While you might think that your small business is too small to be on the radar of cybercriminals, you should think again. Small and mid-sized businesses are very appealing targets for cybercrime because they are less likely to have robust tech infrastructure in place. They are also more likely to have less awareness of common phishing schemes that could put them at risk. It’s critical to work with an experienced provider of small business cybersecurity services like Nauticon. We know how to help design the right security infrastructure for businesses of every size, and we can audit your existing measures to help guide your decisions moving forward. How can you do an even better job protecting your business?
8 Best Practices for Small Business Cybersecurity
- Use a Firewall: A firewall is a great first defense against an attack on your network. All small businesses should have a firewall in place to offer a certain amount of protection between the data that they use and the greater internet. Other than the external firewall, it can also be useful to have an internal firewall for even more protection. If you have employees who work remotely, they should also have a home firewall on their own network. If you aren’t sure how to properly implement a home firewall for each of your employees, we are happy to help.
- Keep Track of Your Policies: How many of your small business cybersecurity policies do you have formally written down? Nauticon can help you create formalized policies that explain all of the aspects of your cybersecurity planning and contain information about other important things, like what to do in the event that an employee receives a phishing email or suspects that their information was compromised. It’s always best to plan ahead instead of allowing something to catch you or your employees off guard.
- Educate and Train Your Employees: One of the mistakes that many businesses make is extending cybersecurity training to only some employees. However, in today’s world, every employee comes into contact with your network over the course of the day. Make sure that all of your employees understand your policies and best practices. You should also ensure that, if necessary, they have additional software courtesy of your business to protect them. Once you complete training and review policies with your employees, you should take the time to have them sign a document that shows they are informed and understand the consequences of deliberately not following one of the policies outlined.
- Don’t Forget About Mobile Devices: If your business only has plans for tablets and laptops connected to your network, you are leaving a broad variety of devices out. Every company needs to have a formal bring your own device policy explaining any rules about connecting devices like smartphones and smart watches to the network. These devices can be potential windows into your network, so it’s important that employees understand their obligation. Make sure that employees install automatic security updates and that all mobile devices connecting to your network also have passwords that align with your password policy.
- Have Password Rules: Did you know that almost 65% of data breaches every year occur due to lost, stolen or weak passwords? A whopping 65% of small businesses with formal password policies also fail to enforce them. You must ensure that you have a strict password policy and that you have a way to automatically enforce it. We can help you to create a mechanism so that employees change their passwords every 60 to 90 days and use passwords that follow a number of secure rules, like having a mix of upper case and lower case letters and using symbols.
- Back Up Your Data: Back-ups often mean the difference between needing to lose files or pay a ransom in the event that hackers enter your network. You should have multiple back-ups of all critical pieces on your network including things like spreadsheets, word processing documents, databases, HR files, financial files, accounting files and more. We can help you to determine the right way to protect your files and keep back-ups easily accessible. Ideally, your back-ups will be stored in another location so that, if your location is physically compromised, you will still be able to gain access to them.
- Have the Right Software: While anti-malware software is not completely foolproof, it’s a great first step to protect your system. Anti-malware software is a good way to prevent bad actors from accessing your network and identify things like phishing emails before your employees ever have the chance to open them.
- Use Two-Factor Authentication: This option should always be turned on when possible, even if it adds an extra minute when employees are logging into programs like email. Multi-factor identification is an option on many pieces of software and social media platforms including Gmail, Facebook and more. In general, it’s a good idea to use employee cell phones as the second step, since the odds are very low that the hacker or a thief would have access to both the employee’s pin to enter their phone and the password. Taking small steps like this is a great way to secure your network and avoid the small business cybersecurity issues that plague many different businesses just like yours.
We Help You With Security for Your Printers and Your Network
Nauticon is a leading provider of managed services, workflow solutions and other office technology solutions that can transform your workspace. If you are looking for a better way to meet your office’s needs, we are here to help. To learn more about our company and see how we can bring innovative, real-world solutions for your office’s needs to you, contact us today by calling (301) 279-0123.