5 Tips for Protecting Your Business Against Cyber Attacks
Start–ups and small businesses are particularly susceptible to cyber-attacks, as they often lack the preparation and preventative measures to do anything before it’s too late. In fact, small companies accounted for 40% of all cyber-attack victims in 2015.
With malware, ransomware and other cybercrime technology becoming more sophisticated since then, it’s safe to assume that this figure has only risen in recent years. In order to make the most out of the wealth of opportunities that the internet provides businesses today, you need to ensure that yours is safe and secure from cyber-attacks.
Use Malware Protection
Modern malware is capable of stealing important data from businesses without them even noticing until everything is lost. Potential financial and personal data loss aside, a malware attack can also result in negative publicity around your company. As a start-up, mistrust in your brand is the last thing you want to deal with.
This makes it important to use malware protection that can not only alleviate the issue in the event of an attack, but also prevent it in the first place. Head over to fraudwatchinternational.com for an extensive overview of their malware and fraud protection services.
Utilise Virtual Data Rooms
A virtual data room, or VDR for short, is an online storage system where you can store sensitive data. This includes financial information, tax paperwork, legal documents and intellectual property. VDRs utilise complex security systems to make it extremely difficult for hackers to obtain the data they store.
Protect Yourself Against Internal Threats
According to research conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, around 55% of all cybercrimes against businesses happen internally. Malicious employees account for 31.5% of this figure, while the other 23.5% comes from insiders who unintentionally leave the company vulnerable.
Perform background checks when hiring new employees by running through their social media profiles and criminal history. You should also take caution when giving employees access to personal data. Set policies for sharing company information and educate your employees on being responsible with the way they use data.
Secure Your Hardware
Perhaps a less obvious, but equally important measure to take, is protecting your hardware from
being compromised. This includes your servers, computers, hard drives, smartphones, routers and
other electronics that could easily be stolen or tampered with. Keep these locked away and
monitored at all times, especially when your premises are closed.
Use Backup and Encryption Services
Virtually all modern operating systems contain some form of data encryption software. Making full
use of these services will ensure that your data cannot be accessed in the event that it’s
compromised. Backing up your data to a secure cloud storage service is also a good measure to take,
as it’s much more secure than having it stored on a physical drive.
Keeping your business safe from cyber-attacks is by no means impossible. Simply staying up to date
with security software, being careful with how you share and store your data, educating employees
and using a reliable service to protect company information, will go a long way in providing peace of
mind that your company is safe from attacks.
