5 ways to avoid a data breach

business

In this digital age, cybercrime is more common than ever before. However, there is plenty you can do to protect your business from a security breach.

Data breaches can cost businesses money, time and reputation. Anything from login credentials and customer information to important files and financial documents can be accessed by hackers, causing businesses to stop operations until the issue is resolved. Not only do businesses find that remedying these issues costs money, but it can also involve having to send out correspondence to customers warning them that their details may have been accessed. Needless to say, this won’t exactly inspire confidence in your business.

For businesses of all sizes, these consequences can be hugely detrimental, and with cybercrime becoming more and more complex and common, it’s vital that every business makes themselves aware of the risks and understands what they can do to reduce them.

That’s why we’re providing this list of 5 top tips for any business looking to bolster their security. Take a look and see how you can protect your organisation.

Use file encryption services to secure your data

Files are extremely valuable no matter what kind of business you run. They may contain months-long work projects or sensitive personal information, which means hackers want them because they know you’ll pay dearly for them. This is why file encryption is so beneficial. These services work by adding an extra layer of security to your files, making them unusable unless you deliver the correct password or criteria.

Offer digital hygiene tutorials

Digital hygiene simply refers to your business’s best practices when it comes to cyber security. Remember, it’s not enough for you to be delivering optimum digital hygiene – everyone in your team needs to be pulling their weight. So make sure to offer regular tutorials on how to improve security, as well as regularly reminding your employees just how important cyber security is to the success of your business. These practices can include simple factors like regular password changes and identifying suspicious emails.

Boost network security

Best practice for things like passwords can be used to boost your network security overall. Your network security is another vital aspect of your business’s digital hygiene training, as it’s all too easy for team members to inadvertently grant access to your business.

Factors like two step verification, auto-scan for devices like USBs and strong passwords containing numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters and symbols are all good starting points here. You should also sometimes verify customer identity for more security.

Get IT support

If you feel overwhelmed by the prospect of improving your business’s IT systems, or simply don’t have the time to do it, it might be best to outsource the task to experts in the field. Seek out the help and advice of professionals like Syntax IT Support who can help you get to grips with your business security needs.

Check your background processes

It’s important that you make a habit of checking the background processes on your servers and devices. This is one of the most effective and simplest ways of working out whether there is anything suspicious going on, as infected computers will often have random apps or malware running in the background which could be leaking data or diminishing your performance.

Regularly update all software

For many people, reminders to update the software on your computer is nothing but a daily nuisance which we swiftly ignore, but doing this could be putting you at greater risk of a cyberattack. By updating your software to the most recent version, you’re giving yourself access to the most up-to-date security technology which will help to protect your devices against the threat of a data breach.