It does not matter whether you are running a big company or a small one; if your business requires you to stay connected to the internet all the time, you are always at risk. In the past few years, digital information theft has become a major issue for all industries, and many companies have lost millions of dollars due to these security breaches.
We live in an age where data is everything, and if your data falls into the wrong hands, it can damage your business in plenty of ways. However, protecting your business from these threats is not that difficult. If you have taken the right security measures and are exchanging data online with caution, then you can avoid it successfully.
In this article, I have mentioned a few simple security tips that can help you protect your online business. Let’s take a look:
Stay Updated
If the laptops and workstations at your workplace are not up to date, then you need to fix that immediately. A cyber attacker hacks your data by dropping a malware file into your computer or servers, which happens when your system is not up to date.
Windows updates its software constantly, and as soon as there is a new malware out there, you will receive a new security patch. However, if the updates are blocked, your PC would not be able to identify the malware, and your data will be sent to the attacker.
You must also change the login details of your employees regularly because finding out default account names and passwords is one of the simplest ways of hacking a server. Changing login details regularly can minimize the risk greatly.
Back-Up Your Data
Backing up data regularly is a practice that all businesses need to embrace. You need to make sure that you would not lose everything if someone infiltrates your servers.
For example, if someone attacks your business with the well-known computer virus “Ransomware,” you will lose access to all of your files. The only way to recover files after a ransomware attack is to pay the ransom, and even that doesn’t work every time.
However, if you back up your data regularly, you wouldn’t have to worry about any of that and can resume your business functions immediately. If you don’t have any backup, then all your data can be lost forever, which could destroy your business.
Advise Your Employees to Use A VPN
In this post-coronavirus world, most of your employees will still be working from home on their home networks, and that can make your business vulnerable.
Your office networks might be completely secure, but when your employees use their home network or public Wi-Fi, they can become a target easily. So, it is highly recommended that you advise your employees to use a virtual private network while browsing company servers on a public network.
This can provide your extra protection, and neither you nor your employees would have to worry about leaking any information.
Secure Your Website
You cannot run a successful online business if you do not have a secure website. For online businesses, websites are storefronts where their customers gather. If your website is not secure, you are not only putting your business in danger, but you are also putting your customers in danger.
Your customer provides you with valuable discreet information, including their ID numbers, addresses, and, most importantly, their credit cards. If the website is loosely managed, all of that data can fall into the wrong hands, and you wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
That is why it is highly recommended that you hire the right web developers who can maintain your website without making any mistakes.
Switch to Cloud Storage
If you are looking to improve your online security ten-folds without complicating things, the best option for you is to switch to cloud storage. If all your data is sitting on your servers and employees’ computers, it will only have the security that you have provided for it.
With cloud storage, things are different. Once you have switched to cloud storage, you wouldn’t have to worry much because then the security will be handled by your cloud service provider. As long as your data is sitting on cloud servers, the chances of it getting infiltrated are close to impossible.
Train Your Employees
You can eliminate all the risks by installing a great security system or by switching to secure cloud storage, but if your employees are not being careful, you can end up experiencing a data breach because of human error.
Make sure that your employees are not leaving their login passwords on their desks and are following the right procedures when it comes to data sharing. You can simply hold a workshop at your workplace and can educate your staff on how to manage their online accounts and dealings.
