While taking your small business online can help you reach a wider audience and boost your customer base, it also increases the risk of cybersecurity threats. Cyberattacks can be devastating for any business, no matter the size. This is especially true for small businesses since it can damage their brand reputation and have devastating financial and legal repercussions. Despite the numerous devastating effects, most small business owners are often highly unprepared to deal with cyberattacks.
While most small businesses may not have the resources to implement extensive cybersecurity measures, there are many effective yet low-cost measures that can help reduce the risk of cyberattacks. For instance, you can leverage the free resources available online to improve your small business cybersecurity and ensure superior protection from potential cyberattacks. Here are some of the simple, effective, and affordable measures you can take to protect your small business from cyberattacks:
1. Ensure you use multi-factor authentication (MFA)
Cybercriminals can utilize different software to crack your account passwords and gain access to your business’s confidential information and network. Implementing multi-factor authentication can help secure crucial business data and applications by adding a layer of security to your accounts. Multi-factor authentication requires users to provide additional proof of their identity during logins before accessing their accounts.
This can make it nearly impossible for cybercriminals and hackers to gain access to your business accounts, even if they already have your passwords. This makes multi-factor authentication an essential security element for your small business. You can easily configure a multi-factor authentication system to your business accounts and get notified of suspicious login attempts. This will allow you to respond faster to cyberattacks and mitigate potential damage to your small business.
2. Secure your networks and databases
Another effective way to improve cybersecurity for your small business is by securing your databases and networks. That’s because cybercriminals often utilize vulnerabilities in your network to gain access to confidential business data. Enhance your networks’ security by setting up firewalls and ensuring your WiFi network is private and password protected.
Additionally, it’s critically important you encrypt any sensitive business information to reduce the risk of data theft or tampering in case of a cyberattack. Make sure you don’t store sensitive company information in your databases when you haven’t first installed security protections. Instead, consider utilizing cloud storage services for storing confidential company information. This guarantees real-time monitoring for potential security threats, helping keep your company data safe.
Another great thing about storing your company data in the cloud is that you can set your data to automatically back up regularly. Backing up your data helps ensure you don’t lose it in the event of a cyberattack. This increases the chance of successful recovery from a cyberattack, preventing you from losing more valuable time and money and causing further damage to your reputation.
3. Educate Your Employees
Employees usually pose the greatest risk to a company’s cybersecurity. Your employees create vulnerabilities in your network by inadvertently opening phishing emails, using the same password for all their accounts, using personal devices for work-related tasks, and when logging into their social media accounts and emails. This increases the risk of cybercriminals attacking your network and accessing confidential business data.
It’s critically important to educate your employees about their role in protecting and securing confidential company data. You may also want to educate them about the current cyberattacks and the latest techniques used by cybercriminals. Train your employees on cyberattack prevention and regularly send them reminders not to click on links or open attachments in emails from strange email addresses.
It’s also important to train your employees to always double-check whenever they receive rush requests to make unexpected payments. Most importantly, outline procedures for encrypting sensitive personal and company information.
4. Create security policies and practices
Besides creating employee awareness, establish clear policies on cybersecurity to guide your employees on what’s acceptable and what’s not. Your policies should also provide instructions and guidelines for dealing with cybersecurity threats and attacks whenever they occur. Outline how situations should be managed and the consequences of violating the policies.
Additionally, limit the number of users with administrative access to company computers and other devices to prevent access from unauthorized users. That’s because it will reduce the risk of downloading malware and viruses. Handheld devices and laptops are often easy targets for cyber theft because they can be stolen or misplaced easily. Don’t forget to always factory reset devices before disposing of them to ensure important company data doesn’t end up in the hands of a cybercriminal.
5. Ensure customer protection from cyber attacks
Your company’s cybersecurity is as good as the third-party vendors and platforms you depend on. It’s crucial you have proper vendor risk management in place. This will reduce cybersecurity risks to your company’s network from external parties. Third-party risks can be brought by contractors, vendors, suppliers, service providers, and partners with access to your company’s systems, processes, or confidential customer and company data.
As such, ensure you protect sensitive customer information from cyberattacks by having a secure online platform where customers can complete their transactions. Make sure your online platform is compliant with the payment card industry data security standards to offer protection against digital data security breaches. Also, check that your hosting service regularly patches security vulnerabilities to reduce the risk of cyberattacks.
6. Utilize a Robust Monitoring System
Another effective way to protect your company from cyberattacks is by having a reliable monitoring system that maintains a record of all software and equipment you use. Remove confidential company information from devices and software no longer in use and disconnect them from the network.
That’s primarily because unused and older devices and software can go for years without being updated, making them easier targets for cybercriminals to attack your business. Additionally, consider always changing your passwords to remove access from employees who leave the company and those who change roles and no longer require access to your business accounts.
Endnote
As a new business owner, you may not know where to start regarding protecting your startup company from cyberattacks. Not only can a cyberattack cost your business thousands of dollars in losses, but it can also damage your brand reputation, hurting your bottom line. However, implementing the simple tips outlined above can help you effectively protect your business from potential cyberattacks.