Right now, security should be a priority for all entrepreneurs and businesses.
The era of technology has produced incredible benefits, but this has (inevitably) come with a trade-off. The trade-off is that businesses that operate digitally are at risk of cybersecurity problems, such as hackings and data leaks.
Why should you care about security?
Security is fundamental to preventing financial damage and protecting your reputation.
In today’s world, it only takes one scandal to send a business spiraling downwards. For example, any business that experiences a customer data leak will take a giant hit to its reputation (which they’ve potentially spent years building). This will likely lead to existing customers leaving and new customers losing interest.
This is why security measures, like user access reviews, are very important for your business. Through strengthening your business in key areas, you’ll keep your business and employees safe – and you don’t need to break the bank to do it.
Other companies utilise email encryption, which has many advantages in terms of securing email content and ensuring that it is only available to the intended recipient(s), preventing hackers and cybercriminals from reading and exploiting it through phishing attempts and the like.
Let’s go over some tips that will explain how you can keep your business safe and secure.
Move to the cloud
Moving to the digital ‘cloud’ is an excellent way to store data and handle security.
To get started, you’ll require digital cloud training, where you can dive into services like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform to acquire all the tech skills you need to maximize your security levels.
Be aware of email phishing
It’s important that you and your team are educated about the threat that email phishing poses – particularly if you frequently communicate through business email accounts. Remember, even if you’re a small business, that doesn’t mean you’re automatically safe!
Email phishing is when criminal hackers send emails to businesses and individuals disguised as genuine messages, when they’re secretly not.
For example, a criminal group could email your business pretending to be Amazon, or another well-known provider. Within the email, they might ask you to click on a link – this link is dangerous. Once you click on it, they’ll gain access to all your information and files, which is a horrific circumstance for a business to find themselves in.
Thankfully, email phishing is easily avoidable providing you know all the signs to spot, like non-genuine email addresses and poorly worded phrasing.
You can also test your employees – like this firm did – by sending them fake emails as a cyber security test.
This will help you to understand if you have any employees who need training in how to spot scam emails.
Also, phishing isn’t exclusive to email. It can also happen through text messages and advertising, so be careful!
Use anti-virus software
If you have a big office filled with computers and other tech devices, you need to use anti-virus software. This will boost your security and stop any website viruses from breaching your network.
Frequently backup data
Data that you store in the cloud or anywhere else must be frequently backed up. It’s easy to accidentally delete files or misplace them, which is why it’s so important to backup data.