While the headlines often highlight major data breaches in corporations and government agencies, the truth is that the majority of businesses being hacked are small. Why is this the case? Because small businesses are generally under-protected.

If hackers can break into huge corporations, with all the resources dedicated to cybersecurity, what’s to stop them from targeting smaller companies that can’t afford the same level of protection? The good news for small businesses is that adequate computer security is not beyond reach. 

Below are some simple steps that you can take towards securing your technology.

Improve Password Protection

Passwords for accessing office computers and emails should be complex and include a combination of letters, both capital and lower case, numbers, and special characters (i.e. $, %, &, @, etc…)

Employees should use passwords that are unique and required to be changed every three months.

When it’s available, multi-factor authentication should be used. This is often done through the use of security codes sent as text messages, or through mobile apps such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator.

Secure Mobile Devices

If you or your staff utilizes mobile devices for accessing email or other business-related applications, make sure the devices are password protected.

Train Employees

Establish basic security practices and policies for employees, such as requiring strong passwords, and establish appropriate Internet use guidelines. Educating employees on the tactics used to bypass security through email phishing attacks is critical as 91% of successful data breaches started with a spear-phishing attack.

Online tools such as KnowBe4 offer free security tests to identify what percentage of your employees are phishing prone.

Make backup copies of important business data and information

In the event of a security breach that corrupts, encrypts, or deletes business data, having a reliable back-up is essential in the process of recovering from the attack.

Utilizing backup software that allows you to keep multiple copies of your files is critical because if days go by before you become aware of the hack, your current backup may be of the encrypted files and not one that you can recover from.

Control access to business data

Computers that access business information should not be positioned in a space where non-employees are able to access it. In addition, each computer should have a unique user account configured that controls what files that person should be able to access. 

Settings on the computer can be configured to automatically force a person to enter the password if the computer has been idle for a period of time.

Hack Yourself

One of the best ways to find vulnerabilities is to hire consulting firms or IT specialists to audit your system in search of weaknesses. From there you can begin to make changes that will better protect your business, your network, and your customers.

Taking the above steps is sure to reduce your risk liabilities and create a tech-safe environment for you to run your business.