Business management has changed drastically over the last couple of decades. The Internet opened or expanded numerous opportunities, such as global trade, online financial transactions, cryptocurrency, and more. On the other hand, it posed one of the most severe contemporary threats – cyber attacks.
The severity of the issue is outlined by insurance companies withdrawing from covering major cyber attack damages. Moreover, according to National Cybersecurity Alliance statistics, nearly two-thirds of small-to-medium (SMB) businesses close after a data breach.
Although cybersecurity is a complex high-skill issue, business owners have clear standards they can follow. This article overviews 4 things business owners can do to protect their enterprise.
Hire Cyber Security Personnel
There’s a common misconception that cybersecurity can be achieved in one grand step. Indeed, you can hire cybersecurity professionals to build a robust security network. However, it will be outdated and susceptible to the latest hacking techniques in a few years.
Large businesses and corporations have dedicated risk and cybersecurity departments. Simultaneously, SMBs can hire fewer professionals or employ system administrators with extensive cybersecurity knowledge. The choice depends on business size, the confidentiality of data involved, and potential risks. Having a dedicated cybersecurity person is highly advisable.
Employee Education
The business cybersecurity department should incorporate in-depth employee training. For example, Verizon’s 2022 data breach investigation report reveals that human error causes 82% of data breaches. Moreover, the rapid shift towards WFH policies spiked cyber attacks towards insecure home networks expecting a corporate data breach.
It’s been proven that employees positively respond to rewarding cybersecurity training. Identifying online threats benefits employees in more ways than just workspace safety. It teaches valuable lessons they can use in their daily lives. Professional cybersecurity training should cover these topics:
- Information security basics. Employees should know email security and be able to tell legitimate emails from Phishing scams. They should know the dangers of downloading an infected attachment or clicking on a fraudulent link. Information security also addresses public Wi-Fi safety.
- Threat awareness. Everybody should understand that they can become cybercrime targets. From customer support to web designers, everyone has a certain level of access to the corporate network, thus making them a gateway. They should know contemporary threats to identify them before becoming problems.
- Online account security. Most companies now use third-party services, such as Clouds, analytics software, social networks, etc. They should know how to protect these accounts. For example, instruct them on enabling and using multi-factor authentication (MFA), generating secure passwords, and uploading files in an encrypted form.
- Tools and practice. Don’t limit the training to theory. Involve practical exercises. For example, test-run an internal Phishing e-mail and monitor how many employees can tell the difference. Obtain helpful software, such as a password manager, VPN, storage encryption, and end-to-end encrypted communication software.
It’s of utmost importance to select reliable cybersecurity tools for business use. We’ll expand on this topic in the next chapter.
Choose Cybersecurity Tools
Many companies offer different cybersecurity services. You should choose the correct ones depending on your needs. For example, suppose your company runs an online shop. In that case, you should invest in Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection, SSL certificate, and adhere to regional laws (continue reading to learn more about GDPR and HIPAA).
Most likely, you have employees that work from home or take numerous business trips. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) provides safe remote access and protects against data leaks over unsecured networks. It’s essential after the Covid-19 pandemic when most of us had to work from home. A VPN creates a secure and encrypted tunnel between the user’s device and the corporate network. Your work network should be customized only to accept connections from a trusted VPN IP. Furthermore, ensure the VPN encrypts communication between the VPN server and the workplace network, not only the client’s device and the VPN server.
Consider password managers to secure workplace-associated accounts. Most people can’t remember long, complex passwords and will use something like “password123” instead. Moreover, if they handle dozens of accounts, they will use the same password for each. To avoid this, teach them to use a professional password manager to store business passwords in a safely encrypted password vault.
Lastly, it would be best if you were picky regarding Cloud service providers. A secure Cloud should encrypt data in transit to prevent third-party snooping. Simultaneously, it should support data-at-rest encryption in case of a data leak. Remember, even the best companies aren’t safe from rogue employees. If you upload files to the Cloud in an encrypted format, you significantly decrease the chance of exposing the most sensitive information.
Compliance and Regulation
The Internet expanded so fast that laws were left behind. Luckily, only for a brief moment. As a business owner, you should be aware of local and global cybersecurity regulations. Larger businesses should consult with lawyers regarding compliance and regulations. However, here are a few things any business owner should know.
GDPR
The General Data Protection Regulation is a European political initiative protecting EU citizens’ data. Any business that handles EU citizens’ data must adhere to its protocols or face hefty fines. Moreover, it doesn’t matter whether the citizen is located within the EU. Legitimate citizenship proof within one of its countries is enough to start the legal process.
HIPAA
United States federal law requires to follow Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act to protect healthcare-related data. If your company handles such private information, you must ensure its privacy and safety or face stiff penalties.
Conclusions
Outlining every cyber threat or data regulation takes a long book. However, most growing businesses start within these steps and improve as they go. Keep in mind that cybersecurity is a process. The larger your business gets, the juicier the target it becomes for cybercriminals. Moreover, new political regulations are on the way, which will require even more data protection safety. Keeping up with the latest news will help you implement proper solutions. However, hiring a cybersecurity professional who will also pass on the relevant knowledge to all employees is best.
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