Protecting Your Business from Cyber Threats: Essential Security Practices
Today, everything about your business is online, from your advertising to your products and even your banking. While digitizing your business is convenient and efficient, it can unfortunately open it up to potential cyber threats that can cause major issues if not caught. While this sounds daunting, there is no need to panic. There are many things you can do to help stop cyber threats, namely preventing them from happening in the first place. You and your employees are instrumental in keeping your business safe online every day, so it is important to know what you need to do. To help you find out how to protect your business from dangerous cyber threats, take a look at these essential tips—
Train Employees on Cybersecurity
In the modern age, a necessary part of training your employees to be successful at your company needs to be instructing them on how to uphold cybersecurity. This can be a lecture, a one-on-one training session, or even a module-based learning course assigned to each of your employees. Many companies, both big and small, have already adopted cybersecurity training as a standard practice for all hires. Teaching your employees how to spot the most prevalent scams going, phishing attempts, fraudulent websites, and when something just seems wrong is a great way to help prevent cyber attacks before they even have the chance to happen. This kind of training should also be more than just a one-time thing—cyber threats change over time, and once your employees learn how to recognize one type, there may be another out there to watch out for. Have regular check-ins with your company to make sure everyone is up to date on the latest threats to look out for online.
Secure Passwords
It may sound simple enough, but having secure passwords for all of your company’s accounts, both individual and shared, is an incredibly important step in protecting your business from cyber threats. Having a complicated, difficult-to-guess password can serve as the first line of defense against cyber criminals, and can often be a strong deterrent. Make sure each of your employees has a strong password for their work accounts and that they are changed periodically. Another good tip for password security is to not record them all in one place. If you have a note on your phone or desktop with all of your passwords on it, that may be the entry point a cyber criminal needs to access your vital data. Keep your passwords varied and private at all times.
Incorporate Multi-factor Identification
Most online tools like Microsoft Office and Google Workspace have the function of incorporating multi-factor identification into their login pages, keeping your company accounts safe from any cyber criminals entering them. Multi-factor identification can take many forms. It can be a password and then a personal question (think “what was your first pet’s name?” “Where did you go to elementary school?”), a login confirmation on another app such as Duo or Microsoft Authenticator, or a text/email sent to your account to confirm the login. This adds another barrier to cyber threats, making it personal and more difficult than just guessing a password. Try using apps and programs that have this defense in place in your office.
Utilize Online Banking
One of the most important things your business needs to protect online is your finances. Whether you are purchasing online, sending invoices, or working out payroll, your company’s financial information could be at risk, and a breach in financial information can be devastating. A great way to avoid this and still maintain the convenience of storing your finances online is to utilize secure online banking platforms. These allow you to pay bills, monitor your accounts, get access to your financial reports, make deposits, and so much more without having to worry about the safety of this vital information.
Protecting your business from online dangers is no longer optional—it’s a necessity. One of the best things you can do for your small business is to get educated on all of the different types of cyber threats and scams going around. When it comes to keeping your business safe, staying up to date on threats can save you both time and money. This also applies to your own personal online presence, letting you stay away from potential scams and keep good financial health. Knowledge is power, and not just regarding online threats. Our employees at 1st Advantage Bank know this, and are available to help you with any financial question you may have via phone call, email, or a visit to the bank. There is not a question too big or too small for our experts to tackle; you and your business’s financial wellbeing deserves to be taken care of. Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender