and create a business that is so secure that it’s nearly impossible to hack.