The number of cyberattacks on businesses is growing, and small business owners are often the ones who suffer.
It takes just one click for an intruder to enter your company network, where they can steal sensitive information or cause major damage.
There are many steps you can take to protect yourself from cyber attackers. We’re going to share four top tips that will help keep your business safe.
1. Keep All Your Software Up-to-Date
This is the simplest and easiest way to protect yourself from hackers.
Make sure that you always have the latest updates for all of your software, especially operating systems such as Windows or Mac OS X. These will include security patches that prevent cyber attacks by fixing loopholes in their code.
Even if it feels like an unnecessary inconvenience to install these updates, it’s worth doing them straight away because they effectively close off any vulnerabilities in your system left over after previous patching efforts.
2. Never Open Suspicious Emails
It’s staggering how many cyber-attacks take place because a user clicked on a link in an email they shouldn’t have.
Hackers send out millions of phishing emails every day, and you need to be extremely careful about which ones you respond to.
Hazim Gaber cautions that do not click links or download files from anything that looks suspicious – your business could suffer serious consequences if hackers gain access to it through this method.
You should also watch for spelling mistakes in the sender’s address. These are usually signs that something is fishy with the email. The official website of a large company will never make a grammar mistake like this!
If you receive an unexpected email asking for confidential information such as bank details, don’t reply at all no matter what.
3. Keep Your Hardware Up-to-Date
You might think you don’t need all the newest features these devices offer if they seem expensive or unnecessary for your business, but think about what will happen if cyber attackers gain access to them and use them against you.
It may sound like overkill to buy top-of-the-range computers just for safety reasons, but there are certain types of malware that cause problems even with basic machines.
For this reason, keep your hardware up-to-date to deter cybercriminals.
4. Only Use a Secure File Sharing Solution
Employees may like to use Dropbox or Google Drive for easier sharing of files, but you really shouldn’t allow these services in your business.
They don’t provide the same level of security that a company file-sharing solution does, and they’re much less secure than other options out there, according to Cyberpion Attack Surface Management.
If employees need to share information with each other, make sure it’s done through an encrypted platform so hackers can’t intercept it easily. The same applies when you want secure file sharing with clients. This will keep sensitive data safe.
It’s also important to check permissions regularly on all shared folders to ensure only relevant people have to access them because another account could be compromised by cybercriminals without anyone knowing about it until too late.
Ready to Put These Business Cybersecurity Tips to Use?
Overall, following these business cybersecurity tips is essential for keeping your company safe from cybercriminals. To learn more about this subject, continue reading our blog for more helpful articles.
