The value of digitised information to your business means that data security should now be a top priority. As you start to tighten security, what should you be focusing on?
1. Improve password security
Passwords are generally the last line of defence against hackers, which is why using effective passwords is so important. Modern computers can break basic passwords in minutes, so your team needs to understand how to choose a ‘strong’ alternative.
You can use this guide to understand the components of a strong password. Alternatively, consider investing in a secure password tool like 1Password that can generate and retain complex passwords for you.
2. Harden your network perimeter
The internet is crucial to doing business, but it is also the route which almost all cyber attackers will use to try and compromise your network. You must invest in a high-quality firewall capable of detecting and blocking suspicious network traffic if you intend to keep hackers away from your data.
Modern firewalls are capable of inspecting network traffic at the packet level, as well as training themselves to identify and block new and emerging threats. You cannot rely on the basic router supplied by your ISP along with your broadband connection – it will almost certainly be unable to cope with sophisticated cyber attacks.
3. Train your staff
As harsh as it sounds, your untrained employees present one of the most significant loopholes in your data security. Shared passwords, lost laptops or being fooled into handing over login details are all real and credible threats to your business.
Training your staff to understand basic IT security, and to identify and resist common threats will help to dramatically reduce the risk of falling victim to cybercrime.
4. Deploy antivirus protection
Nearly one third of UK business invest absolutely nothing in data protection – including antivirus software. Antivirus tools are absolutely essential, providing protection against malware, ransomware and other applications that destroy or steal data.
If you are not currently using antivirus software to protect your business, there’s a very strong probability that your systems are already compromised.
5. Encrypt your data
If hackers do manage to get through your defences, you need to ensure that they cannot do anything with the data that they steal. Using drive encryption you can ‘encode’ all of your files so that they are completely unreadable without the matching decryption keys.
Because cybercriminals only encounter your drive encryption once they have cleared your other security defences, this is your last resort. Ideally your security provisions will prevent hackers getting this far – but you also want to ensure they leave with nothing if they do.
Ready to take the next step? Give the Broadband Cloud Solutions team a call and let us help you strengthen your data security.
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