10 Ways to Protect Your Business Against Cyber Crime
With so many businesses operating both online and remotely, quality cyber security is more important than ever. Hackers are constantly looking for new ways to steal money, personal information, and intellectual property. They use malware, phishing scams, and other methods to gain access to business computers and networks.
Here are our recommended ways to keep your company data, network, and your team safe from cyber crime.
1. Keep your software and systems up to date
To stop attackers from gaining access to your business network by exploiting known vulnerabilities, upgrade and patch applications and operating systems frequently and promptly.
2. Back up your data regularly and automatically
Backups are one of the most cost-effective ways to ensure that your data can be recovered if it's lost, leaked, or stolen. It's important to use multiple backup types and locations, and to perform routine testing to verify everything is working as it should and can be restored when needed.
3. Invest in cyber security staff awareness training
Your team are the first line of cyber security defence, so it’s imperative to provide them with continuous quality security awareness training. It’s crucial to train your staff to recognise and avoid cyber threats like ubiquitous phishing emails, and help them to make the right security decisions at all times.
4. Apply enhanced password policies
Require long, strong, and unique passwords for all accounts and systems to defend your business against hackers and malicious software. Passphrases are the most effective way to create secure passwords which are easy to remember but hard to crack. Use a password manager to make it simpler for your team to generate and store complex and secure passwords.
5. Enforce multi-factor authentication
Protect your organisation with the use of multi-factor authentication (MFA), which requires two or more factors to verify a user's identity and grant access to their account. This adds another layer of security against account compromise breaches such as phishing, spear phishing, keyloggers, credential stuffing, and brute force cyber-attacks.
6. Secure your email
Spam filters are designed to identify dangerous emails from attackers and cyber threats like viruses, ransomware, and phishing scams. Safeguard your business emails with a spam and email filtering solution that can scan encrypted text and attachments for hidden threats, and stop malicious messages before they reach your network.
7. Set up logs
Logs record all the actions people take on your server or network, and can help you to detect when a security incident has occurred, and prevent it from recurring. Set up alerts for unusual events - such as multiple failed logons or unusual user geo-location - as these notifications can alert you to an attacker in your network, and help to stop an incident from continuing.
8. Secure your devices and your network
Advanced endpoint security software defends against file-less and script-based threats, and can even rollback a ransomware attack. Protect your data by enabling endpoint security on any device that accesses your data or systems - including both company-owned and BYOD devices.
Configure network devices such as firewalls and web proxies to secure and control connections in and out of your business network. Implement network segmentation to break your network down into smaller networks, allowing you to set more granular security controls around critical systems or data.
9. Follow an asset management lifecycle
Monitor business assets throughout their life, including purchase, development, maintenance, and disposal. It's important to track assets that are connected and running in your network, and to remove sensitive information and access from any devices or software that are no longer in use.
10. Plan for the worst-case scenario
Create an effective Business Continuity Plan that prepares your business to get back up and running quickly after a cyber security incident or disaster occurs. Perform annual security reviews and disaster recovery testing, and protect your business and finances with cyber insurance, business continuity, and income protection insurance.
Need help? Want more info? Talk to Swerve today about managed cyber security solutions for your business.
Just call +64 9 914 3560 or email it.help@swerve.nz.
