Cybersecurity is a huge need for businesses of all shapes and sizes. But it’s not just big, enterprise-level businesses that are at threat. Small businesses should not get complacent and assume hackers are not interested in breaching their systems – they are. A cybersecurity attack on a small business could prove catastrophic. Here are Neuways’ top ten cybersecurity tips for your business:
1. Have a Business Continuity and Recovery Plan in place
This point is particularly important if the worst happens and an attack does occur. 90% of businesses without a Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan don’t survive a cybersecurity attack. By ensuring your business has a continuity plan in place, it’ll limit the cost of any breaches.
Downtime is particularly costly to companies, with a single hour costing up to £250,000. A managed service provider, such as Neuways, can help you implement a risk-reducing business continuity plan to ensure you bounce back from a detrimental hack.
2. Regular backups to a secure location
The second of our cybersecurity tips concerns regular and frequently run backups. They could be the difference between surviving a cyber-attack and not. If a ransomware hit your company, you will need to use backups to rebuild your systems – put simply, you will need backup data to continue to operate.
Ensure that there are multiple copies of your data being backed up. In the event of certain data becoming unrecoverable, you then have further options to rebuild. A strong backup policy could be the difference between your business surviving and failing a disaster.
3. Ensure your email security is up to scratch
With over 3.4 billion phishing emails sent daily, your email security must be strong enough to withstand any potential threats. Phishing emails and ransomware delivered via email is arguably the biggest cyber threat that businesses face and must be stopped.
A single phishing email could allow an attacker to bypass your defences and retrieve login credentials or install malware. Emails try and dupe the user by mimicking a recognisable company logo to convince them to enter their details. Before the user realises, your systems are compromised, and hackers have your business’ sensitive information held at ransom.
A robust, multi-layered email security solution can go a long way to preventing this vulnerability from being such a risk for your business, but if not combined with user training, it will still leave gaps in your defences.
4. Security Awareness Training for your employees
Another of our cybersecurity tips centers around creating a strong cybersecurity culture within your business. It can help drive your employees towards keeping your company safe and sound. Basics such as handling sensitive data securely, safe internet use and password protecting files should be integrated across all business levels.
Email phishing awareness training on a regular basis is crucial, as it will train your staff to spot, and crucially avoid, potential scam emails. Updating your staff on a regular basis of the latest threats will also help to avoid any breaches and create a cyber aware culture. Neuways’ weekly email highlights any fresh cybersecurity threats that arise on the web – sign up to receive it every Thursday morning.
5. Use multi-factor authentication across your business
Multi-factor authentication is an essential layer of security to keep your business secure. It involves an additional method of verification that will tell a system you are who you say you are.
MFA is either a text or email sent to you with a code to secure your credentials or can be in the form of biometric data such as fingerprints. Adding a second layer of verification reduces the ability of a lost or stolen password which can be used to access your businesses systems and data.
6. Use Secure WiFi only
This point is particularly relevant, with many workers remote working due to COVID-19. Your home network needs to be safe and secure, to protect your business. Do this by ensuring your router’s settings are set to private, with a strong password that is regularly changed to keep out any intruders.
You should also connect to your company network with an encrypted connection, either WPA2 or WPA3 if possible, for added security. If you find yourself on the move, resist the urge to connect to public WiFi as this has none of the security that private networks do.
7. Implement secure password policies
A secure password does not end in ‘123’ or feature solely lower-case letters. No, a password should include a mixture of lower and upper-case letters, digits and special characters. Being over fourteen characters is perfect, too, as it negates the likelihood of a hacker cracking your password. You should ensure that separate passwords are used for different logins. Password managers are a useful tool and should be used wherever possible.
Our free password generator will get you on the right path to securing your data and systems.
8. Regularly audit your existing cybersecurity strategy
Your business should have many of the above procedures in place already. If your existing cybersecurity has been in place for some time, it might be time for an update. Neuways’ Cyber Security Rating Report gives you a rating out of 100 for the strength of your cybersecurity measures.
In addition, you receive a bespoke review that gives you specific advice on how you can improve you rating and strengthen your vulnerabilities. It is a great way of seeing how you could improve your business’ cybersecurity.
9. Ensure all patching is up-to-date
Hackers are always looking for the latest vulnerability in software. Patches and software updates are issued frequently to prevent weaknesses being exploited. Your business needs to ensure that these updates are installed as soon as they are available.
Automatic downloads should be enabled as this can cover you outside of working hours, in the event of an emergency patch. If certain updates need to be carried out manually, ensure these are scheduled in with regularity.
10. Scan the Dark Web for your company’s assets
The Dark Web is full of critical business data being bought and sold daily. Cyber criminals sell shortcuts into businesses they have made to others for large sums of money. Our Dark Web scans allow us to check whether your business credentials are available for purchase on the digital black market. If you know that they are, you can ensure those details are no longer active and that the vulnerabilities that allowed the leak, are shored up.
Contact us today for a FREE Dark Web Scan on 01283 753 333 or email hello@neuways.com
