How Small Businesses Can Stay on Top of Cyber Security

With hackers, data thieves, and other types of cybercriminals constantly targeting enterprises of all sizes, no small business can afford to take cybersecurity lightly.

A single attack from a dedicated cybercriminal can have far-reaching consequences for your business, so if you’ve thus far placed security efforts on the back burner, there’s no time like the present to get the ball rolling.

Luckily, maintaining solid cybersecurity practices isn’t nearly as difficult as some enterprises make it look. If you want to handle cybersecurity measures internally, all it takes is hands-on secure coding training that can be provided by HackEDU. Any small business that’s ready to bolster its defenses against cyber criminals should consider the following measures.

Utilize High-Quality Encryption Software

To help ensure that only privileged parties can access and read certain data, your business should utilize cutting-edge encryption software. As the name suggests, encryption software serves to encrypt data and make it inaccessible to third parties.

In essence, encryption software uses an algorithm to encode data and requires anyone who wishes to decrypt said data to provide a code. In its encrypted form, data is utterly indecipherable, making it useless to hackers and other third parties.

Secure Your Network

If your business utilizes a private network, you’d be wise to secure it. For starters, make sure this network is password-protected, as this is the absolute least you can do when it comes to network security.

A business with an unsecured network is a dream come true for many cybercriminals, and by failing to enable password protection, you’re essentially rolling out the welcome mat for third parties.

Additionally, make sure that the password you select is impossible for people outside of your business to guess and avoid using common expressions and number combinations. You should also change this password on a semi-regular basis and instruct your employees to avoid sharing it with people outside of your workforce.

Investing in network security software is another effective way to stave off hackers and other network-based threats. Furthermore, as is the case with passwords, take care to change your network’s administration menu logins on a regular basis.

Password-Protect All Work Devices

Password-protecting all work devices can prevent hackers from remotely accessing them. In addition, this will help ensure that if these devices are ever stolen, the thieves will be unable to readily access the data they contain. While employees should be free to create their own passwords, they should be encouraged to choose passwords that are impossible for third parties to guess and avoid sharing them.

Avoid Using Public Wi-Fi Networks

When doing work outside of the office, your employees should avoid accessing public Wi-Fi networks. Although these networks are very convenient and serve important purposes in many communities, they’re not safe for certain uses – particularly work.

Since public networks have none of the security roadblocks as many private networks, they often serve as playgrounds for cybercriminals. That being the case, your team members should never use these networks for work purposes. In the event that there’s no available alternative, public networks should only be accessed if the device being used is equipped with a virtual private network (VPN).

Educate Your Workforce

To get the most out of your cybersecurity measures, you’ll need to ensure that you and your team members are on the same page. If even one member of your workforce is lax in their security efforts, the consequences can be severe. With this in mind, thoroughly educate your staff on smart cybersecurity practices and explain why these practices are so important.

If any employees prove consistently non-compliant, you may need to impose consequences to truly get your message across. This isn’t to say that anyone should be fired, but people in willful violation of security guidelines may need to receive reprimands to fully appreciate how serious cybersecurity should be taken.

In the digital age, every business, large or small, must make cybersecurity a priority. Your enterprise’s data represents a treasure trove to dedicated cybercriminals, and failure to mount the proper defenses is likely to result in consequential security breaches. Fortunately, protecting your business from the efforts of unwelcome visitors doesn’t have to be an uphill battle. A little bit of consistency and a willingness to adapt can go a long way in keeping your data out of the wrong hands.