Cyber attacks are one of the biggest threats to businesses, especially as many companies are increasing their digital presence and shifting to online working practices. This is even more of a concern in the ‘new normal’ where many businesses are storing data, collaborating, communicating, and sharing remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic. With things looking to continue this way for a while longer, it’s more important than ever to arm yourself with the right knowledge and tools to keep hackers and cyber attackers at bay.
If you are planning to boost the security of your business’ IT systems, below are a few tips that can help.
Hire an IT Consulting Firm
One of the surest ways to protect your business from cyber threats is to hire an IT consulting firm. Not only will they be able to assess any vulnerable points in your processes, but they will also be able to set you up with email/spam filtering. An IT consulting firm, such as the likes of Kortek Solutions, will also help you put the necessary systems in place to ensure that you don’t lose valuable data and that you’re protected against the latest threats.
Invest in Anti-Malware and Anti-Virus Software
Two of the biggest cyber threats to businesses online is malware and ransomware. Malware involves malicious software such as viruses or worms that penetrate an IT network. These threats can be mistakenly downloaded from website downloads, spam, or from connecting with other devices that are infected. Ransomware, on the other hand, is a type of cyber-attack where access to a computer is prevented until a sum of money is paid to the attacker. Ransomware works by encrypting company data so that it can no longer be accessed.
While these threats are different in their approach, they both involve unauthorized access to your computer systems and can result in lost data and revenue. Therefore, to ensure you’re protected against these threats, it’s a good idea to invest in strong anti-virus and anti-malware software.
Regularly Update Your Software
Software updates can be a nuisance, especially if they take a lot of time. However, these updates are essential for security reasons. Updates provide crucial security patches and serve to protect your data; therefore, it’s important to allow software updates to occur as and when you are notified.
Train Your Staff
One of the strongest tools in your arsenal against cyber threats is staff training. Phishing scams and password attacks, for example, can be prevented if you and your employees are aware of best practices and what kinds of threats are out there. For example, you can train your staff to do the following:
- To use strong passwords that contain a mixture of lower- and upper-case letters numbers, and symbols.
- To not use the same password across all accounts.
- To utilize password management technology that can assign high-quality passwords as well as store them, allowing centralized access.
- To set up multi-factor authentication so that more than just the password is needed to access the data.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.