According to Lowell C. McAdam, the CEO of Verizon, it’s only a matter of time when your business is going to get hacked. Data breaches pose a serious threat to organizations worldwide, and no target is too small or too big for cybercriminals. Still, there are measures you could take to become a less attractive, better-protected target. Let’s have a look at our eight tips to protect your business’ data from hackers:
Any critical or sensitive company data should be encrypted to make it more difficult for the hackers to use. Even if your data gets stolen, encryption will ensure that hackers won’t be able to do much with it.
Your employees are likely taking their job home as well – and possibly working away from the safety of your work network. The devices they use should be as secure as possible, and they’ll need to avoid open public networks to minimize cybersecurity risks.
Since your employees are the ones handling company and customer data, it’s vital that they’re aware of the best practices of data protection. As cybersecurity threats evolve and become more difficult to spot, employees will need constant education to stay up to date.
Have a professional come in and do a full security audit. Assess your entire IT infrastructure to find the weaknesses in your system, and work on a strategy that will minimize them. You can’t know how to protect your data if you don’t even know what you’re storing and where.
A security policy will ensure your employees have a defined framework to work within. It’s essential for every single employee to stick to your organization’s security rules since that will help keep cybersecurity threats at bay.
Passwords are the first line of defense against hackers, so they need to be as secure as possible. You should change them regularly because even a strong password will not keep hackers away forever. Constant password and username changing is not exactly a joy to do, especially organization-wide, but it’s well worth the effort.
There are plenty of security solutions you can use to both eliminate the possibility of human error and discourage hackers from trying to break in. Since 4 of the 5 top causes of data breaches are the result of human error, it’s crucial to eliminate at least some of the threats before they reach your employees. Firewall, malware and phishing protection, antiviruses – all help keep your business’ data safe.
Limiting your employees’ online access by blocking certain sites lowers the risk of data breaches, viruses, and spyware. Of course, education and software security solutions help as well, but when you limit your employees’ online access, you can be sure that they’re not doing anything they shouldn’t.
It’s imperative to protect your data from hackers since data breaches are costly in more ways than one. By implementing these tips, you’re making sure that your business is safer than ever and that you’re taking all the necessary precautions.
The Landy Agency is a national leader in providing non-medical, professional liability and cybercrime insurance for accountants, attorneys, and real estate professionals. John can be reached at 781‐292‐5417 or johnt@landy.com. Visit www.landy.com for more information.
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