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Is Your Business Faltering Due To Computer Security?

2015-11-16by Tristan Anwyn

How well protected are your computer systems? Cyber-attacks are a genuine concern for businesses these days.

With the Grant Thornton International Business Report estimating that 15% of businesses have been a victim in the last year alone, the risk of cyber-attacks is too serious to overlook.

So just what are the risks to your business, and what should you be doing to protect your computer systems?

 

Why Cyber Security Matters

Cyber security is a big deal for businesses.

A security breach can have devastating effects, which is why you need to make computer security a top priority.

A compromised computer network can damage your business in four key ways:

  • Giving hackers access to business and customer information;
  • Costing you money as business operations are compromised until the problem is fixed;
  • Costing you valuable time as time usually spent on core business practices is funneled into fixing the problem;
  • Damaging your reputation with customers if you can't carry out your usual duties, or if their personal information is at risk.

Losing money and time is difficult for any business. Losing the trust of your customers is even harder to recover from.

Once lost, it's unlikely you'll ever fully regain it. 

 

Signs of an Attack

It's important to be on the lookout for signs of a potential cyber-attack or malware on your business computers.

Signs to be aware of include:

  • Slow internet or local connections (this can also be a connectivity issue of course, but can be a sign of a deliberate denial of service attack);
  • Alerts from your virus protection software;
  • Noticing accounts or programs on your computer that you didn't add;
  • An increase in pop-up windows;
  • Being redirected to different webpages to the one you intended to visit;
  • Requests for permission to make changes to your computer, even though you're not actively installing anything.

Being aware of potential signs helps you spot problems and deal with them.

However, the best defense you have is to do all you can to keep your business computers secure and prevent an attack from happening.

 

Keep Your Computers Secure

Taking steps to protect your computer system will help keep your business safe from security compromises. 

Start by keeping everything up to date.

That includes your operating systems, virus and anti-malware programs, and any programs you use.

Using the most up-to-date versions can help keep you protected from newer threats.

 

Be careful with your data.

Encrypting your data is an important step. It's also a good idea to assess who really needs access to the data in your business. Restrict access to business and customer data to those employees who need it to do their job.

Make backups.

As the article "My Computer Has Been Hacked, Now What?" says, one of the most important steps you can take to secure your computers is to prepare ahead of time with regular backups.

Backups will help you get back on track in the event of a problem.

 

Make Security Standard

If you want your computers to stay secure, make security standard in your business. You can do this by:

  • Scheduling regular backups of your information;
  • Making regular malware and virus scans part of your routine;
  • Regularly reviewing your security procedures and making adjustments as needed;
  • Educating your staff on the importance of computer security and ways they can help defend your business against malware.

Computer security problems can cost you time, money and even your reputation.

Prevent problems by taking steps to keep your business secure and making computer security part of your daily business life.

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Author

Tristan Anwyn

Tristan Anwyn writes on a wide variety of topics, including social media, SEO, IT security and European businesses.

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