This month is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. What a great time to reflect on your cybersecurity processes and procedures to ensure your business stays safe. It’s time to get your cybersecurity protocols in check, especially right now, when work is primarily done through computers and tablets. According to Supply and Demand Chain Executive, cyberattacks increased by 30% between July and August 2020. Because of this, cybersecurity is one of the most important focuses for business owners. Here are a few ways you can protect your company today.
Start by establishing policies that prevent cyber attacks.
These policies should inform your team on cybersecurity best practices for things like communication protocols, devices security practices, and remote work policies. The policies should also include an incident response policy to ensure whenever an incident occurs, your team can combat the damages.
Implement training programs to inform your employees.
Next, you should inform your team of the policies and protocols surrounding cybersecurity. This training should include common cyber attacks, how to spot a cybersecurity threat, and how to avoid them. Employees are the number one cybersecurity concern for employers. At IOA, we have a database of training programs that can help bring awareness to your team.
Ensure your software is cyber attack-proof.
Installing programs that have strong spam filters, firewalls, and anti-virus and malware programs on company devices is vital to the safety of your business’ assets. Great software can save your company’s cyber assets Therefore, it’s important to invest in one that puts all the proper safety programs in place. Another way to maintain network security is to utilize a virtual private network.
Enforce an access control system.
It is extremely important to only allow trusted and qualified individuals to access your company’s sensitive data. Another way to protect your company data is to ensure all of your employees not only use strong passwords but update them regularly.
Backup your data.
Remember in high school and college when you would write a paper, then your computer crashes, but you forgot to SAVE and you lose all your work? Similarly, if you don’t back up your company’s data on a regular basis, you might lose all your data. It’s important to store copies of critical data in additional secure places, like a cloud system.
Be prepared if a cyber incident does occur.
Implement a cyber incident response plan to minimize further loss and damages if a cyber-attack does occur. It’s not just important to have a response plan at the ready. It is also extremely important to test this plan regularly. How would you know it works if you haven’t tested it?
In today’s world, it is essential for businesses to consider their cyber risk in order to protect their company’s data, protect their customer’s personal information, and ensure employee privacy. Want to learn more about how you can keep your company safe from cyber-attacks? Contact Roger today!
