The internet is a great advantage in doing business. It opens up a wide new world of business prospects and customers not available previously. The digital world has made communication, collaboration and mainstreaming of business processes faster, easier and more customized.
This can be a great ROI for small business. However, lack of proper protocols to protect you servers from data breaches and cyber-attacks could lead to rough roads ahead for your business. How much is your data worth? It is up to you to decide that investing in security to prevent an attack or wait for the inevitable, which can be costly or unsurvivable.
A Cyber-attack can leave your company in ruins, especially SMBs that may not have the resources or ability to recover. Data breaches continue to impact businesses long after the attackers are gone. That is why every business, no matter the size needs to ensure its doing everything it can to keep protected.
Keeping your business data safe should be top priority, as there are those out in the digital world just looking for an easy mark in order to steal data, add malware to your servers or hold your business hostage with ransomware.
7 Steps to Secure Data for Your Small Business:
1) Where to Start
Establishing safety and defensive cyber protection protocols should start with a security audit that identifies your vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Begin by answering questions such as; who has access to what data, are user accounts assigned to individuals versus shared logins with strong password protection and lock out protocols in place. Does your server have a strong firewall? Establish that you are using up-to-date antivirus and antimalware protection. Are there routine data backups and/or off-site backups?
2) Assess Security on ALL Devices
With the rise of broadband and internet mobility, in general, there has come great rewards and great vulnerabilities – check that all of your digital devices have enough protection. VPN and backup are very important for the digital security of your networks, for example. Review what is already in place, and then take steps to improve the levels of protection.
3) Employee Training
More data breaches occur by accident than by criminal intent. Two-thirds of data breaches occur through human error such as weak passwords, leaving laptop or using unprotected wifi in a public area. One way to mitigate the danger of lax employees accidently causing a data breach is to ensure that all employees are trained in data security.
4) Encryption Software
Laptops, Tablets & Smart Phones are at higher risk of being lost or stolen than desktop computers. It is important to take extra precautions, such as encryption software, password protection that enables a ‘lock-out’ feature that enacts after certain length of idle time, and remote wiping that will allow removal of sensitive data almost immediately.
10 Reasons Small Businesses Should Outsource IT
5) Update Systems and Software Programs Often
Updates often address certain vulnerabilities or holes that hackers have discovered as a way to ‘game the system’. Programmers continually monitor, fix or patch to keep their program and its users as secure as possible.
6) Back Up Protocols
Establish FULL on/off-site backups of vital data. Natural disasters, accidents or malicious intent can take out your data unexpectedly. When you have a full backup and restore strategy in place, it can make for getting back online quick and painless.
7) Monitor Systems
Monitor Systems to detect data or system for signs of breaches. This will help to shut down and protect your system from full infiltration and instant mitigation for any possible malware or spyware that has permeated your servers.
Keep in mind that the cost of prevention is well worth the investment. Most businesses cannot survive the loss of financial data, personal data or your software programs. Over ninety percent that lose their data-center for 10+ days file for BANKRUPTCY within one year.
Establishing certain safety protocols within the office and consulting an IT security company can help you avoid costly restore efforts. Comprehensive Data Security Strategies and Data Backup Protocols is a proactive way to avoid disastrous effects on your productivity and compromise of personal data.
We Offer It Solutions, Security & Backup
If you’re trying to run a business AND manage your IT, it’s time to consider outsourcing the latter.
We’ll work as your trusted adviser to recommend, install, and manage your technology according to your business objectives and ensure that your critical data is safe and accessible at all times.
There are many items to consider if you’re thinking about outsourcing your IT, Click link below to download our eBook that summarizes the key factors for this decision.
Businesses can’t afford to approach their It issues haphazardly. They could lose vital files and data. That is why Omnimaven offers full on/off site backups in order to secure your data. One can never predict when a virus, natural disaster, fire or water damage might affect your data. Rest assured your data will be secure on our remote servers.