Small Business Owners Should Strengthen Their Cyber Security (Here are Ways to Do It)

Small business owners should be wary because they make the most enticing targets for hackers. This is because most small business owners think they’re not worth being attacked, but according to government data, about half of small businesses experience a form of cyber attack at least once and approximately half of small businesses that are cyber-attacked go out of business within six months.

It’s imperative that small businesses build up or invest in good cybersecurity in order to be better prepared for cyber attacks. This becomes necessary with discovery of the security flaws that have been dubbed Spectre and Meltdown towards the end of 2017. It may only be a matter of time before hackers begin exploiting these flaws for cyberattack purposes.

Train employees

Create a cybersecurity policy for your business and make sure your employees fully participate and understand that, should the business fall, they fall as well. It should contain cybersecurity best practices that you expect employees to follow, such as not clicking on suspicious emails and links. Include procedures for keeping employee, vendor, and customer information safe. Have employees create strong, unique passwords for each account. They should have a password for every desktop and mobile device they use, along with strong passwords for business accounts.

Whenever you can, have your employees set up two-factor authentication. This requires a two-step sign-in process that adds another layer of security to accounts. Employees will need access to another device or code to complete the sign-in process.

Make sure automatic updates are set

You should regularly update your computers, including desktops, laptops, and mobile devices, by simply turning on the automatic update settings. Make sure your operating systems and web browsers are up to date to protect against the latest threats. Manually check all devices if they are receiving all the latest security patches to fight the Spectre and Meltdown cyber-threats. If your employees use mobile devices for work, make sure they use updated apps, including a security app.

Create backups

Regularly back up all important business information on computers. If the information is stolen or goes missing, you should have another copy somewhere else. All important information should have a copy such as having copies stored in the cloud, on CD’s, or external drives.

Limit access

Unauthorized people should never have access to company computers and accounts. Even a well-known, trusted person shouldn’t be allowed to access computers and information that they are normally unauthorized to use. For example, you should never allow a customer borrow a company laptop to look something up, no matter how close they are.

Secure the business Wi-Fi

Your business Wi-Fi can be an easy way to hack into data to steal anything, including money. Secure your Wi-Fi so only employees can access it. If possible, set up the Wi-Fi in a way that prevents employees from knowing the password. If you want an open Wi-Fi for customers to use, set up a separate network. Customers should not have the same Wi-Fi access as employees. This will help prevent unwanted people from being able to access into the business files.