The concept of cybersecurity is generally associated with absolutely massive corporations that typically have whole IT departments for the express purpose of protecting their IT environment. Add to that the fact that they have to make sure that the highly confidential data at their disposal such as credit card numbers and other critically important personal information of literally millions of customers are taken into account.
Here, it is very important to realize that such cyber threats are really not exclusive to big businesses alone. On the contrary, various small businesses that are also successfully using much the same technology are now unfortunately just as vulnerable to different system infiltrations. This means that they are now also placing proprietary information, their customer data, and many other important cyber assets in dire jeopardy. With the only difference being that they do not have the resources to undertake the kind of sweeping anti-hacking measures that their large corporation counterparts can do so, with ease.
However, it is not always doom and gloom for them since there are a few measures that they can take in order to ensure that their data remains as safe and secure as ever before. Let us take a quick look at these measures that require few resources, but a lot of common sense.
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Keep your Employees both Informed and Updated
The age-old adage “forewarned is forearmed’ hold as true today as it has ever done before, at any time in history. You should do well to remember that all it takes is one of your employees to say the wrong thing to the wrong person or open the wrong attachment and you are pretty much done for. That is, your whole system can easily be compromised.
As a matter of fact, the staff member can fall for what is colloquially referred to as a ‘phishing scheme.’ If your employees use an ‘easy to guess’ password, then this can easily result in your data being compromised, in the long run.
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Rotate All of Your Passwords on a Periodic Basis
This may seem like a really simple step, but unfortunately, it is one that many, if not most small businesses tend to often miss. Remember, the longer you use the same password in the same organization, the easier it will be for outsiders to break through into your network. However, changing passwords on a periodic basis can help put a stop to this otherwise egregious practice. In fact, Experts in Cybersecurity Virginia also highly recommend this practice.
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Secure Your Wi-Fi Network
Having a fully functional Wi-Fi is a pretty obvious work necessity, but, you have to make sure that your network is as secure as it is possible. If you are using an open or unsecured network, then you should do well to remember that the same can be easily accessed by just about anyone and everyone. If the hacker is determined enough, he will be able to easily gain wide-ranging access to your LAN based shared files, emails, and just about any other sort of transmitted information.
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Always Create Backups
Since cyber attacks are an unfortunate reality of our times, it is always prudent to opt for backups on a regular basis. This way, should the information be either stolen or in case it goes missing then you will be able to recover all the important work, easily enough. Furthermore, backups should be created at multiple places to ensure maximum security.
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Always Install Highly Reliable Anti-Virus Software
Under no circumstances should you ever be stingy with your cyber security related software programs. That is, there is virtually no point in relying on free software downloads to protect your otherwise highly critical data. As a matter of fact, not only you should you go for the best anti-hacking as well as anti-virus software? Also, make sure that they are kept as up to date, as possible.
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Conclusion
In the light of the above, we can see that any small business can protect their confidential data, with a bit of foresight and common sense.