Everybody knows that cyber-security is a massive issue for businesses right now. The number of attacks is constantly on the rise and hackers are always coming up with new ways to get around the security systems that you put in place. If you’re the victim of a cyber attack it can be incredibly damaging to your business. Trust is one of the most important things in business and you can easily lose that trust if customer data gets taken by cyber-criminals. It’s likely to be a very public scandal and it’s a real struggle to bounce back and build up your customer base again. That’s why it’s vital that you’re taking the necessary measures to protect your business online. These are some of the best ways that you can do it.
Use A VPN
This is a very popular technique that businesses and individuals alike use to protect any sensitive data when they’re sending it online. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) allows you to send data as if you were connected to a public network but it creates a private channel which is a lot harder for hackers to access. That means you can send data amongst employees without the risk of a cyber-attack. Whenever you’re sending any data, even if you don’t think it’s that important, you should use a VPN. Get your IT department to set one up or consider outsourcing to an outside company if you don’t have a good IT department.
Manage Access To Data
The more people that have access to data and the more devices that it’s stored on, the more likely you are to be subject to a breach. That’s why you’ve got to monitor who has access to data. In the aftermath of an attack, the most important thing is to work out where the gaps are and plug them as quickly as possible before you lose more data. If you don’t know who has access to the data, that job becomes a whole lot harder. One area that is recently becoming a problem is remote workers. It’s a good development in business because it allows people more freedom to work in a way that is comfortable to them but it does mean that people are increasingly using personal devices to access sensitive data. You have no control over the level of security that people have on their devices at home so you need to limit the data that they can take home with them.
Regularly Change Passwords
This is a piece of advice that we hear often but usually ignore. Changing your password regularly is one of the simplest ways to protect yourself from cyber-attack. That doesn’t mean once a year, that means once a month. It’s a bit of a pain for employees because they have to keep learning new ones but it’s a necessary sacrifice if you want to protect yourself and your customers.
These are 3 of the best ways to protect yourself online but beyond this, you need to make sure that you’ve got a well staffed IT department and you’re constantly updating security software to stay one step ahead of the hackers.
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