You are now your own boss and making your name in the industry. However, you have a lot to learn yet. As you are still a newbie in the industry, you are still gauging how everything works. The issue that we will focus on is how you can safeguard your data given your business is still starting. You may think of choosing the best cloud backup, setting up firewalls, and many more. Relax, as we will help you strengthen your data security.
Before diving into ways to secure data, we must know why cyber criminals target small or startup businesses. Hackers frequently target smaller firms because they easily gain access to sensitive information or financial resources due to the lower level of protection that the company employs.
- Updating your security software
“Your device needs the latest security updates.” We often see this statement on our devices and admit it; we don’t immediately update our software. It may seem annoying or burdensome, although it takes a small amount of our time. However, this huge mistake leaves you vulnerable to theft, financial loss, and other forms of harm by hackers who gain access to your personal or business data.
Software updates exist because technology continuously evolves every day. Cybercriminals always develop schemes and other ways to get into your digital properties. This is why the updates are crucial even in small businesses.
- Employees
You can’t leave out the presence of internal threats. There should be limited access for everyone, meaning not all employees have access to data. Many companies implement job segregation, an internal control to prevent fraud and errors.
Employees are the first in line against cyber attacks. It is in your hands to implement rules and policies in handling digital information. You may want to consult with cybersecurity experts on this subject. It is essential to have clear and defined rules and policies for preventing and controlling possible disasters to ensure that you and the employees have the same goal.
Also, training employees, especially new hires, is essential to ensure the correct implementation of policies. As for existing employees, provide retraining programs to keep them up to date about cybersecurity as cyber attacks continue to evolve.
- Backup
Accidents are always inevitable. Fire, flood, earthquakes. These instances may result in unexpected loss of data. However, technology has a solution for this which is backup. The term “backup” refers to replicating data from its original location and transferring it to another. You may opt for online or offline backup.
As for online backups, there is what we call Cloud storage. This lets you keep files and data online with a cloud provider you can reach via the internet. A private cloud is a network only accessible from within a single organization. As a result, this is used when dealing with private information like financial or personal data. In contrast to private clouds, often reserved for highly confidential information, public clouds are owned and controlled by third-party service providers. They are accessible via the internet to everyone. Other entities use hybrid cloud storage, where confidential information is stored privately, and non-sensitive data are stored in the public cloud.
On the other hand, an offline backup is when the data is stored on a separate device and is not connected to the internet. Offline copies are typically kept on removable media like external hard drives or USB flash drives. For added security, they generally are kept off-site, in a location completely isolated from the original data source.
Conclusion
Cyber security may not be your priority in your small business. However, in this digital age where information is the new gold, you expose the business to various threats by leaving it be. Cybersecurity is meant to ensure the safety of a company’s data online. Yet, it doesn’t imply you can be careless about securing your company’s data in any way. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure because the amount of losses you may incur in a cyberattack is definitely larger than paying for data security.
