Security breaches have become common occurrence in our lives. Every morning brings with it news about website attack or stolen data. At times it seems unless you leave in a cave completely isolated from the external world it is impossible to keep your computers secured from prying eyes. The media talks about large scale attacks, such as the Target security breach that occurred over Christmas, but there is a hacking attack happening every second in some part of the world. Even our own governments are snooping on their citizens as Edward Snowden proved.
So, is there really no respite from these incidents affecting our daily lives? If history is any guide the security breaches will continue to happen with no end in sight. The cat and mouse game between the hackers and the security experts will continue with each side trying to stay one step ahead of the other.
As a business owner you cannot ignore security threats because the consequences from these hacking incidents are dire. Losing customer data from your computer systems can lead to lawsuits, not to mention the impact on your brand and future business as a result. If you are running an online store the business disruption from having to bring down the website can result in lost sales and profit. You can also lose valuable intellectual property as a result stolen business secrets from your computers due to hacking. It is estimated that businesses worldwide lose billions of dollars as a result of security vulnerabilities that could have been averted through the implementation of adequate business security solutions.
What can you do to keep your business from being impacted by this? There are 3 ways you need to prepare for this – Prevention, Monitoring and Cleanup.
- Prevention – Security prevention is the best way to prevent hacking incidents occurring in the first place. You need to install a comprehensive security suite that includes firewalls, intrusion detection and antivirus software so that the hackers cannot get in through the front door. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure as they say.
- Monitoring – You cannot just stop at installing the preventive measures on your computers. You have to monitor them on a continuous basis for any suspicious activity. In addition, it helps to have periodic audits and third-party security assessments to make sure you are keeping up with the latest security solutions available in the market. You cannot afford to be complacent about the security of your computer systems.
- Remediation – If, for unfortunate reason, you do get hit by a hacking incidents you have to keep your remediation plans ready to jump into action quickly. Be prompt in investigating the incident. You also have to quickly quarantine affected systems so that they do not bring down the entire business with them. It is your responsibility to notify customers and appropriate authority as soon as possible so that they can take preventive actions themselves.
As you can see security is one of the most pressing problems of our times, however by staying vigilant and deploying cutting-edge solutions, such as those developed by Bitdefender Antivirus, you can stay ahead of the bad guys and limit the impact to your business or personal lives.
