3 Tips For Keeping Your Business Secure

 In the past, it was easy to protect a business. A good, strong lock on the door and all the money and sensitive documents kept in a hidden safe, and you were done. As times have changed, so too has the way that businesses protect themselves, and technology has played a big part in that change; first came alarm systems, then cameras, then the problem started to come from within rather than outside, and computer networks began to be the security risk. 

Today we have reached a point where, even though there are fewer physical offices with so many people running their businesses from home and having remote teams, there are more risks to a business’s security than ever. The technology we need to keep things running can be an open door to cybercriminals. 

So how can we protect our businesses when the threat is omnipresent? There are several different ways; read on to find out more. 

 

Image from Pixabay

Stop Malware

Malware is a piece of software that cybercriminals use to infiltrate a business’s network or even a single PC. Most of the time you won’t know it’s there; it can be downloaded by visiting certain websites or opening emails, for example. This malware then goes on to disrupt the data on the system, often sending back sensitive information to the cybercriminal who can use it to steal money or gain access to your customers’ details. 

To stop malware, you should install a good firewall. This in itself is not enough, but it’s a good start and is the ideal first line of defence against a piece of malware. A firewall is essentially just that – a wall – the blocks malicious software. Add anti-virus and anti-spam software, and you should be able to prevent most attacks. 

It’s also crucial that you teach your staff about malware and how it occurs so that they can be more aware of what they’re doing when using the internet or reading emails, for example. 

Know Your Customer 

Ensuring your customers have a digital ID is something that will help to protect your business and make it safer for everyone using it. Your digital ID is your internet history and your details all rolled into one, and by processing each digital ID (something you can set up on your site with the use of logins and ‘captcha’ clicks) you can be sure that the person who is browsing your site or who wants to buy from you actually is a person and isn’t some cybercriminal’s bot on a scouting mission. 

Although these bots are becoming more and more sophisticated, there is nothing that can give them an authentic digital ID, which is why looking for this will help you to determine who’s real and who isn’t. 

Protect With Passwords 

As simple as it sounds, ensuring that your business network – and anything else you do – is protected by a strong password really can make a difference. A cybercriminal isn’t going to waste their time trying to hack into your well-protected system when they can look elsewhere and find another business with a much weaker password (or no password at all) and hack into that instead. 

A good password might not keep the criminals out if they are truly intent on disrupting your specific business, but it’s an excellent deterrent if they’re just choosing you at random. Think of a password as a good alarm system; no burglar would run the risk of getting caught by trying to bypass such a system when they could go next door and slip in through the unlocked window.