Running a successful business depends on a variety of factors, including your ability to protect your company’s and your customer’s sensitive data. In the technological age, however, protecting data can be very difficult, as cyber criminals are constantly trying to breach your security.
If you want to improve the cyber security of your business, then it’s important to learn about a few ways you can tweak your strategy to better protect your most important information. Here are a few ways to improve business cyber security so that your data is fully protected from hackers and other cyber criminals.
Although there are a variety of ways that your business network may be vulnerable, the most common reason for a breach is weak or misused employee passwords. This means that one of the best ways to improve business cyber security is to institute firm password rules.
First, you should make sure that your employees are using strong passwords that would be impossible to guess. Secondly, your password policy should require passwords be frequently changed, usually every thirty days. Having a robust password policy will prevent unauthorized access of your network and a loss of sensitive data.
Any device your business uses that is connected to the internet is vulnerable to hackers, which is why a key component of cyber security is ensuring that you always have most recent security features in place.
If your system is out of date, there are likely security exploits that hackers can use to breach your system, putting your business data at risk. You should periodically check your operating system, internet connection, and every application you regularly use to make sure you have installed the latest security enhancements and patches. Frequently updating your system will help make sure there are no vulnerabilities in your network that can be exploited by cyber criminals.
Although they are of some use, generic security tools are usually easier to crack, and if these tools are your only security measure, you may be putting your vital information at risk.
An effective method for securing your data, particularly if you have multiple office locations or use distance employees, is instituting a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN will encrypt your business data and will also make it much more difficult for unauthorized users to login to your business network.
Many business use limited-duration products that will expire after a set time frame. If your business makes use of these services, and you don’t decommission them when their use is completed, you are putting your business at risk. For example, if one of your applications has a video chat function that you never use, deactivating this function can improve your network security. Limiting the applications and features that have access to your network can improve business cyber security.
If you need help improving your business’s cyber security strategy, then you should get in touch with the team at U.S. Computer Connection. We can examine your current security strategy and can help you institute solutions for better securing your business’s most important data.