As more and more businesses continue to go digital, there’s an ever-increasing threat of online intruders. Staying safe from online hackers is all about beefing up your cyber security. Here are four great ways you can enhance the cyber security of your organization today.
Mandatory Password Updates
We all tend to grumble when we get that message about updating our password every few months. Given the option, most of us will simply close out of the message box and ignore it ever happened. We don’t like changing our passwords because it requires us to remember a new one. However, this is why changing your password often is such a good idea. It makes it more difficult for intruders to get into your system. By making password changes mandatory, you can easily help to keep threats at bay. However, it’s important to note that overly complex passwords can ruin security measures; if it’s too complex to remember, your employees are likely to write them down or keep them in an online document, which is a security risk.
Create a Plan
It can be difficult to see the holes in your own security, so consider looking to outside help. With the assistance of a cyber intelligence company, you can be guided through crafting a unique cyber security plan to fit the needs of your business. From training employees in proper security practices to instituting threat responses, you’ll have a plan to handle everything that comes at you. Just having a plan instituted at your company can make a world of difference in how well your business operates when it’s undergoing threat from online intruders. Proper training of employees and making sure everyone in the organization understands cyber security will both massively improve your organization’s ability to manage threats.
Update Software Regularly
Your business likely uses many different types of software programs. These are regularly updated by the manufacturer to correct issues like glitches, bugs, and weak areas where intruders have hacked. By updating your software when the new updates come out, you can help to bridge any gaps of weakness in the previous versions that intruders were able to hack. Make sure to schedule updates and inform your employees of when and why they are happening. Let your employees also give their input about what changes or updates they’d like to see.
Don’t Shortchange Your Cybersecurity
When it comes to budgeting, especially with smaller businesses, cyber security tends to be one of those areas that get shortchanged. Many small business owners believe that their business is too small for any intruder to want to hack. The truth is that intruders know that they’re more likely to be able to place threats on smaller businesses because they have a much smaller budget devoted to online security. Do yourself a favor and ensure you have the security you need to protect against cyber threats.
And finally, remember that physically protecting assets like computers and cell phones is also an important part of security. Physical access is a major security risk, so make sure you and your employees know not to do work on personal laptops and phones, and to keep safety practices when they do. Your business should have individuals devoted to enhancing your cyber security to keep your business safe in the future. The above four tips are great ones your business can start implementing today to protect your business from online intruders.
Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan
