One of the worst things that can happen to your business is getting hit by a cyber attack. A cyber attack is essentially a person or other nefarious organization breaking into your digital infrastructure. Hacking can come in the form of someone breaking into your server and stealing everything, or even breaking into your bank account. Cyber attacks are a massive problem in our industry, and we must take every precaution to make sure that they are minimized.
It can destroy your business in one fell swoop. One major thing that can happen is cybercriminals can steal intellectual property. There are steps every business must take to make sure that the threat of cyber attack is minimized. Here are six ways to safeguard your business from cyber-attacks.
- Different Passwords
The first step is every computer system should have different passwords that are very strong. In general, companies often keep bad passwords. That is, the password is easy to guess, and most people could guess given a few tries. When that happens, a criminal is inside the computer system without doing a lot of work. Security is all about layers. The more you have, the harder it will be for someone to get into your system.
You want to keep the price of getting into your system so high that no one will spend the time & effort needed to achieve that goal. Your password is the first layer of defense you have against cyber-criminals. Using different passwords will help you immensely as one website getting hacked could cause your password to be leaked out. If you are someone who keeps one password for everything, then this is not ideal.
- Keep Software Up to Date
After you have updated your password and use a password manager, the next step is to make sure that all your software is up-to-date. For people running a Linux distribution, it is as easy as going into your manager and typing a few commands. You will be able to keep your distribution up-to-date and secure.
A lot of the software hacking that goes on is exploiting software that hasn’t been updated in months. There are usually exploits posted online, and hackers can easily see them and create scripts to take advantage of these vulnerabilities.
- Secure Your Networked Applications
Another avenue of attack that you can safeguard against is with your network programs. Making sure your networked programs on susceptible to attacks is important. These programs usually access the Internet through open ports, and these can be exploited. Closing unused ports and making sure your programs aren’t making bad connections can help you in the long term.
- Watch Out for Phishing and Social Engineering
You would be surprised how easy it is to exploit your business using social engineering. Social engineering involves exploiting vulnerabilities in the way people think to get them to do something they wouldn’t otherwise do.
- Backup Your Data
Attacks can lose data, and this is why it is essential for you to always keep backups of everything. This way if a hacker can penetrate your system, you can restore everything from your backups. This is a secondary line of defense against attacks.
- Get Insurance
There is a good thing for you to understand when it comes to insurance. Cyber insurance reduces risk, and it allows you to operate your business without having to worry about what happens if you get hacked. Getting good insurance will help you sleep better at night.
Business Safety
It is important to keep your business safe since almost everything could be destroyed. Protecting your business from cyberattacks will help you in the long term.
About the Author
Laura Graham
Laura Graham is a Sydney-based food & wine lover and is constantly trying to satisfy her travel bug. She would like to impart her knowledge and share her insights on culinary and travel experiences.