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The Best Cyber Security Ideas For SMBs

2020-01-15by Ashley Halsey

While you may think that major businesses are the only ones that experience major hacks, since these are often plastered all over every major news outlet when they happen, inciting outrage and worry from the general public, this is not the case. In fact, most hacks happen to small and medium businesses, but you won’t hear about them as often because they don’t affect as many customers on such a grand scale. This doesn’t mean they’re not important! A single cyber security breach could break your company, so you need to know the measures which you can feasibly take to avoid this happening. Don’t fear, because this article is here to explain the best ideas out there for your small business’ cyber security.

 

Antivirus/Cybersecurity Software

If you have five or fifty computers in your office, you need some sort of protection from an official platform: antivirus, malware protection, cybersecurity – if you find a good program, for the right price, then it’ll help you out in the long-run. Threats can be identified and removed before they become a problem, and you practically eliminate the chances of a less tech-savvy employee accidently downloading a virus onto your entire network. But, if you’ve found the right software, and it’s within your budget, then make sure every computer has an iteration of the software, otherwise all your efforts will have been for nothing – one vulnerability is all a hacker needs, and, before you know it, your system will be down from a cyber-attack. Don’t let that happen! Be consistent with your software, and make sure to get a legitimate brand which offers you all the services that you need.

 

Limit Who Can See What, And How Easily

Layering up your security, even within your own employees, is another way to reduce the likelihood of a virtual attack. Password-protect vulnerable or important files and databases, and restrict how many employees can access them – if they don’t need to use them, then it’s just another needless vulnerability in your system. “Worst case scenario happens – you’ve been hacked!” Exclaims Paul Mullins, a tech writer at Writinity.com and Researchpapersuk.com. “But wait – they’ve only got access to a basic level of your data. It’s not ideal, but it’s also much better than what could’ve happened if your security wasn’t layered. Putting the most important information behind many ‘locked doors’ and layers of restrictions, passwords and encryption means that, if you do experience a cyber-attack, it may not be the end of your business. It gives you a good chance at recovering, moving on and learning from your mistakes, instead of being forced to shut down the company or suffer huge losses.”

 

Keep Employees Trained

Your employees may not come from IT backgrounds and may not realise how some of their actions could compromise the entire business’ network. In order to combat possible misunderstandings and fatal mistakes, it’s highly recommended to first implement security protocols and guidelines which all employees have access to, and, after that, you need to train your employees to make sure they’re all on the same page. When everyone in the office has basic knowledge of how to best prevent cybersecurity breaches and attacks, you become a lot safer.

 

Improve Passwords

Having passwords is all well and good, but, if they’re ‘weak’ passwords, then you might as well be leaving your system open to attack. “Implementing a ‘password check’ system, wherein created passwords need to pass several checks to be considered ‘strong’ enough, is invaluable.” Says Jack Walker, an IT expert at Draftbeyond.com and Lastminutewriting.com. “This makes brute force password guessing attacks much harder for the hackers, and reduces the chance of your business succumbing to such an attack. You may also want to wisen up your employees to the harmful nature of ‘password sharing’ and other terrible password practices, such as reusing the exact same password. Regular, required password changes can help with this, especially if your system remembers past passwords and doesn’t allow them as new ones.” Using passwords is only one half of the battle – if the passwords aren’t effective, then the war isn’t over, and you need to make sure the whole office is using passwords in the best way possible.

 

Summary

Cybersecurity may seem scary, or even irrelevant, but, no matter your opinion, you should make sure that you’re doing everything you can to avoid cyber-attacks. Education is the best approach for employees, since you can’t just assume that they’ll be cyber-geniuses and giving them standard guidelines and protocols to follow can help a lot. Treating online security like real-life security – you wouldn’t have one simple lock between the high street and a bank vault, for example – can help you to understand why you need to take all these measures, and the peace of mind which accompanies them will definitely be rewarding.

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Author

Ashley Halsey

Ashley Halsey

Lucky Assignments

Ashley Halsey works professionally at Lucky Assignments and Gum Essays as a writer, and this has led her to be involved with many projects up and down the country. As the mother to two wonderful children, she balances home-life with attending business courses.

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