For SMEs, it has never been more important to reinforce your business’ cyber security measures.
As the world becomes more and more reliant on technology, so too do the methods of cybercriminals become more sophisticated. Whether it’s a malware attack, an SQL injection or just plain human error, modern businesses need to stay alert and prepared to protect their assets and defend their systems.
So far so good, but how does an SME go about ensuring that their cyber security defences are up to scratch? In this blog, we’re going to look at 5 simple ways you can get your cyber security measures shipshape to repel cyber-attacks.
Sharpen up your passwords
Seems simple, doesn’t it? We all know that good passwords make it all the more difficult for criminals to break into your systems – but there’s more to it than just adding a number, a character and calling it a day.
In a business, strong password policies have to be implemented at the top down to ensure that there are no weak links. Ask your IT team to add prompts every month to nudge people into changing their password, ensure password-sharing is strictly forbidden and make it a requirement that all passwords must be a certain length, with a mix of special characters, numbers, lower and upper-case letters.
Getting your data backed up
When cyber-criminals target a business, the first thing many of them will be after is your data. Whether to lock it down and sell it back to you for a ransom, or to sell it on to other parties, your data is often their number one goal. That’s why it’s key to ensure your data is regularly backed up.
Doing a back-up right, is crucial. Remember to always keep your backup away from your operational computer, away from your staff and away from cyber-criminals. Store it on another machine, a USB stick, or even on a cloud storage solution – cloud storage is especially handy. This is because your data will back up automatically over the course of a day, and with so many providers on the market currently, it is much more affordable today than it has been in the past.
Train your employees
A solid percentage of all successful cyber-attacks happen because a haphazard colleague clicks the wrong link, shares a password or unintentionally opens the backdoor to a cyber-criminal. All too often, this is simply caused by a lack of understanding on the employee’s behalf.
The obvious answer to this is training. Educating your employees on the importance of cyber-security is crucial to preventing human error, causing a major headache for your SME. Teach the protocols that are in place, make them aware of the most common kinds of cyber-attack and importantly, show them the possible ramifications that they can cause by being careless.
Put anti-virus software in place
Again, this might seem like an obvious point, but it’s hard to understate just how essential it is to get proven antivirus software installed on your devices. Too often we see businesses come under attack because either the antivirus software just isn’t there, or worse yet, it isn’t turned on.
Anti-virus software plays such a vital role in your cyber-security defences that it’s always a smart move to go for the best, whatever the cost, and not take any chances. Once it’s set up, be sure to enable updates and turn on your firewall – between these two operating at their full capacity, you’ll have instant basic protection from any, would-be cyber criminals, with an eye on your digital presence.
Talk to the experts
No one knows cyber-security quite like the experts. Professional cyber-security firms (like CSP) have access to the latest and best technology and industry insights, to provide you with the highest level of protection possible for your business.
These cyber-security specialists can provide a range of services designed to make your cyber defences watertight, including things like; security audits, cloud enablement, employee awareness training and much more. All of which are informed by state-of-the-art developments in the cyber-security sector. In almost every case, it’s better to trust the professionals to reinforce your systems and networks.
If you’re looking for ways to jumpstart your SME’s cyber-security measures, we can help! At CSP, we’ve brought together a dedicated team of cyber-security specialists who provide a set of tried-and-tested services, to help businesses like yours stay safe online.
Level up your cyber-security defences by sending us an email at info@csp.partners.