Security Best Practices for Businesses

Small businesses are just as susceptible to a cyber attack as large corporations. However, due to the size of their business, it never makes news headlines. The latest Ponemon Institute report revealed that 55 percent of small businesses have suffered a cyber attack in the past 12 months, and half of those businesses have experienced a data breach incident involving customer and employee information in the same period. With the average cost of a data breach estimated to be $3.62 million, can your business recover? Here are five security best practices you can adopt to protect your business from a cyber attack.

1) Enable two-factor authentication wherever possible

Two- factor authentication strengthens security, especially for online accounts by requiring two methods or two steps to verify your identity. For example, when you want to sign into your account, you are prompted to authenticate with a username and a password. You might then be asked a security question or you might receive a code via text or email that you have to enter, to confirm your identity.

2) Ensure passwords meet the ‘Very Strong’ criteria

The latest Verizon Data Breach report revealed that 63% of data breaches involved weak, default or stolen passwords. It is also no surprise that the most common password of 2016 was ‘12345678’, which gives an indication that people and businesses need to up their password game and strive to make their password as strong as possible. By utilizing password with multiple upper and lower-case letter, numbers and symbols, business will be able to dramatically increase security and protect their data.

3) Keep your operating systems and applications up to date

A critical reason why ransomware spread like wildfire across the globe, was due to unpatched or outdated software. Many software providers release patches and updates for their products to correct security concerns and improve functionality. So make sure your business downloads and installs the latest updates to stay protected from security threats

4) Encrypt your data

Encryption software which is built into Windows and MacOs changes the way information is seen on the hard drive, and can only be read once the password is entered. By encrypting data, businesses can prevent thieves from accessing your private data.

5) Back up regularly

It is paramount that data is backed up regularly in the event that the hard drive is wiped clean or your computer has had an attack which led to the data being wiped clean.Systemnet provides offsite back services and provides superior quality back solutions which allow automatic back procedures.