Preventing Cyber Attacks: 5 Quick Tips for Businesses

Preventing Cyber Attacks

More than 40% of data breaches target small and mid-sized businesses. About 83% don’t have the financial resources to rebound from such an attack.

It’s more important than ever to take cybersecurity seriously. Preventing cyber attacks doesn’t mean that you need to be an expert.

You just need to take a few specific actions to safeguard your data and your business. What does it take to improve business security?

Keep reading to learn how to prevent cyber attacks.

1. Start With Passwords

One of the most obvious things to fix and improve is the one that small business owners ignore the most. Hackers assume that you don’t have the expertise to protect your business.

They first try to breach your systems by guessing login information. Unfortunately, most people still use “admin” and “admin” as their login information.

They’ll use a password that’s easy to remember, but it’s just as easy for someone to guess.

Start preventing cyber attacks by using a strong password policy. Use two-factor authentication to add more protection.

2. Maintain Access Controls

Most businesses have mission-critical information stored in a database. There are only a few people in your organization that needs access to that information.

You can allow some people to access and edit data or put them in read-only mode. That protects your data because if their devices get breached, you minimize the damage to your most important data.

3. Create an IT Security Policy

Do your employees know the basics of cybersecurity? Probably not. An IT security policy creates a strong cyber security culture.

Communicate to employees that you take cyber security seriously.

A policy should tell employees when it’s OK to use personal devices, how to connect to the network remotely, how to create passwords, and how to manage company devices.

Every employee should read and acknowledge the policy. Make cyber security part of new hire training.

4. Back Up Data

There’s no guarantee to prevent a cyber attack no matter what you do. You also need to assume that a cyber attack will occur and act accordingly.

The best thing you can do is back up your data. This step ensures your data doesn’t get wiped out in a ransomware attack.

It’s best to have a couple of places to back up your data just in case something happens to your primary backup.

5. Provide Ongoing Training

Cyber threats change often. You don’t have the time to keep up with them, then notify your employees.

It’s also difficult to update your junk mail policies. One of the best ways to protect yourself is to get help.

Companies like Printalfa.com, Okta, and Crowdstrike provide cyber security services. You can get training and notifications on the latest cyber threats to your business.

Tips for Preventing Cyber Attacks

Preventing cyber attacks doesn’t happen with just a few simple steps. It takes ongoing work and compliance.

Start with these steps and be sure to get ongoing support to secure your business.

Now that you know how to prevent cyber attacks, check out the latest tech and security tips on the blog.