8 Reliable And Affordable Business Data Security Tips

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Data is fueling business growth. Hackers know this, and they know that businesses will pay millions if they threaten to compromise their data. Consequently, 43% of all cyber-attacks in 2019 targeted SMBs and the average cost of a cyber-attack is about $3.9 million.

Unfortunately, many SMBs don’t recover from cyber-attacks. Fortunately, we can look for cybersecurity solutions to prevent these attacks. This can be achieved by employing cybersecurity services that can protect, detect, and respond to cyber risks and threats that target your business and by taking some sensible precautions yourself.

Here is an overview of eight cybersecurity tips to keep your business data secure:

Sensitize Employees on Data Security 

Hackers often orchestrate socially engineered cyber-attacks that prey on individuals’ ignorance. Your employees may be prime targets of such attacks if they are not on board with your cybersecurity plan. 

Your employees need to be aware of the looming threat of cyber-attacks and their catastrophic effects. A mobile solid Threat Defense solution will inspire them to be more careful when handling business data. It will also help them identify potential cyber-attacks and take the necessary security measures.

More importantly, your employees should learn how to avoid and repel cyber-attacks. For example, they must pick strong passwords and secure their remote devices. Finally, ensure your employees know they will be held accountable for any negligent actions that expose your business to cyber-attacks. 

Improve & Protect Passwords 

Passwords are an easy and popular way to restrict unauthorized access to data. However, they are only useful if they cannot be hacked. As such, it is advisable to strengthen your passwords and add an extra layer of security. 

It is advisable to use at least eight characters in your password. It should also be creative and challenging to guess, featuring a different range of characters, including letters (uppercase and lowercase) and numbers. 

Adding an extra layer of protection to your passwords is also advisable—hackers have a range of tricks to circumvent secure passwords. For example, two-factor authentication will secure your passwords by requiring you to answer a personal question or use a unique code to log in after entering the correct password. 

Secure Personal Devices

Employees often use their devices to access work-related data when they are out of the office. This has become especially necessary since the COVID-19 pandemic forces people to consider work-from-home options. 

Employees’ devices are more vulnerable to cyber-attacks than the company’s devices. However, you can change that by implementing the necessary cybersecurity measures. For example, you can instruct employees to install cybersecurity measures such as anti-virus programs and firewalls. Having your employees secure their wireless network connections is equally important. 

Limit Admin Access

Data access has operational benefits. However, it doesn’t imply that your employees should have access to all data. This is a recipe for data mismanagement – it also increases the risk of someone finding a way to compromise and manipulate your data. 

Ideally, your employees should have access to only the data needed to do their jobs. For example, the marketing team doesn’t need the employees’ data, and the floor manager doesn’t need the CEO’s records. 

As such, have a system to control and monitor everyone’s access to data. Ideally, store sensitive data on a different platform—one that doesn’t have traffic from the local network. 

Protect Against Malware 

Malware is a popular weapon by hackers. They are easy to deploy, and they can give the hackers complete remote control of your digital systems. 

Malware programs infect your digital systems using viruses that have consequences such as holding your data hostage for a ransom. These malware programs are challenging to eliminate when they infect your systems, and it is prudent to avoid infection in the first place. 

To this end, it is advisable to protect against malware using cybersecurity measures such as installing anti-malware programs. Likewise, working with an expert company to set up a comprehensive ransomware response plan is also a prudent method.

Encrypt Everything

Encryption is a fail-safe cybersecurity measure more reliable than many other security measures. It is convenient when hackers bypass different security measures and access your data. 

Encryption entails cloaking data in an algorithm that is difficult to crack. The algorithm essentially scrambles the data and makes it unreadable. Anyone who gets the data only ends up with random strings of characters. Hackers cannot use it to hold you for ransom or any other practical purposes – the data is virtually useless. 

When it comes to safeguarding sensitive information, whether to tokenize or encrypt your data can make a world of difference. Understanding the nuances of tokenizing or encrypting methods is crucial for protecting your data's security and privacy.

Encrypt your data immediately when it enters your digital systems before sending it out via wireless networks. Ensure you use the latest data encryption solutions, as outdated and straightforward algorithms can be cracked. 

Backup Your Data on the Cloud 

Data is usually the first casualty of a cyber-attack. It often gets lost or decimated as the hacker uses it as a bargaining chip. It can also be released to the public. Whichever the case, your chances of recovering the data are slim. 

Ideally, you should back up copies of your data on the cloud. The cloud is relatively secure, and you can access your data anywhere. However, it would be best to take extra security measures to secure your cloud storage platform. As such, it is advisable to use professional cloud data storage services for reliability. 

Schedule Regular Updates

Cybersecurity is a dynamic field. Hackers continually find new ways to bypass existing cybersecurity measures. Fortunately, cybersecurity experts also continually work to provide better and stronger cybersecurity solutions, staying one step ahead of the bad guys. 

The point here is that yesterday’s cybersecurity solutions are unreliable and easy to hack. It would be best to have the latest cybersecurity solutions for reliable protection, and updating your systems is the best way to do this. 

Updating is simple: set the system to automatic updates, and the system will automatically download all updates as soon as they are released. It is also advisable to upgrade to newer and better cybersecurity solutions. 

A cyber-attack will disrupt your business operations and compromise your data. You can face losses of millions of dollars, and it would take years to recover – if you do recover. As such, it is prudent to avoid attacks by beefing up your cybersecurity measures. 

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