How to Strengthen Your Business’s Online Security
Managing a company means managing the security of a company. Business process management is all about knowing every aspect of your business and modeling its future performance. All of that can be cut short by some cyber criminal’s schemes. A good manager knows how to manage threats and head them off before they can cause harm. Here are four foundational strategies for online security that you should put into action if you’re not already doing so.
1. Perform a Threat Assessment
Nobody can react adequately to a crisis they don’t understand. It’s necessary to keep yourself and your management team abreast of new developments in the world of cybersecurity, including new and developing threats, as well as the countermeasures available for fighting them. Even having a general knowledge of cybersecurity often isn’t enough though, since attacks like a zero day exploit specifically target loopholes that haven’t even been discovered by manufacturers yet. So what’s the solution? Call the experts. One good idea is to employ a so-called “white hat” or ethical hacker. These professionals can be hired to attempt to break into your system the way a criminal would and in doing so discover vulnerabilities that neither your nor the software manufacturer were aware of.
2. Make Basic Security Universal
The good news about cyber crime defense is that even the most basic countermeasures are highly effective. Of course, antivirus and firewall companies sometimes overstate the efficacy of their programs, but the fact remains that installing antivirus and firewall software is an important first step in stopping attacks. The important thing is to install them everywhere. Desks in cubicles just aren’t how most people work anymore. Entire projects are managed from smartphone apps connected to the cloud, and many are done entirely remotely using personal computers. According to statistical research, 42% of companies have a strategy planned out for threats targeting mobile devices. The rest don’t.
3. Secure Your Data
Data is the target of many cyber attacks, and data loss can be costly in the extreme. According to research by the venerable Ponemon Institute, the average cost of a data breach in 2020 was $3.86 million. The average breach also took a staggering 280 days to identify and contain. Big businesses stand to lose the most money, but small businesses and startups are arguably at greater risk since even a smaller fiscal blow is one they can’t afford to write off. There are three ways to minimize this risk: First, make sure that all of your data storage devices are behind lock and key at the close of business. Second, always backup your data. Backups on the cloud aren’t secure enough; use flash drives and even hard copy for especially vulnerable data like identity-related documents. Last, when you dispose of a device, use professional-grade scrubbers to erase the data on your hard drive completely.
4. Focus on Training
The most important thing to remember is that security protocols are only as good as the people implementing them. Research shows that the largest share of the blame for data breaches is human error. Negligence caused by stress and exhaustion is responsible for around 40% of the most severe breaches. Poor email skills are another source of problems. Phishing attacks are where criminals create legitimate-looking emails and send them to a business, betting that the person at the desk can be tricked into entering sensitive information or unknowingly opening a malware link. All too often they do. Training employees not to fall for these tricks needs to begin at onboarding and then include frequent and regular refresher courses. Don’t forget that coordinating these sessions in order to standardize responses is equally vital.
For companies and the people who manage them, digital security can feel like an arms race. It’s necessary to think of it as one and commit yourself to win that race. By remembering these key tactics, you’ll be positioned to manage the threats that come your way.
