Ever since the advent of tech innovations, the workplace has evolved so much. From heaps of paperwork to spreadsheets, and from the rickety fax machine to online fax—technology has revolutionized business processes from the ground up and still continues to do so up to now.
But you know what they say, ‘with great power, comes great responsibility.’ As technology progresses, so do the threats that come along it. Users must become more vigilant and keener when it comes to protecting their data from different cyberattacks. Especially now when cybersecurity is becoming as equally important as physical security.
As a business owner, it is your responsibility to safeguard your company, employees, and customers from all kinds of external threats. So, to help you out, here are four ways for better cyber security management to protect your business.
1. Optimize Your System
You’ve probably been in a situation before where you badly needed to use your computer but failed to do so because of a random update. You then search the internet for ways to turn off automatic updates, only for your computer to be hijacked by someone from the other side of the world.
Well, true enough, software updates are one of the most effective and easiest ways to reinforce your systems’ security. Since hackers and cybercriminals are becoming more creative and advanced in conducting cybercrimes, your computer needs to keep up with all of that. Failing to learn about the newer security threats can leave your computer vulnerable to outside attacks.
With that in mind, you need to make sure that all the computer terminals in the workplace are up-to-date. This includes all the operating systems, applications, and software in your business processes.
You can coordinate with your company’s IT department to stay on top of this or you can outsource a team that will oversee the security, maintenance, and troubleshooting of your entire IT system. If you’re in the US, you can check out some of these IT services, Rhode Island.
2. Make use of the Principle of Least Privilege or POLP
The idea of accessing private and confidential data should be frightening for anyone. Just a peek at your sensitive information gives the hacker the power to do anything they want with it. This is why employers like you should limit everyone’s access to any data based on their job requirement, this is known as the Principle of Least Privilege (POLP).
For instance, a data entry-level employee should only be able to enter data in the database and nothing more. Any additional access is not only unnecessary but can also be a weak point in the system’s cybersecurity.
In addition, it will be harder to track those who have been involved in a security breach if a lot of your employees have access to sensitive information. It’s important that the management keeps track of anyone who has access to these types of data, especially when they contain the customer’s private information.
3. Regularly Change Login Credentials
Changing passwords is a pain in the back, especially if you’re not good with creating and remembering unique passwords. However, although it’s a hassle, regularly updating your login credentials is another good way to keep everyone secured.
When it comes to passwords, the characters that you use matter. Ideally, a strong password is alphanumeric, a combination of lower- and upper-case letters, and has other characters. This is because as years go by, hackers have found better ways to decrypt passwords that don’t follow this universal guideline.
If you have a problem remembering passwords, you have the option of jotting them down a paper, as long as you don’t misplace them. Or, you can make use of password managers that generate strong passwords for you and even store your login credentials in their system.
4. Make Security A Culture
Indeed, as a business owner, one of your duties is to ensure that your company data is protected. However, you shouldn’t be the only one doing it. In fact, security is not your problem alone, it’s everyone else’s.
This is why keeping everyone on the same page when it comes to cybersecurity is critical. Making sure that everyone is aware of the best cybersecurity practices will help you safeguard your data – internally and externally. You can do this by implementing some guidelines in the company about the dos and don’ts of cybersecurity.
As everyone becomes increasingly aware of cybersecurity, they can better protect their data and avoid malware. As with everything else, explaining to them and teaching them about the nooks and crannies of security is way better than simply telling them to update their computers or regularly change their passwords.
Conclusion
Technology innovations will always be a blessing to everyone. However, keep in mind that as things become more convenient and business processes become more automated, cybersecurity threats and issues also arise. So, keep up with all the cybersecurity trends to help your company move forward amidst all these threats.