Cybersecurity Essentials for a Safer, More Secure Online Presence

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October 2, 2020 Business

Let’s face it, most people don’t know about the dangers of a lacking cybersecurity system and the potential problems it can cause your business. Taking some extra measures to enhance your online security comes with a lot of pros and very little cons. Most steps towards securing your files are surprisingly easy to implement, even if you’re not much of an IT expert. Securing all your business’s devices and ensuring that your employees know how to remain safe online are two very important steps that every business should work towards.

Hackers Don’t Care About Business Size

One of the biggest misconceptions that small businesses have is that hackers won’t target them due to their size. Hackers often pounce on every opportunity they can get and since smaller businesses don’t update their cybersecurity as often as larger businesses, they end up getting targeted more often. Over these past few years, small and medium businesses have been the prime targets of hackers, making it much more necessary for every business to improve their online security. Always ensure that you’re taking extra measures to secure your business’s cybersecurity, regardless of its size.

Thankfully, finding the right solution for your business is easier than ever – just click for cybersecurity solutions and you’ll find a wide variety of options to choose from. Whether you’re a small business or a large corporation, there’s always a suitable option for your specific needs.

Enforce Frequent Password Changes

Not everyone likes changing their password regularly, especially if they’ve gotten used to typing out that one special password they like. This might come as an inconvenience to your employees, but you have to force them to change their password every so often. Frequently changing passwords is one of the best ways to have a much more secure online presence, even if it comes at the price of inconvenience. Nowadays, there are plenty of secure applications that generate extremely secure passwords automatically, making it very difficult for hackers to target your business. Automating password changes can also get rid of a tedious task that takes precious time from all of your employees.

Update Your Applications Very Frequently

Whenever an application your business uses launches a new update, there’s a possibility that this update patches a loophole found in the user-security. Many hackers spend tons of time trying to breach the security of old versions of applications where it wasn’t as strong. This makes users that haven’t updated their application versions much more prone to hackers than the people who frequently update their application. Ensuring that all the devices in your business are always up-to-date helps you avoid any potential issues with security.

Mask Your Connections

Having a more secure online presence means making sure that your data isn’t accessible to people who shouldn’t have permission to access it. When you’re simply surfing the web, you leave a pretty big digital footprint when you’re not using a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN encrypts your connection when you’re on the internet, making it nearly impossible for any hackers to trace it back to your connection.

This makes exploring the internet much safer, however, it doesn’t magically grant you immunity from fishy websites, so you’ll still have to be smart with what you click on.

Outsource IT Support if Needed

Most businesses don’t have an IT department, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have good cybersecurity. Proficient cybersecurity specialists over at solutionpartner.com recommend that you guarantee your online safety all-year-round by expanding your IT department or outsourcing your IT team so that you have round-the-clock support. This makes it much easier to fix any issues as soon as they come up, minimizing risks and maximizing efficiency.

Two-Factor Authentication is Mandatory

Creating strong passwords for all business devices is essential, but that still doesn’t guarantee maximum security. Adding another layer of security known as two-factor authentication ensures that the person trying to bypass security has not one, but two pieces of evidence before they’re able to access the server. Using two-factor authentication highly relies on your email address so if you’re experiencing any suspicion that your email has been hacked, remember that your two-factor authentication won’t provide any extra security as it’s also been compromised.

Always Have A Backup Available

Backing up your data somewhere secure is very handy in way too many situations for it to be ignored. Having a backup available somewhere provides you with a safety net that can help you react to any issues like system malfunctions, technical errors, or cyberattacks calmly. Securing your business’s data is essential, so backing up your files frequently is highly recommended.

Limit Installations On Your Business’s Devices

If your employees aren’t very informed with the do’s and don’ts of cybersecurity, you might want to consider telling your IT department to limit the ability to make software downloads on the firewall. Doing this stops employees from downloading any potentially malicious software on any business device, making it much more difficult for your business to be targeted by any hackers.

Communicate Regularly With Your IT Department

Giving the people over at the IT department a chance to voice their concerns about your business’s security allows them to update you on the current situation and what needs to be done in the future. This is a great way to figure out what your next steps should be in terms of improving your cybersecurity while also improving morale by showing the IT department that you value their opinion.

Have a Final Resort

Improving your cybersecurity is a process of preparing for the worst situation possible and taking countermeasures towards it. This means that you have to prepare countermeasures for when your business potentially gets hacked. Hackers can’t access your files if your files are taken offline, assuming that the hacking process is happening remotely. Having a kill switch available to take your server offline for maintenance if any issue comes up is a very helpful solution to counter this issue.

Safety online heavily relies on the user knowing how to avoid clicking on malicious links and how to secure their information. Scheduling some meetings or seminars to teach your employees about online security might be a great way to improve it as having a competent team by your side helps you avoid running into issues in the future. Just remember that you always need to be prepared for the worst possible situation as failing to prepare for it might result in losing some valuable data.