There’s no doubt that technology is continuously evolving. New innovations are being introduced every year to make our lives more convenient and comfortable. But along with these positive developments, cyber threats are spreading chaos, especially among businesses.
Sure enough, global cybercrime accounted for at least $600 billion in losses in 2017. By 2019, the damages could reach a whopping $2 trillion as people depend more on technology for purchasing goods and services.
These figures paint a very bleak picture for entrepreneurs that are looking to scale their businesses. This would explain why more and more companies are investing heavily in cybersecurity.
By setting up cyber defenses, you are securing your business assets from the threat of data breaches and theft. For sure, this will help minimize the impact of cybercrime on your bottom line.
You can never go wrong with a few extra defenses here and there. On that note, let’s look at the ways you can improve your business’s resistance to hackers, fraudsters, and even your competitors!
1. Form a team of experts
Probably the first step to improving your business’s cybersecurity is to create a team of professionals with a thorough understanding of the organization’s needs. For this, you can hire people from your in-house staff to form a cybersecurity committee which will oversee database defenses and employee education.
The caveat to this approach, however, is that additional training is required so your cybersecurity team is kept up to speed on the latest threats and solutions. You can always hire people from the outside, although this may take too much time. To be safe, focus on what proves to be more practical and efficient for your needs.
2. Assess your current infrastructure
Before you introduce additional cyber defenses, you will have to examine your current security set up. This will help you determine deficiencies in your system and identify possible weak points that need to be reinforced.
Along these lines, a risk-based cybersecurity audit is essential in making sure your business is compliant with security standards. Moreover, this will ensure that your organization’s policies and procedures are in line with your risk tolerance. That way, you can boost your defenses and keep your security infrastructure up-to-date.
3. Create a recovery management plan
As an entrepreneur, you know that anything bad that can happen will happen. From natural disasters to sophisticated cyberattacks, you will have to be well-prepared for any contingency and avoid costly damages to your business’s profitability. Data loss can put your business in dire straits, so you will need to secure it by any means necessary.
One thing’s for sure, a well-crafted recovery plan allows your business to operate even after a major cyberattack. There are several ways you can approach this. For one, you can save backup data offsite. Using cloud computing solutions, you can save your data outside of your business facility. In the event of a ransomware attack, you can retrieve lost data anytime by accessing a cloud account. From there, your business can continue operating as you spend time investigating the breach and assessing the damage.
4. Keep login information secured
If you entrust your account logins to employees, it’s important that you set up the correct processes and policies for your passwords and other access data. In the wrong hands, your login information can be used for sabotage and theft.
A good practice in improving your cybersecurity infrastructure is to keep login data properly managed. In other words, you will have to ask for proper authorization before you can hand out login information to employees. That way, you can track which of your employees have been accessing your enterprise accounts and for what purpose.
Another important step in securing your login data is to change your passwords regularly. This serves as an added measure in reducing the risk of a breach. Also, you will only need a handful of people who can handle the changes and come up with passwords that are difficult to decrypt.
5. Use VPN and data encryption
Hackers and competitors will use whatever means they can to track your business activities online. The bulk of these actions involve tracking the sites you frequently visit, as well as intercepting internal communications that contain vital business intelligence.
To counter these possible risks, it’s essential that you implement a virtual private network or VPN. Such a system allows you to encrypt the data you share internally and make it difficult for hackers to interpret your data, especially through public WiFi connections. No doubt, VPN can provide an added layer to your current cyber security set up.
