Now more than ever before, it’s important for businesses to protect their information, especially if the majority of your business is conducted online. Businesses often store a large amount of data online, and potentially, this can be accessed by anyone through the internet. As a business owner, you must do everything you can to protect your business, its customers and your employees from hackers. The only aim of a hacker is to steal important information or spread a virus and compromise a system. Either of these can wreak havoc in a short space of time. Here are some steps you should consider taking.
Keep Your Operating Systems Updated
Updates issued by software companies are designed to protect you and your business from vulnerabilities in the original software. A good hacker will know what these are and prey on systems that have not been updated. There really is no valid reason not to take advantage of such updates. You can even set your computer so the updates are downloaded automatically when the system is not in use. Another sensible precaution to take is to install antivirus software that blocks spam and detects spyware and malware.
Use Encryption Software
If you operate online and take payments, you must use encryption software. Major card providers such as Visa and MasterCard insist on certain steps being taken to protect customers who use their cards. One of these steps is encryption. For small businesses, some of these steps can be costly. In which case it is a good idea to outsource payment processing to a third-party payment processor such as PayPal.
Secure and Back Up Data
You may take all the precautions possible and still fall victim to a security breach. To ensure the fallout is minimal you can secure and back-up your company data. Securing and backing up your data to a reliable place means you can recover your data and continue running your business. It also means you have more control over it and actually own it.
Top tip: As well as backing it up, it also pays to periodically check on it to ensure it is accessible should it be needed. Making use of multiple backup methods will also help to ensure the safety of your important files.
Employees Using Their Own Devices
Many companies are choosing to allow employees to bring and use their own devices for work purposes. There’s a definite saving for the company with this approach. However, it does create a number of safety risks. If the devices are lost, this will be a significant risk for the company, especially if the employee is always logged in to work-related accounts. Similarly, having remote workers can pose a similar threat to security.
Hackers are using ever more ingenious ways to access sensitive information and steal it. It is up to you as a business owner to keep one step ahead of the challenges. Implementing proper security measures will reduce the chances of an attack, and it will also minimize the damage caused should the worst happen.
