Businesses in the United States lose millions of dollars each year to cyber-attacks. The criminals who attack these businesses are usually after sensitive data. If this information is obtained by a hacker, they can sell it to other criminals. This can ruin your business, which is why you have to focus on keeping your business and your customers protected from cyber-criminals.
Some business owners think that cyber-attacks are a problem that will never happen to them. Statistically speaking, the chances of your business getting hacked are a lot higher than you probably think. Rather than waiting until the sensitive information on your network is compromised to act, it is time to do something now. Here are some things you can do to protect your business from cyber-criminals.
Work on Educating Your Employees
One of the biggest mistakes that business owners make when it comes to securing the sensitive information in their possession is failing to educate their employees. Some business owners fail to realize how vulnerable they are with a team of misinformed employees. If your employees don’t know basic information like the network router IP address or knowledge of common online scams, they are bound to make mistakes. This is why you have to make sure your team members know what they are up against.
If you are unsure about how to provide your team with training on things like phishing scams or the importance of password security, then reaching out to professionals is your best course of action. IT professionals will have no problem providing you and your employees with a crash course on cyber-security. By providing this education to your employees, you can keep your network safe and secure for the foreseeable future.
Restrict Access to Sensitive Information
If you want to get a true assessment of how effective your existing network security is, then allowing an IT professional to perform an audit is important. One of the main things these professionals will assess during this audit is who has access to sensitive information. If you are allowing every employee to access this information, it can create an unsafe network environment. This is why you will need to figure out ways to restrict this access.
The best way to do this is by protecting these documents with passwords and encryption. If you are working with an IT professional, they can help you put these protections in place. They can also monitor your network in an attempt to stay one step ahead of cyber-criminals.
Create a Password Policy
When accessing your business network, employees will have to put in their username and password combination. The worst thing you can do when it comes to these passwords is allowing employees to keep the same one for months and months. The longer a person has the same password in place, the easier it will be for hackers to figure it out. Rather than leaving this up to chance, you need to create a comprehensive password policy for your employees to follow.
This policy should dictate when passwords should be changed and what criteria employees should follow when coming up with new passwords. By laying this policy out in writing, you can avoid misunderstandings. You also need to include information about the disciplinary actions that will be taken if an employee doesn’t comply with this policy.
Invest in Network Security Software
Another important factor to consider when trying to keep sensitive information safe is implementing security software solutions. Modern security software can help you put a hedge of digital protection between you and cyber-criminals. Finding and implementing these solutions is much easier when employing IT professionals. They can help you choose the right software solutions and will continuously monitor them to ensure they are effective and reliable.
While securing your business network is difficult, it is worth the aggravation and effort you invest. By viewing cyber-security as a priority, you can avoid having your network infiltrated.
