9 Methods To Protect Your Business From Cybersecurity Risks

Conducting businesses online is beneficial since one can easily reach target customers countrywide and worldwide. However, there have been threats and risks associated with cybersecurity that may put your enterprise at risk. Small and medium-sized businesses are more prone to cyberattacks because they might lack the resources to protect themselves effectively.

Hackers target small and large businesses by breaching their security and gathering sensitive customer and business information for malicious reasons. Cyberattacks can negatively impact your business and damage its reputation. You can prevent all these by following the methods below to protect your business from cybersecurity risks:

Get Cyber Insurance

With insanely high cybersecurity risks, a single attack can cost you millions of dollars, potentially destabilizing your business. Cyber insurance helps you bear the financial burden when the uneventful happens. Finding the right service provider involves evaluating the company’s experience and specialization. Moreover, you must assess the firm’s financial health to ensure they can bail you out, whatever the degree of loss you suffer.   

Use A Secure Internet Service Provider

Subscribing to the services of a safe internet service provider that offers efficient protection is essential. Look for a service provider that monitors its network to identify cybersecurity threats. You should also ensure the company’s Wi-Fi and password are secure.  

If your business uses a Wi-Fi network, ensure it is set to Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) to protect your network from being attacked. You can also change your wireless access point or router name to protect it from hackers. Using a complex pre-shared key passphrase is additional security to your network.

Frequent Data Backup

Backing up data and website information helps you recover when lost during a cyberattack or computer malfunction. It’s advisable to back up important information and data regularly. The good thing is that data backup is easy and requires little time.  

You should also use multiple devices to back up the devices, which are also stored in a safe and secure place. A good data backup routine includes daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly server back-ups on a portable device or to cloud storage such as Amazon Web Services (AWS). The cloud storage you’re using to back up should have a multi-access authentication and encrypt data during transfer and storing.  

Besides backing up your data, ensure you regularly check and test whether you can retrieve the data from the backup locations. External storage devices such as USB sticks and hard drives are recommended for data backup and should be stored offsite in case of theft and damage. 

Secure The Network And Devices 

Securing office devices and network is another precaution to protect your business from cybersecurity risks. For example, you can secure your network by installing a firewall that protects your business’s online traffic. Alternatively, installing protective software such as anti-virus, anti-spam filter, and anti-spyware protects your devices from malware and viruses.  

Regularly updating your operating systems and security software is also essential and should be done automatically. Updates may be an upgrade to security measures that protect your device from recent attacks and viruses. Thus, you should never ignore update prompts since they fix major security flaws in the software. 

Consult A Cybersecurity Expert 

Consulting a cybersecurity expert is critical to protecting your business against risks. A cybersecurity advisor should offer high-quality advice and various digital solutions to secure your business from cybersecurity threats at an affordable price. You can conduct research on various cybersecurity experts online through their websites, analyze the customer reviews and find one that best suits your business.  

A few factors to consider before hiring a cybersecurity advisor include the following:   

They Understand Your Business: A good cybersecurity expert understands your business requirements and operations. Therefore, they should use security solutions that comply with business regulations.  

They Have A Backup Plan In Case Of A Cyber Attack: Check whether they have a previous record of cyber attacks. If not, ask them what strategy they may have in case of a cybersecurity attack.  

Good Customer Service

A good cybersecurity advisor should be easy to contact at any time of the day or night. They should also provide solutions in case of a security breach or cyber attack.  

A cybersecurity advisor is vital for your business, regardless of size and type. Ensure you find an advisor who meets your business needs, budget, and security requirements against cyberattacks. 

Encrypt Sensitive Information

To protect important data from being accessed, encrypt your network and data transferred or stored online. Encryption is encoding information passed across the internet so that it is deciphered by the receiver and the sender only. It protects against information theft, tampering, and leakage.  

You can also enhance your network encryption by adjusting your router settings or installing a virtual private network (VPN) on your devices. It’s crucial, especially if you use a public or insecure network.

Train Your Employees

The business staff should also be considered when dealing with cybersecurity risks since they can put your business at risk of a cyberattack. There are many events in which your employee can expose your systems to cybercriminals, including disclosing login details and unknowingly exposing information.  

Therefore, you should take the initiative to introduce cybersecurity training to your employees to protect the business from internal threats. You can teach your staff to use strong and different passwords for different websites and services and how to identify, avoid, and handle cyber threats. 

Establish Clear Security Policies and Practices

Establishing a cybersecurity policy helps your employees understand what they can share across the business premises. They should prioritize security when sharing or using data, devices, emails, and websites. The policies act as guidelines on acceptable practices and those that aren’t.  

The security policies protect the company from cyberattacks and inform its staff on what actions to take if it arises. Furthermore, it should outline the employee’s consequences if they violate policies. There should be limited access for employees authorized to access the business data and devices and security measures taken to protect them. 

Establish Security Against Physical Theft

Besides hackers and online cyber attackers, you should protect yourself and your business information from burglars and thieves. Your company’s hardware, such as laptops, PCs, scanners and printers, may be at risk of burglary through unauthorized access. You can prevent it by installing burglary alarms and surveillance cameras and allowing authorized access using card or biometric scanners.  

Ensure that your staff understands the importance of the security of the data stored on the devices. It’s also their responsibility to protect and maintain the organization’s devices in good condition. Another measure you can also implement is remote wiping on smartphones and PCs. You can remotely delete data on a lost or stolen device, having saved its backup in a remote external device.

Conclusion

Cybersecurity threats have greatly increased over the past years. Businesses should be updated with the latest threats that may negatively impact them. Using the above methods, you’re guaranteed to protect your information and business from cybersecurity threats.