5 Ways To Protect Your Small Business From A Cyber Attack
Cyber Attacks can be extremely costly, even for small businesses. And if you want to protect your information and your data, there are a few steps you definitely need to take to lock down your business IT systems from small business cyber attacks.
- Require Strong Passwords & Regular Password Changes
Stolen or hacked passwords are a common way that hackers get access to your business systems. Make sure your employees use strong passwords, and require a minimum length of 10-15 digits that includes numerals, upper and lowercase letters, and special characters (!, @, #, $, etc).You can also require frequent password changes. Using a tool like 1Password or LastPass can help you and your employees build strong passwords and protect your data.
- Always Update Your Computers And Other Systems
Updating your computers, operating systems, websites, and other IT systems regularly helps to patch security flaws that hackers often use to obtain sensitive data. Make sure you always keep all of your systems updated.
- Back Up Your Data Regularly
Data backups ensure you can get your data back if you’re hit by ransomware or another type of virus or data breach. Your most important data should be backed up daily and you should have systems in place to restore this data in case of a serious hack or other data loss event.
- Invest In Proper Employee Training
34% of all data breaches involve an error by an employee within your organization, such as opening up a phishing email that contains a virus. Make sure you invest in IT security training for your employees to minimize the risk of internal threats.
- Get A Professional Cybersecurity Assessment
If you want to track down all of your potential vulnerabilities and seal them up, the best way is to hire a specialist cybersecurity firm to assess your network, hardware, and IT systems. A professional consultant can find the areas that may be exploited by hackers and malicious actors, and recommend steps to seal these gaps and protect your data from a small business cyber attack.
Follow These Tips To Protect Your Employees & Your Data
With these simple prevention steps, you can reduce your risk of suffering from a costly small business cyber attack and data breach. Need more help or professional cybersecurity services in Santa Rosa? Contact West County Computers now for more information, and to get a free consultation.
