Almost 43% of cybercrimes are directed at startup enterprises, but only 14% of these companies implement cybersecurity techniques. Without precautionary measures, small businesses are at risk of being victims of serious internet crimes resulting in data loss, information leakage, identity theft, online defacement, and even bankruptcy.
If you want to protect your enterprise from the wrath of cybercriminals, you have to enforce strict cybersecurity methods. To help you out, we rounded up five ways you can safeguard your business from potential cybercrime:
Employ Filtering Methods
Make use of email filtering services to prevent hackers from penetrating employees’ email accounts. Email filtering solutions prevent spam messages and suspicious emails from entering the user’s inbox, reducing the risks of cyberattacks. Depending on the needs of the company, these email filtering services can either be on-site or cloud-based. So choose one that is more suited to the industry you belong to.
To add another layer of protection, you should also install security extensions in your employees’ computers. These plug-ins prevent users from accidentally downloading viruses, installing malware, or visiting phishing sites. Since hackers make use of different schemes to access sensitive data, browser extensions are effective preventive measures for small companies. Avast Online Security, AdBlock Plus, and HTTPS are some of the most reliable web extensions you can integrate into your system.
Block Out Suspicious Connections
Set up firewalls on all your employees’ personal computers and electronic gadgets. A firewall system blocks unauthorized sources from connecting to your network. It provides a cloak of protection to all company devices as it prevents cybercriminals from accessing sensitive information.
Firewalls can also be used for regulation purposes. You can use this software to control social media platforms, streaming sites, and inappropriate websites, including sources of malware and viruses.
However, firewalls are not 100% safe from experienced hackers. That’s why it’s important to add another layer of protection through advanced network segmentation. This provides micro internal barriers, making it harder for cybercriminals to invade your company’s entire system. Network segmentation slows down the penetration; thus, giving you more time to perform necessary cybersecurity upgrades. Through this measure, you can limit or eliminate the chances of data tampering or information leakage. Network segmentation will help you fully safeguard all your online assets.
Incorporate Authentication Schemes
Almost 60% of small enterprises go bankrupt after experiencing cyber-attacks, so you must implement all the necessary cybersecurity practices in your company to avoid such a scenario. One way to ensure your data is protected is by using multi-factor authentication systems. To protect your business from data breaches, multi-factor authentication ensures that only authorized users can access certain applications and view sensitive company information. By using this authentication system, you get to monitor business activities and control who can retrieve, utilize, and view valuable data. If you want to be one step ahead of cybercriminals, this should be integrated into your system.
Strengthen Privacy Control
Utilize encryption when managing and sending sensitive information. Encryption is a method of transforming data into a secret code. This means it can only be accessed through a key or a password. Encryption provides a blanket of privacy for companies as it prevents unauthorized people from viewing private data. Data encryption can be incorporated into company computers and mobile devices, so every transaction is protected from hackers. Luckily, operating systems such as macOS and Windows have built-in encryption capabilities. But if you want to increase the security of your data, you can talk to IT providers on how you can strengthen your encryption mechanism.
Prioritize Information Dissemination
Employees should be aware of the cybercrimes and the best practices to avoid it. Often, the lack of cybersecurity knowledge is why companies are easily susceptible to malware, viruses, and data breach. Keep your staff informed about the cybersecurity policies in your company, as well as their responsibilities in preventing cyber-attacks. You should educate them on the fundamentals of internet security, such as reporting suspicious connections, backing up data, using web extensions, avoiding malicious links, and installing software updates. Host in-house training sessions and provide them monthly newsletters to keep them updated about the latest news and trends about cybersecurity. If you train your employees to become more cautious, proactive, and tech-savvy, you can remarkably reduce the chances of internet crimes within your company.
For small companies, protecting your online assets should be at the top of your list. It might eat up a great chunk of your budget and resources. Still, it will keep your company from experiencing financial losses, unwanted lawsuits, and other problems that may arise due to cyberhacking. Capitalize on technological advancements to make sure you’re protected from attacks on the World Wide Web.
