Security as a Service For All Businesses

10 Cybersecurity Tips for Small Businesses

Over the past several years, there has been a significant increase in the frequency as well as the severity of data breaches. In 2018, ransomware attacks increased by 350%, spoofing increased by 250%, and spear-phishing increased by 70% overall. Furthermore, the average total cost of a data breach for an individual company increased from $3.62 to $3.86 million, an increase of 6.4%.

Given the grim figures above, it is imperative that cybersecurity measures are in initiated in your business to ensure the integrity of your computer network and avoid becoming an additional statistic. There are various cybersecurity measures that you can initiate to secure your network, depending on the nature of your business. Discussed below are ten of the most common cybersecurity measures that you can adopt to protect your business network.

1. Ensure that your website has an SSL certificate

SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer and allows your website to securely transmit as well as receive information. With an SSL certificate, all messages to and from your website are encrypted making them immune to compromise. Once you have an SSL certificate installed, your application protocol changes from HTTP to HTTPS.

2. Update your devices with the latest Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware

All devices connected to your network should have both anti-virus and anti-malware installed so that they can quickly detect and neutralize threats. Ensure that these devices are regularly updated with the most current version of anti-virus and anti-malware.

3. Establish a password policy

You should establish a password policy dictating the password standards all users within your network should adhere to. Passwords should be difficult to guess, changed on a regular basis and should not be shared among other users or other websites.

4. Employ multi-factor authentication

Multifactor authentication (MFA) is the use of more than one method to authenticate users requesting access to your network. Though they are many variants, typically with MFA the user enters his or her password into the login page, which then triggers a code sent to a secondary device, such as a cell phone. This code then has to be entered before network access is granted.

5. Have a data backup strategy

All your data, especially mission-critical data, should be backed up regularly and frequently to a secondary data storage site. This ensures that you can restore your data and resume normal business operations in the event that your primary data is compromised.

6. Establish an identity and access management strategy

Identity and access management (IAM) refers to the guidelines dictating which users are granted access to your network as well as what parts of your network they are allowed to access. The principle of least privilege should be used when granting access; users should be granted the minimum rights necessary for them to do their job.

7. Engage the services of a managed services provider

If technology is not your core business, you should consider outsourcing your business cybersecurity needs to a managed security service provider. These third party providers take over the responsibility of securing your network, freeing you from that responsibility.

8. Monitor for phishing emails

Train your employees how to recognize fraudulent phishing emails, as well as not to click on links within the email. Develop an avenue for your employees to report any suspected phishing emails to your IT team.

9. Have a network firewall

A network firewall is a program that controls the type of data that can enter or exit your network. Ensure that all access points to your network have a firewall set up to safeguard them.

10. Secure your Wi-Fi

Ensure that your Wi-Fi is encrypted and password protected. Set up your wireless access point or router not to broadcast your Wi-Fi name so that it stays hidden from the public view.

At NewCloud Networks, we know how important it is to keep your business network secure. We are familiar with all the cybersecurity best practices that serve to keep networks secure. Contact us today for more information about our Security-as-a-Service offering.