You only need to watch the news once to understand how important digital security is in this day and age. As a business owner, you’ve worked hard to get your business to where it is, and the last thing you want is for it to be breached or worse by cyber criminals. However, as a business owner, it is not only your actions you need to think about. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some security measures you can put in place to protect your business.
Educate your employees
The first thing you should do is make sure that your employees know how important it is to be vigilant against cyber attacks. However, understanding risk management is much more than encouraging team members to regularly change their passwords and not keep it on a sticky note on their desk. It’s about understanding exactly how your business could be targeted, and all of the ways your team can protect themselves. If you feel you might be missing some details, why not sign yourself up for some cyber security courses so that you can all stay safe (your business included).
Create strong passwords
Another important step is making sure that everyone is using strong passwords to protect their work accounts. Easy to bypass passwords are often the weakest part of a business’ defense, so it’s important to pay attention. Keep these things in mind when creating your passwords:
- Avoid using familiar words, dictionary words or common phrases.
- Always use a mix of letters, numbers and symbols.
- Make sure they’re always at least 8 characters long.
- Change them regularly.
You should also consider using a password manager to keep all of your important passwords together under another layer of authentication.
Update your systems!
Software that hasn’t been updated is another culprit that plays a large role in cyber attacks. Outdated software makes it vulnerable, meaning that cyber criminals can exploit it to gain easy access to your computer systems. And, once they’re in, they’re in! When you shut down your computer at night, take the time to see if it needs an update! By making it a part of your every day routine, you’ll be less likely to let it happen!
Invest in a security system
Being vigilant online is obviously very important, but physical security systems can help protect your business too. Cyber attacks have been known to come from inside the company! While you understandably want to trust your team, having a physical side to the security will allow you to make sure that nobody is potentially harming your business.
Insure yourself
Finally, even with all of the preventative steps you could put in place, no business is ever truly secure. That’s why it’s a good idea to have some sort of insurance against your business in case the worst happens. You might consider Business Contents Insurance, or you might want to go for something more specific like Cybersecurity Insurance instead. Either way, it can help protect you from cyber criminals and make sure your business makes it out the other side.
