When it comes to business, the technology we rely on is becoming more and more of a vital part of keeping things running. So threats to our cyber security ought to be taken seriously. Threats can range from all kinds. Some might consider losing all your data to be terrible, but a best case scenario. In other situations, that data can fall into the wrong hands. Financial details, business plans and more that can be used against you. So here are the different approaches that need to work together to give you a real sense of security against cyber threats.
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Software
First thing is first, you need to think about what kind of software you have put in place to protect you. We’re talking about threats like malware and hacking. Even in malware alone, the nature of threats can change between viruses, spyware and more. You need to have a high quality antivirus which can detect threats of all different kinds. Our recommendation is Scanguard. You can check out Scanguard review here to learn more features, pricing etc and how it stands apart from your average antivirus. Take cyber-security software seriously. Don’t just buy, but get a full demonstration of their comprehensive approach first.
Skills
Of course, businesses have a multitude of different set-ups to their IT. You need more than software, you need people on the ground who are a part of every new installation and change to the system. People who can predict and set up the protections (like the right software) for potential threats. One of the best ways to make sure that you’re addressing every exploit is to hire someone who knows how to exploit them. Ethical hacking is a practice where people train to find and use these exploits. Rather than proving a threat, however, they go on to use that information to help organisations better protect their IT systems. As businesses grow bigger, this kind of expertise is much needed.
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Online safety
You won’t just be hiring people with the right skills, either. You also need to make sure that your employees, all of them, are trained in cyber-security. On a much simpler level, how to use the computer, particularly on the internet, as safely as possible. Online safety is about awareness. About watching out for phishing scams. About checking email URLs. Searching those they don’t recognise to verify whether they are legitimate or suspicious. About knowing the difference between a secure and unsecure URL. If they are accessing information that’s important to your company, make sure they don’t do it outside the workplace. Many people haven’t learned even the basics of browsing safely, so don’t assume it of your staff.
Offline safety
Similarly, don’t assume that they know how serious even a slight lapse of judgement offline can be, either. It’s not just the online world that threats can come from. People can very easily access sensitive data offline, if they’re given the opportunity. So you have to train employees to eliminate that opportunity. Following good password practice, for instance. People need to know that a strong password is at least 12 characters long. Including upper-case, lower-case, numbers and at least one symbol. If they need to write it down to remember it, ensure that they do it somewhere far from the computer. They should also not be allowed to install software from an outside source without the most careful kind of scrutiny on that software.
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Backup
A less serious threat than accessing sensitive data is the simple loss of that data. Less serious, but still enough to put plenty of companies in danger. Even the work interruption alone of a temporary loss can be a significant source of cost. Keeping all that data on one hard drive is asking for failure. So you need to have at least one or two forms of backup for all the data that you absolutely need to keep a hand on. Besides other servers, look into Cloud computing services. These services keep your data on another location that you can access from anywhere. Again, security matters, so get a demonstration of the security measures Cloud providers use to protect your data.
The nature of technology is always changing, so the threats and your ways of protecting yourself from them, are changing too. Just keep following the above tips and be prepared to adapt. Cyber security isn’t something you can afford to slack off on.