As more companies switch to remote work and increase their online presence, cybersecurity is a lurking concern. No matter how small or big the company can be, it’s important to understand how to construct a resilient cybersecurity strategy. This blog will discuss the risk of cybersecurity and provide tips on which security strategies could best benefit your organization.
Why is Cybersecurity Important?
It’s important to recognize the value of your data. Many industry experts have asserted that data has become the world’s most valuable resource. Pieces of data can sometimes exceed the value of a business. Coca-Cola's secret recipe is a great example of information that could ruin a business if found by cybercriminals.
Without a cybersecurity strategy, you are exposing your data and your organization to financial and security risks. Installing a proper cybersecurity policy should outline the rules for how your employees, partners, and customers can access and use your data. Data breaches are no joking matter. These breaches can be disastrous to your finances and reputation. (Shiner, Jeff. Five Simple Steps For Securing Your Small Business)An Estimated 60% of hacked small to medium-sized businesses go out of business within six months.
How to Create a cyber security strategy plan
1. Place Someone in Charge of your IT Department
Many small businesses don’t have an IT team or even an appointed IT person. It’s important for your team to know who they can report to if they encounter suspicious phishing emails, possible breaches, and other cybersecurity concerns. If you don’t have an in-house IT specialist, consider adding a “security specialist” to an existing employee’s title, or consider contracting an outside IT agency for consultation and managed services.
2. Strengthen your Passwords
Data breaches can commonly be caused by human errors like weak and reused passwords. If you want to create a strong password try choosing completely random words. One good technique is to open a magazine or newspaper, point to a line of text, and pick the least common word on that line. Make sure to add in a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols. Randomly created passwords are considered strong because they can be difficult to figure out. Password generators are another ideal piece of technology that can assist in creating secure passwords.
When employees are responsible for managing multiple passwords it’s easy to forget one. A password manager can store these passwords in a secure vault. Password managers offer two factory authentications, this is another step that can be used to prevent cyber breaches.
Always know what’s in your inventory, it’s important to test, update, and scan for viruses on a consistent basis. Scheduling updates and security policy reviews will help prevent ongoing threats, and gain a better insight of activities taking place on your network. The activity of cleaning up or “spring cleaning” can allow your organization time to reassess employee security access. With changes to employees' positions, it’s important to keep tabs on who is allowed to access specific data guarded accounts. Setting aside time to organize your cybersecurity settings could prevent future security breaches.
Employees should be trained to identify cybersecurity threats, that's why it’s important to conduct basic cybersecurity educational sessions with new and existing employees. If your employees are able to identify cybersecurity threats, such as phishing, they are less likely to cause a security breach. Mitigating your risk of a data breach can be as done by offering mandatory quarterly or yearly cybersecurity training. As cyber threats change, it’s important your employees stay up to date with the current cyber traps and threats.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity maintenance is one area of your business that you shouldn’t neglect. As the world continues down the path of digital adoption, it’s important to keep up to date with current cybersecurity threats and trends. Cybercriminals are not going to disappear anytime soon, in fact, they are only going to be more prevalent in the future. BAASS offers self-sufficient solutions made to keep cyber criminals away. If you want to learn more, click here and speak to an expert today.
