6 Cybersecurity Steps Each Small Business Should Take

by Emily Roberts

With small and medium businesses now relying on IT and data more heavily than ever before, it’s important for companies of all sizes to ensure that they are taking cybersecurity as seriously as possible. It’s all too common for small business owners and managers to take the route of thinking that because their business is small and does not have a huge number of customers, they are not going to be at much risk of cybercrime. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, small and medium businesses are often some of the biggest targets for cybercriminals today, as they often have fewer security measures in place. So, what can you do to keep your small business safe from cybercrime?

Work with Good IT Support

The truth is that many small businesses simply do not have the budget to hire an in-house IT support team. However, the good news is that getting access to professional IT support London is now easier than ever thanks to IT serviced providers that you can outsource the entire department to. It’s worth considering working with a company with tailored IT solutions that you can take advantage of to ensure that your business is protected, such as threat detection. An experienced company will allow you peace of mind when running your business, knowing that cybersecurity is being taken care of.

Cybersecurity Culture

It’s crucial to ensure that everybody working for your business is committed to contributing to a strong culture of cybersecurity. This could include speaking to everybody about the importance of keeping data safe and protected, using strong passwords, and looking out for potential threats. The truth is that when it comes to cybercrime, hacking, and security breaches, criminals are often relying on the fact that some members of staff may be naive and uneducated. When this is not the case, it’s much harder for a breach to be successful.

Threat Detection

Ensuring that everybody in your business knows what they are looking out for, how to detect a potential threat, and what to do if they feel like something might be a threat to the business cybersecurity is crucial. For example, phishing emails are often used by criminals to try and gain access to company data or information. These could be in the form of emails sent to your employees, for example, that claim to be from partners that you work with or even clients, requesting access or information. All employees should be aware of the importance of verifying senders before responding.

Home Working Security

If your small business is like many others today, chances are that you have members of staff working remotely for some or all of the week. If this is the case, then it’s important to ensure that everybody is aware of the steps they should take to ensure that they are secure while working from home or elsewhere. For example, it’s worth avoiding public Wi-Fi networks or connecting via a VPN to ensure further security while doing so. When working from home, it’s worth educating employees on the steps that they can take to further secure their home Wi-Fi network such as changing the router name and password from the factory default.

Stay Up to Date

It’s important to bear in mind that cybersecurity is not a ‘one and done’ thing that your business needs. Since cybercriminals such as hackers are always looking out for new ways to breach businesses and get their hands on data, it’s important to stay ahead of the curve and make sure that the techniques and strategies you are using are kept up to date. Chances are that if you are using software programs such as anti-virus software, then over time, this will be less and less effective if you are not ensuring the latest software updates are done. It’s a good idea to keep all updates automatic, as these are often brought out in response to criminals being able to find a way in through the system.

Physical Security

Last but not least, it can be all too common for small businesses to focus so heavily on cybersecurity that physical security goes under the radar. The truth is that many data breaches aren’t always done by hackers in a dark room tapping away on a keyboard in front of a screen full of code. Issues with physical security, such as devices that are not locked with a secure password, or data stored in physical locations that are not highly secure, can also be a target for cyber criminals. For example, only allowing approved persons into certain areas, always using locks on any business devices, and avoiding writing down customer personal data on paper are all steps you can take to keep the business more secure.

While it might seem like cybersecurity is only something for bigger companies to worry about, the truth is that small and medium companies are often the biggest targets.

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