The threat of data theft and data loss has never been greater. According to the latest report by the Ponemon Institute, attacks on small and medium-sized businesses across the United States seem to be rising by 50% every year. Back in 2017, nearly two-thirds of all US small businesses were attacked by cybercriminals.
There’s a confluence of factors that make small businesses particularly vulnerable and attractive for cyber attackers. Most businesses don’t seem to invest enough in their network security. Small businesses also struggle to manage their online payment infrastructure, customer data, passwords and fail to implement a robust cybersecurity policy.
Meanwhile, the tools and techniques used by these cyber criminals advance every year. Business leaders may not even realize that they’re now in an arms race to secure their corporate affairs from a growing hoard of online attackers. Here are some of the ways you can protect your business:
Use the latest tools
The best way to stay ahead of the attackers is to reinforce your business network with the latest tools. Most premium antivirus software packages, spam filters, and firewalls are effective at reducing the vulnerability of your business. However, if your business is growing, handles sensitive client data, or is spread across different locations, you may want to consider going the extra mile to secure your network. Securing your cloud services with SD WAN or AI-powered threat detection software could help you secure your digital assets from even the most sophisticated attackers.
Backup all your data
A comprehensive cybersecurity strategy has two layers – ensuring attackers can’t access your business data and ensuring they can’t use it even if they can access it. This second layer of protection usually involves backing up all your data to a secure server and encrypting it with the latest tools.
Train your staff
The final, and perhaps most critical, step in your cybersecurity process involves training your staff. It doesn’t matter how expensive or effective your security systems are if your staff is easy to manipulate and unaware of the threat. In fact, a significant number of cyber attacks are based on basic social engineering tactics. Hiring an expert to come into the office and train your staff on a regular basis will help them identify phishing emails, manage their passwords better, detect scams, and update their software.
Regardless of the size or nature of your business, protecting your client’s data, banking information, and staff details from online hackers is now a necessity.
