While security
breaches within larger and more well-known businesses might be the ones that
tend to make the headlines more often, the truth is that no business is safe
from hackers and cybercriminals in the digital age. And contrary to popular
belief, small businesses are often the most attractive targets for these
hackers due to the fact that even though they may carry smaller amounts of data
compared to the bigger companies, they do not often have the stringent security
measures in place and are usually much easier to intercept. Because of this, if
you run or are thinking of starting a small business, it would be a mistake to
ignore cybersecurity concerns. Here are some of the main things to consider
before you outsource cybersecurity to an IT support company.
Choosing the Right Professionals
First of all, it’s
important to spend some time searching for the right IT professionals to hand the huge responsibility of business
cybersecurity over to. You will likely be trusting these professionals with
access to your secure business networks and perhaps even your customer data, so
it’s important to go with a company that is reputable, trustworthy, and has a
good track record of working successfully with businesses like yours. Check how
much experience they have in cybersecurity and consider if they are experienced
in working with businesses in your industry or with any other requirements that
you might have, such as employees who work from home.
Workplace Security Measures
Outsourcing your
cybersecurity doesn’t mean that you have nothing to worry about. While the bulk
of the work of protecting your business will be taken care of, there is always
going to be a continued risk. Because of this, it’s important to put strong
security measures in place in your workplace including rules that all employees
need to follow to promote a culture of safety and
security. Insist on
strong passwords, limit sharing devices and only allow a select few trusted
people to access secure information such as customer data when it is needed.
Your Business Cybersecurity Policies
Making sure that
security measures are adhered to in your company will often involve drawing up
cybersecurity policies to provide guidelines for employees. For example, you
might put policies in place regarding the creation of passwords, using company
devices at home, or how to report a suspected attack.
Employee Education
Human error is still
one of the biggest reasons behind many cyberattacks today. No matter how
careful somebody thinks they are, it is easy for anybody to be fooled by an
email that looks like it is legitimate, for example. To keep your business
safe, one of the most important things to do is to make sure that your employees are
educated in
cybersecurity. Provide regular refresher training regarding the most common
attacks, how to respond, and more. Regular testing can also help to keep
employees on the ball.
Today, small
businesses are a hacker’s biggest target. No matter what kind of business you
run, there’s a lot to think about when it comes to staying safe from
cybercrime.
