[BreachExchange] Security Strategies You Can Use to Protect Your Small Business from Cyber Attackers

[Audrey McNeil]

http://www.business2community.com/cybersecurity/security-
strategies-can-use-protect-small-business-cyber-attackers-01695094

As entrepreneurs; it’s easy to focus so much on the day to day running of
our businesses that we forget to protect ourselves from the online security
threats that would threaten to expose or target our most precious data. In
fact; it has been reported that some business owners even go as far as
thinking that since their business is small that they will be able to fly
under the radar and go unnoticed by hackers or other online attackers.

However, a lack of sufficient defense to thwart cyber breaches is why
hackers view small businesses as easy targets. Perhaps, this explains why
so many small business experience security breaches.

But what’s scary is that you don’t need to be a whiz kid to enter an
unprotected network. Especially, given that so many companies never bother
to replace default usernames and passwords with more secure login
information. So, no matter how small of a staff you employ, it’s always
prudent to protect your organization from online breaches. Here’s how to do
it.

Make sure your anti-virus software is up to date

Besides detecting numerous threats, an antivirus software also notifies
small business owners if a breach occurs. The software can also inform you
as to which steps you can take to ward off the attackers and minimize any
damage. However; it’s essential to understand that new viruses are
developed each day and some are well disguised and tough to pinpoint.
Therefore, small business owners should always ensure that the anti-virus
software they are using is up to date to keep your business safe. Small
business owners can enable the automatic anti-virus update feature so the
system can identify the latest or evolved viruses that pose a threat to
your systems and business in general.

Discuss cyber security protocols with your employees

Technology alone is not enough to make small businesses secure. The most
critical line of defense for cyber risk efforts usually lies with employees
especially when it comes to appropriate and responsible management and use
of the information they can access. Therefore, it’s imperative for
employees to be aware of potential risks and how they can deal with them.

Arming your staff with knowledge is the key to protecting your business
against cyber attacks. Since hackers use a host of tricks to attack or
cheat companies; your employees should be aware of the most common methods
employed by hackers to trick businesses but they should also know the
proper way to handle them. Staff awareness can be done through online
training, videos, and printed media.

All employees should undergo security awareness training and annual
refresher courses. Likewise, simple efforts such as urgent bulletins,
monthly newsletters, or posters in common areas can help remind employees
of important privacy and security issues and can go a long way towards
ensuring that your workforce that is well-versed in protecting your
business from online threats.

Do your homework and learn to speak the language of web security

Everyone who uses the internet should understand web security, at least to
some degree. Understanding web security will help you spot various exploits
and the best practices such as strong passwords. It’s essential to
understand the terminologies used, security vulnerabilities and how they
can be avoided by employing the best practices and using common security
tools to identify and repair vulnerabilities.

Invest in the right cyber security tools

Develop a multi-layered approach to help guard your business against
malicious software attackers. Despite the immense progress made in creating
awareness of internet security threats, malware developers are not giving
up. In fact, per a recent report by Sophos Labs; more than 100,000
different malicious software are developed every day. Hence, adequate
protection against malicious software including viruses and Trojans
requires a multilayered approach to your business defenses.

Although an antivirus software is a must, it should not be your only form
of defense. Instead, every small business should invest in a combination of
techniques to keep your business environment safe. It’s vital to be careful
with the use of removable media including thumb drives because they could
be pre-installed with malicious software that has the potential infect your
systems. As such, you should only use removable media devices from
trustable sources.

You can lower the risk of infection by combining the use of antivirus
signature protection, firewalls, web filtering, employee training, strong
security policies, and proactive malware protection. Keeping your operating
system up to date along with your applications and security software
increases the safety of business systems. Keeping your antivirus and web
protection software up to date, along with your operating system and other
applications enhances the security of your systems.

Avoid sending private information via Email

Email has become a highly critical part of everyday business, from direct
customer support to internal management. Although the benefits of email as
part of your core business duties outweigh its negatives, as a business
owner it’s crucial that you familiarize yourself with the principles of
email security; this will ensure the safety and privacy of any information
that you send by email.

Moreover, every small business owner should understand that emails
transmitted across the Internet are not protected, and they can be easily
intercepted and viewed by prying eyes. Therefore, it’s essential for
businesses to refrain from sending private or confidential information via
email.

Encrypt your data

Encryption is a vital data protection technology and is widely used to
protect communications and sensitive data from prying eyes. Nowadays,
encryption has become easy to use, highly effective and much more
affordable to those seeking to protect sensitive or confidential
information.

Encryption scrambles or encodes data, essentially making it unreadable and
unusable by individuals who lack the proper code or key to unlock the
information. It can be used to protect a single folder, an entire hard
drive, removable media or just a single document; this makes it highly
convenient for small businesses.

Be prepared, have a recovery plan

Back up your data and plan for data theft or loss. Backing up your data is
as critical as protecting it. In case your business data is erased
accidentally or stolen by hackers or thieves; you should at least have a
copy you can fall back on. You should have policies in place specifying
which data should be backed up, who should do it; how backups are stored,
how often they should be done, and who has access to them.

Small businesses have numerous affordable backup options including backing
up online automatically; so all your data is stored in a security data
center or simply backing up to external hard drives in your office.
Remember; any physical media used to backup data such as a drive or disk is
vulnerable no matter where they are stored. Therefore, your backup data
should be kept in a safe and secure location.

The bottom line is that no matter how small of a business you run you
should take proactive steps that you can take to protect your
organization’s sensitive data. And if you heed the information I’ve just
shared with you; your company should be well on its way to warding off
cyber-attacks.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.riskbasedsecurity.com/pipermail/breachexchange/attachments/20161107/a8d7334d/attachment.html>