You have ventured out to achieve your dream of owning your own business. Unfortunately, there are criminals who aim to take what you have worked so hard for. These criminals aren’t what they used to be, they aren’t standing at your door, but likely anonymous and entering your business from a remote location. It can happen to anyone and this is why it’s important you have a cybersecurity plan for your business. If you are new to the cybersecurity realm, start with this simplified plan in order to protect your business.
1. Analyze Your Risks
It’s hard to know where you’re going if you don’t know where you are. You have a business to run and a hundred decisions that need to be made everyday. Either partner with a cybersecurity expert to analyze risks you currently have or educate yourself on the potential security pitfalls many business owners fall victim to.
2. Establish Security Protocols
Once you know where you are vulnerable, you have a better idea of what needs to change. Just as you have a list of protocols for the daily running of your business, so should you have a list of the best security practices your business will implement.
3. Limit Physical Access
The more hardware you have exposed, the more at risk you are for theft, employee misuse and hacking. This will help you to protect private business information and client data. Keep the hardware you have to the minimum and put physical locks on any vulnerable devices.
4. Train Employees
Your cybersecurity is only as strong as your employees. Unfortunately, they are often unintentionally the cause of security breaches. It could be from clicking on suspicious links or opening an email from an unknown source. It can happen quickly and to anyone, especially if they are not educated on cyber protection.
5. Backup Data
Some criminals may hold your data hostage unless you pay them. This is called ransomware and is one of the many reasons why it’s important to backup your data. The average cost of a cybersecurity breach for a small business is $34,000. Preemptively avoid this in order to avoid being included in this number.
6. Build a Wall of Protection
Cyber criminals will do anything they can to breach your business. Some options would be to invest in anti-virus, firewall, anti-malware and encryption software. Keeping these protection systems up to date will do wonders in keeping your business protected.
Utilize this cybersecurity plan to keep your small business safe. Did you know we offer tons of secure banking products for your business? Visit our site for more info!
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