Today, it’s not just large, global corporations that need to be careful when it comes to cybersecurity. In fact, smaller businesses are at even more risk, since cybercriminals often tend to see them as easier targets, with cheaper, more hackable security systems.
So, as a small business owner, it will pay to invest in tightening cybersecurity within your organisation. With eight out of ten start-ups headed for a failure within the first twelve months of operations, prioritising your company’s cybersecurity will reduce your risk.
So, what can you do to avoid having your business hacked? Let’s find out.
#1. Consider Ethical Hacking
Ethical hackers work with you to help improve security in your company by finding areas of weakness. Usually, they are well-trained in cybersecurity and know all the latest techniques that real cybercriminals will use to try and gain access to your data.
Ethical hacking in Australia is usually carried out to help you understand what you’re doing well, and what can be improved within business operations to tighten cybersecurity. The ethical hacker will attempt to compromise your business, before providing you with information about how they did it. In turn, this will then help you to avoid the real thing in the future.
#2. Be Strict About Passwords
Did you know that biggest causes of business security breaches are password-related? Whether it’s the fact that your employees use weak passwords to log into their company account or have passwords in note books or on sticky notes to remember them, this can make it easier for unauthorised persons to get access and compromise your company data.
So, up your business’ password security by instructing your employees to use strong passwords and change them regularly. A strong password should contain a random string of letters and numbers, and avoid containing anything that could be easily guessed, such as a child’s name or date of birth. You can make this task easier by using a password manager tool.
#3. Encourage Vigilance
Social engineering is still one of the main ways people are duped into handing over information to the wrong person. For example, if one of your employees receives an email that appears to be from you or another senior member of staff, it’s likely that they’ll hand over any information that you are requesting.
But, what if it isn’t really you who’s e-mailing them? Many cyberattacks are carried out under the pretence of something else, fooling a staff member into thinking that they’re giving out information to somebody who they are trust and who’s authorised to have it. So, it’s a good idea to regularly conduct employee refresher training to ensure that they are up to date on the latest social engineering scams.
#4. Update Constantly
Cybersecurity isn’t something that you can do once and then forget about. Since hackers and other cybercriminals are constantly updating the techniques that they use to compromise business and personal data, this is something that you must stay up to date with, all the time.
The best way to ensure that your business stays up to date in this respect is with a good anti-virus software that runs automatic scans on each computer, smartphone or other device used by your business.