Cybercrime isn’t limited to large corporations or wealthy individuals; it also targets small Businesses. According to the U.S. Congressional Small Business Committee, a significant amount of cyber-attacks targeted businesses with less than 100 workers. A related study by the SMB CyberSecurity Report established that 50% of SMBs had experienced a security breach in the past.
The reason small businesses are targeted more than large corporations is that they’ve vulnerabilities in their networks. This means it’s easier to breach the networks of small businesses than it’s to penetrate large corporations. Small businesses don’t allocate sufficient time and funds to secure their networks. They also lack expert personnel, have outdated security programs, and fail to secure their endpoints. The following are some of the basic cybersecurity best practices for small businesses.
Use a Firewall
Setting up a firewall is one of the basic ways of defending your business against a cyber-attack. The Federal Communications Commission urges small businesses to have firewalls to prevent data breaches. Some organizations have a standard firewall and an internal firewall for additional protection. Employees working remotely should also set up firewalls on their home networks.
Put Your Cybersecurity Policies In Writing
When it comes to cybersecurity, it’s advisable to put your policies in writing. To get started, you can attend online training through the Small Business Administration Cybersecurity portal. You can get help with drafting your policies from the FCC’s Cyberplanner 2.0. Alternatively, you can request a comprehensive toolkit for cybersecurity best practices through the C3 Voluntary Program for Small Businesses.
Use The CIA Model
When it comes to establishing cybersecurity policies, you should use the CIA model to guide you. This model helps keep your business secure by protecting your data. The elements of this model are Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. First, you should make sure information can’t be accessed by unauthorized personnel. You can do this by encrypting the information.
Secondly, you need to protect data and systems from being altered by unauthorized personnel. This means you should ensure that the information is unchanged from the time you create it to the time it reaches the end-user. Lastly, ensure authorized personnel have access to information when they need it and that you update your applications whenever necessary.
Train Employees In Cyber Security Measures
After you have established security policies, the next step is to train your employees on how to incorporate these measures. For example, you should train your employees on how to create strong passwords. It would help if you also established rules that penalize employees for violating the business’s Cybersecurity policies. Make ground rules on how to manage and protect client data and other important information. For example, you may establish rules that all machines should have the latest security software, operating system, and web browser to guard against malware, viruses, and online threats.
Device a Plan For Mobile Devices
According to Tech Pro Research 2016 BYOD, 59% of businesses allow BYOD. There’s a high surge in the use of wearables like wireless fitness trackers and smartwatches. For this reason, small businesses should establish BYOD policies that emphasize the need for security precautions. Norton by Symantec also urges small businesses to encourage employees to set automatic updates and use a strong password policy for mobile devices that are tapping into the company’s network.
Back up Your Data Regularly
You may still be breached after observing all the necessary security measures. This is why you need to back up data regularly. You also need to back up data that is kept in the cloud because those servers could also be compromised. Store your backups in a safe place to guard against fire outbreaks and floods. Make sure your backups are up to date.
Apply Multifactor Identification
No matter how secure you think you’re, mistakes are inevitable. An employee can make a mistake that leaves your network vulnerable. Using the multifactor identification settings provides an additional layer of protection to your network. You can use employees’ phone numbers because it would be unlikely for a cybercriminal to have both the pin code and the password.
Secure Your Wi-Fi Network
If your business has a Wi-Fi network, you need to secure it. Encrypt and hide the Wi-Fi network, so it’s not accessed by unauthorized personnel. To hide the network, set up a wireless access point to prevent it from broadcasting the name of the network, also called the Service Set Identifier (SSID). Protect access to the router using a password.
Endnote
Many businesses downplay the threat of cybercriminals, arguing that they don’t have significant assets or that their data is not worth a security breach. However, cybercriminals target the weak networks of small businesses more than the heavily secured networks of large organizations. For this reason, it’s important to observe cybersecurity practices to ensure your business and clients are secured from cyber thieves. The above measures will help you tighten the data security of your organization, making it more difficult for hackers to breach your systems.
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