Many small businesses underestimate the threat of cybercrimes. They believe that hackers target large corporations that have something to lose. Meanwhile, 43% of cyber-attacks are aimed at small businesses.
If you work with any sensitive data, from credit card details to social security numbers, your company is at risk. You may be surprised to learn that some hackers attack companies for ideological reasons or to train before aiming their guns at larger targets.
To keep your business data safe and avoid downtime, or worse, lawsuits, take advantage of the following tips.
1. Restrict Access
You should consider managing access to important data and setting up passwords for using it. Figure out which employees need access to this information to do their work. The others shouldn’t be able to use these files.
While you may trust all of your employees right now, some may still be careless. Make sure you minimize loopholes by restricted access where possible.
2. Arrange Data Backup
In case your databases are attacked, you may be faced with an entire wipeout. Most ransomware attacks are based on blocking access to your software and data. If you have a proper backup in place, you can never lose important information entirely.
According to Firewall Technical, it’s vital to create a disaster recovery plan to make sure your company doesn’t suffer in case of an attack or another unexpected occurrence that leads to data loss.
3. Perform Background Checks
In case you work with sensitive data, you need to make sure you can trust your employees with it. No matter how much you protect the information, a staff member with the right passwords can take full advantage of it.
Make sure you perform proper background checks to hire reliable employees for your business. Once you do, pay close attention to their behavior and performance.
4. Set Up Strong Passwords
Even though everyone knows that strong passwords are a must, many people still ignore instructions and create easy-to-hack combinations. Instruct your employees to use random password generators and set up a password-changing schedule.
You can also consider a two-step authentication. If your budget allows, think about biometric identification.
5. Get Rid of Physical Documents
Even though the majority of your information exists in digital form, physical documents could still be part of your work process.
Make sure to go through the security rounds with papers as well. Shred all outdated and unnecessary paperwork as soon as possible. Designate a person responsible for discarding old documents.
Final Thoughts
Even if you don’t believe that your data can become a target for hackers, you should still do everything possible to protect it. You never know when the disaster can strike.
Losing everything you’ve worked for just because you failed to set a reliable password is out of the question. Take advantage of the above tips to protect your information at all times.
