Strengthen Your Business’s Defenses Against Hackers With These 5 Smart Tips

Business owners often think they’re not much of a target for hackers. But cyberthreats are not reserved for big players only, and smaller businesses can’t exactly take the hit well if they get hacked.

The true power of protecting your business from cyber threats is in prevention and preparation.

Let’s talk about the things you can apply right now to boost your business’s digital defenses.

1. Get everyone on board

Most cyber attacks begin with human error. You can have the best cybersecurity team on call but have everything collapse thanks to a colleague clicking a suspicious link.

Luckily, with some cybersecurity awareness training, even the non-tech-savvy people can get on board easily.

Be proactive and teach everyone about current cyber threats and how to spot them.

2. Use appropriate software

Cybersecurity can get pretty expensive pretty quickly. But, if you’re not working with vast amounts of highly-sensitive data, you most likely don’t need to spend a fortune.

Anti-malware software and firewalls are a great start, and they come in all sorts of free and low-budget forms.

Start small and build your way up as your business scales.

3. Create backups

You want to create a contingency plan in case a hacker does break through. Backups are the ideal solution. Not only will you be able to recover from an attack quickly, but you will also get to sleep well knowing that your business data is safe. But don’t go overboard and add too much data to your backup. Back up only the essential info your business needs to operate and recover.

You can also employ encryption and create a backup on encrypted cloud storage for business. This way, your backup will be safe from anyone without the decryption key. More on encryption in the next point.

4. Utilize encryption

Accessible encryption is the tech wonder of the 21st century. We can see it being used everywhere, from cryptocurrency to emails to VPNs to encrypted cloud storage.

Since there are virtually no downsides to encryption, you should use it as much as your budget allows. Encryption tools will protect your business’s online activities, preventing anyone without the key from accessing the data.

5. Have good password hygiene

Another thing you should do ASAP is re-evaluate your password game. Your business likely has many different accounts ranging from social media to banking to various business tools.

Weak passwords are the lowest hanging fruit for a hacker. So, get everyone that has access to business accounts to check and update their passwords. Remember to use unique combinations of symbols, special characters, and numbers! Keep reading how to protect your personal finances online.

Play it smart, stay safe

As you can see, the name of the game is prevention. If you want to keep your business truly safe from hackers, you will have to update your cybersecurity routine.

Spread cybersecurity awareness, download some cybersecurity software, use encryption and complex passwords, and remember to update your backup every once in a while.