Online businesses suffer detrimental consequences and significant business loss as a result of lacking cybersecurity measures. In this article, we’ve compiled a list of simple but effective steps you can take to safeguard your business.
By following these tips, you can protect your company against a variety of cyber threats. So if you want to ensure the security of your business, keep reading to learn more about these critical measures. In a digital age, these steps should make your business more robust against online risks.
1-) Install antivirus software
Although it sounds obsolete at first, malware is still threatening businesses and individual users. The good thing is installing antivirus software is now more affordable and easier than ever.
The primary function of anti-virus software is to detect and eliminate malware, which is a type of malicious software that is designed to infiltrate and cause harm to devices. The consequences of malware can be drastic; including data theft, broken devices, and downtime. Every online business should have an anti-virus on all their devices.
2-) Use multi-factor authentication
Passwords are now a significant liability and can be easily stolen. Even if you are using password managers and enforcing strong password policies, it is never a good idea to rely on passwords as the only way to authenticate users.
There is a more modern and effective way to do that; multi-factor authentication. MFA provides additional levels of security by verifying users with multiple methods including biometrics, app verification, or a single-time code sent to their mobile devices.
3-) Educate employees on cybersecurity
Employees are always the first ones to be targeted by cybercriminals, and naturally also the first line of defense. One of the simplest yet crucial steps to protect your business is to educate your team members on cybersecurity.
In order to prevent common threats such as phishing attacks, unauthorized access, and malware; your employees need to understand the security policies of your company. Knowing their boundaries when connected to the corporate network and being aware of the risks of public internet will make your business more robust.
4-) Implement Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)
SASE is a security framework that converges network security and network connectivity. It provides both on a single platform using SD-WAN and security solutions such as Zero Trust security and CASB. SASE offers edge-to-edge security and is able to protect networks even when users are connected remotely.
By managing network connection and security from a single platform, IT security teams gain increased visibility and control. Secure Access Service Edge can be acquired without any hardware and from cloud-based cybersecurity vendors. For a maintenance-free, affordable, and comprehensive way to ensure network security, you can check NordLayer SASE solutions.
5-) Install Secure Socket Layer (SSL)
Today, one of the easiest and the most effective ways to increase security on businesses is installing SSL certificate. Since valuable information is at risk when transmitted between the server and the client, encrypting such information becomes critical.
SSL secures the connection between these parties and encrypts all the communication. Getting an SSL certificate is as simple as getting it from an online provider. If you are still operating your website on HTTP (without SSL), consider getting this certificate as soon as possible.
6-) Backup your data frequently
In the case of a successful ransomware attack, your choices are either experiencing downtime or paying the ransom requested by the attacker, that is if you do not backup your data.
Backing up all your resources will enable you to remove the ransomware completely without causing any data loss since you will have the ability to retrieve them from your backup. This simple measure can be a life saver and prevent potential ransomware threats.
7-) Update OS and software
Updating the software and the operating system you use can protect you from cyberattacks. Since these are provided by third-parties, they conduct regular security checks, fix vulnerabilities, and send updates to their users.
If you are falling behind on these updates, the software you use is probably still vulnerable to known threats. Make sure to update them on a regular basis, and remind all end-users accessing your network.
😎 Restrict user access
Your employees need to have certain roles and should be limited on what information they can access. Since they all have different tasks, providing access to the whole network is unnecessary, and significantly dangerous.
Setting up certain roles and access permissions will prevent internal security threats and keep the data cleaner. If a user doesn’t need a piece of data on a daily basis, they shouldn’t have the privilege to have access to it.
9-) Use devices for work only
Although you may have strict policies, using the same device for work and personal use poses unprecedented risks. Even if you are a remote-only team, you need to make sure that employees are using their devices for work only, and provide these devices yourself. This measure decreases the risk of compromised devices which threatens your network.
10-) Implement firewalls
Firewall is a well-known and proven method to ensure security on private networks. They act as a security guard between the incoming and outgoing traffic, and block any unfriendly sources. Firewalls protect your network around the clock and keep it clean by creating a “wall” between malicious traffic and your resources.
