A massive global shift to remote working environments has created an open season for cybercriminals. No business – big or small – is safe.
Small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), however, have a bigger target on their backs, so strengthening your company’s security posture is essential.
Here are nine tips to help your business boost cybersecurity resilience:
(1) Know Where Your Data Resides
As your storage infrastructure expands, so too do the potential access points of vulnerabilities. The more places your data exists, the more likely it is that unauthorized individuals – insiders and outsiders – will be able to access it.
The primary solution is data discovery technology, which involves identifying and locating sensitive data across your enterprise to adequately protect it or securely remove it.
The cybersecurity advantages of data discovery include early threat detection and mitigation, proactive risk management, and greater regulatory compliance. This is a must for industries with regulated data laws, such as accounting, medical, and legal firms.
(2) Conduct A Cybersecurity Risk Assessment
Understand the most critical threats to your business IT, like ransomware, data breaches, and malicious employees, and determine the specific impact they could have on your businesses’ day-to-day operations. Collaborating with IT and senior management from each department in your company, ask yourself:
- What are the organization’s critical IT assets? In other words, the compromise of which IT systems and/or data would have a major impact on the activities of your company?
- What are the three specific business processes that depend on this system and/or data?
- Which threats can disrupt these business functions?
(3) Train Your Employees
Conduct employee awareness training across your entire workforce to educate users on common scams and avoidance techniques. This should include real-world examples of threats, as well as instruction on fundamental security best practices.
For example, share examples of real phishing emails and give employees the steps to follow if they receive one. Provide examples of strong passwords versus weak passwords, and how to make a password more secure.
Likewise, share news articles on trending cybersecurity attacks in South Africa. In recent years, major local corporations such as SABC, Eskom, Ster-Kinekor, FNB, and eThekwini Municipality have all fallen victim. Share articles on incidents like these to create topical awareness.
Related:
South Africa’s Most Notable Data Breaches and Leaks in the Past Half-Decade
Because cybersecurity threats are constantly evolving, make sure your training curriculum is relevant and updated frequently. A good start would be ensuring that new employees receive training as part of their orientation and all employees receive training on a bi-annual basis.
(4) Create Straightforward Cybersecurity Policies
Work with your HR Department to write and distribute a clear set of rules and instructions on cybersecurity and IT practices for employees. This will vary from business to business but may include policies on social media and internet use, bring your own device (BYOD), authentication requirements, password policies, security incident reporting, and more.
Here’s a library of free security policy templates to help you get started:
30 Free IT Security Policy Templates for Businesses
(5) Implement a Modern Backup Solution
Switch to a modern data backup solution that makes incremental copies of data throughout the day. This is different from traditional systems where the backup is done only once daily or even less frequently.
In the event of data corruption or data loss resulting from security attacks, modern systems allow very rapid recovery with minimal downtime and disruption. With it, downtime is in the range of minutes or hours – and not days or weeks.
Related:
Backups & Data Protection for SMBs in South Africa – What You Need To Know
(6) Implement Multiple Layers of Protection
In today’s IT landscape, it takes many technologies and processes to provide comprehensive risk and security management. After all, there is no single product or software that will solve all your cybersecurity problems.
Hence, businesses need multiple layers of diverse security options to be safeguarded from all directions. For example:
- Implement a password policy that requires strong passwords and monitor your email accounts for breach intel through a service like Have I Been Pwned.
- Deploy firewall, VPN, and antivirus technologies to ensure your network and endpoints are not vulnerable to attacks.
- Consider mandatory multi-factor authentication, ongoing network monitoring, and hard drive encryption solutions.
- Upgrade to a modern data backup and recovery solution. This is an essential layer of defence that allows businesses to recover quickly and unscathed should things turn ugly.
(7) Control Access to Computers
Each access point poses an individual risk, so limit employee access to the specific data and devices they need to perform their jobs. Likewise, use key cards or similar security measures to control access to the server room. Administrative privileges and passwords should only be given to trusted staff in senior roles.
(8) Keep Software Up to Date
In 2019, 60% of cybersecurity breaches involved software with unpatched vulnerabilities. Cybercriminals exploit these vulnerabilities using a variety of tactics to gain access to computers and data.
Managed IT service providers (MSPs) can automate software updates for businesses like yours, with a remote monitoring and management system. This means devices across the company can be patched centrally, comprehensively, and efficiently for real-time protection.
(9) Enable Uptime with a Business Continuity Solution
92% of MSPs report that clients with business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) solutions are less likely to experience significant downtime from ransomware attacks. Thus, choose a business continuity solution that enables “instant recovery” of data and applications.
Related:
The Business Guide to Ransomware Protection
At iSite Computers, our version of this technology is called ‘Instant Virtualization’. This is the ability to run an application from the backup instance of a virtual machine, which allows your employees to continue working while the primary server is restored following an outage. This greatly reduces downtime. Some solutions, including iSite’s, extend this capability to the cloud to protect against cyber-attacks that impact primary and on-premise backup copies.
Need Help Putting These Tips into Practice?
iSite Computers is here to help.
As a managed IT services provider in South Africa, we are trusted experts for advising SMBs on the technology, tools, and practices needed to protect themselves in the fight against cybercrime. We can help your business stay vigilant, stay in the know, and always err on the side of caution.
To get started, contact us today for a free cybersecurity consult. Give us a call on 031 812 9650. Or schedule a free consultation and we’ll call you back.
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