Written by: Jay H.
Nowadays, cybersecurity measures are a must for individuals and organizations alike. Without them, cybercriminals can easily breach your network and steal, damage, or delete your invaluable data. If you think you are “too small” to be targeted by attackers, think again. Approximately 43 percent of all cyberattacks target small businesses, meaning you’re in the direct sight of hackers.
How cybercriminals threaten your business
Attackers use various methods to breach your system and steal your valuable business data. Some of the biggest threats to small-medium businesses include:
- Ransomware, which encrypts your invaluable data then demands a ransom payment for its release.
- Phishing scams, which involve legitimate-looking emails designed to trick you into handing over personal information.
- Advanced persistent threats, which involve cybercriminals slowly and silently breaching your system and stealing information.
- Stolen passwords, where malefactors use your passwords to breach your own system.
How To Protect Your Small Business
To protect your small business from these threats, you must have the following cybersecurity measures in place:
1. Install antivirus
Reliable antivirus software is a must-have for any business’ cybersecurity strategy. This software detects and removes viruses, malware, adware, and spyware in your system, downloads, and emails. So, should you download an infected file, a trusted antivirus will notify you that the file is harmful and quarantine it.
There are many antivirus vendors out there with free and paid plans. At the very least, you should be using a free version, although paid plans provide more security features. Some popular antivirus providers to consider are Malwarebytes, Bitdefender, Norton, and Kaspersky.
If you do not have an antivirus installed, get one right now.
2. Use strong, unique passwords
Nearly every web application requires a password. While it may be easy to fall into the habit of reusing the same password for every account, this puts you at significant risk of being compromised. If a data breach leaks your password for just one of your websites, hackers can use the same password to access all of your accounts! So, it would help if you made strong, unique passwords for every account you have. And no, adding “123” to the end of your current password doesn’t cut it!
To make the task of managing potentially dozens of unique passwords easier, you can use a password manager to generate and store complex passwords for you. This makes using unique passwords easy since you don’t have to remember them!
3. Make regular backups
You need to make regular backups of your business data. Without backups, you risk losing your invaluable business data in the event of a crisis. Anything from human error, natural disaster, or bad actors could make your data disappear instantly!
Our managed IT services include automatic daily backups to our secure servers. We also provide rapid disaster recovery to restore operations in the event of a crisis quickly.
4. Provide cybersecurity awareness training
The biggest risk to an organization is, unfortunately, its people. All it takes is one staff member falling for a phishing scam, using a poor password, or installing malicious software to compromise your entire system! Keeping your staff informed and up-to-date on the best cybersecurity practices will drastically reduce your risk. It’s also vital to train your team on the methods cybercriminals use to trick them, including phishing and social engineering scams, malicious software, and more.
5. Partner with an IT provider
A managed IT provider such as Design2Web IT can help fortify your organization’s cyber defences. Our IT services include network and cybersecurity to ensure all devices are secure from viruses, malware, ransomware, and hackers. We also help ensure your employees are safe from the effects of phishing, social engineering, and other cyber attacks.
Attackers are constantly looking for ways to breach small businesses like yours. You need to have cybersecurity measures in place to combat their efforts. If you have not enacted the aforementioned protocols, now is the time to act.
For more information on how we can help defend your business from cybersecurity threats, contact us today.
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