A Six Step Small Business Cybersecurity Plan

It’s hard to know where you’re going if you don’t know where you are. You have a business to run and many decisions that need to be made every day. You could either partner with a cybersecurity expert to analyze risks you currently have or educate yourself on the potential security pitfalls many business owners fall victim to.

 

Once you know where your vulnerabilities are, you will have a better idea of what needs to change. Just as you have a list of protocols for the daily running of your business, you should have a list of the best security practices your business will implement.

 

The more hardware you have exposed, the more at risk you are for theft, employee misuse and hacking. This will help you to protect private business information and client data. Keep the hardware you have to a minimum and put physical locks on any vulnerable devices.

 

Your cybersecurity is only as strong as your employees. Unfortunately, they are often unintentionally the cause of security breaches. It could be from clicking on suspicious links or opening an email from an unknown source. It can happen quickly and to anyone, especially if they are not educated on cyber protection. Find articles to share with your employees and have them take a quiz to test their knowledge. The more training, the better!

 

Some criminals may hold your data hostage unless you pay them. This is called ransomware and is one of the many reasons why it’s important to back up your data. In 2018, 39% of data breaches were caused by hacking or malware.

 

Cyber criminals will do anything they can to breach your business. Some options would be to invest in anti-virus, firewall, anti-malware and encryption software. Keeping these protection systems up to date will help keep your business protected.

Utilize this cybersecurity plan to keep your small business safe. Did you know we offer secure banking products for your business? Talk to a Business Banker or visit our website for more info!