Learn how to protect your business and keep your customers safe from online attacks
Cyberattacks on large businesses are often the ones that make the news, but this doesn’t mean small and mid-sized businesses are safe. While breaches of smaller companies aren’t always newsworthy, they can still have devastating consequences for your business: once it’s broken, it can be hard to regain the trust of your customers.
A recent report shows that Florida is less prepared than other states when it comes to cyberattacks. The survey, conducted by the Florida Center for Cybersecurity and Gartner Inc., polled 380 security professionals in Florida about their companies’ security. The results: Florida businesses are reporting data breaches at higher rates than previous years. Breach reports jumped about 18 percent from 67 in 2015 to 77 in 2016.[1]
How can you keep your business protected from cyber criminals? Keep reading to learn some best practice cybersecurity tips from our technical experts.
Use the best tools
You can go a long way to keep your business protected by using the right software. Do your research to ensure the platforms you use are trustworthy and secure. Before you sign up, look into their security policies: what kind of encryption do they use? Do they use multi-factor authentication? Consider conducting an audit of the existing software you use, too.
Now you have the best software installed, make sure everyone in the company keeps it up to date. Updates often include security patches to keep things as safe as possible, so don’t ignore them! If you put off updating, you’re putting your data at a greater risk of being compromised.
Always use strong passwords, and change them frequently. Not sure what a strong password looks like? There are many free online password generator tools you can use to help you create one.
Back up your data
Backing up your data is a great idea, and not just for security reasons. When you back up your data to a secure location, you’ll be able to restore things quickly should a cyberattack target you and steal your information. What’s more, if one of your office computers malfunctions, you’ll be able to get back up and running quicker when you have a backup of everything at your fingertips.
Educate your team
According to the Florida Center for Cybersecurity report, most of the state’s data breaches in 2016 happened because of human error. Keeping your team educated on security policies is critical to the safety of your business.
An overview of your security procedures should be part of the onboarding process for new employees, and you should hold regular refresher training to make sure everyone’s on the same page.
Emails can be a particularly troublesome area for businesses. Phishing emails are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and even the most alert employees can get caught out. Remind your team to be vigilant at all times and to check with the security team before opening any email that looks suspicious.
Educating your team about the security measures you take can have an added benefit. Your sales team can use this information to reassure potential customers about the safety of their data, and this may just help persuade them to work with you over your competitors.
Have a plan in place
No matter how much you prepare, bad things sometimes just happen. A quick recovery process is essential. Create an action plan detailing the steps you need to follow should you have a breach in cybersecurity, and who in your team is responsible for each task. This way, you’ll be able to get back on track as quick as possible, should the worst happen.
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