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Cyber Security is Imperative: Be Sure Your Company Isn’t Making These Security Mistakes

We’ve been living in the digital era for quite some time now, and as beneficial as it is it also has some drawbacks, such as increased vulnerability. In what sense? For starters, your private business information is essentially a gold mine to the cyber criminals out there if you don’t have the proper protective measures in place to keep it from exposure.

In fact, the effects of ID theft and data breaches are felt by millions of consumers and businesses every day, and while businesses are aware of the importance of internal security, experts suggest the same security mistakes are still continuously made by owners. While you don’t need to be a pro in preventing cyberthreats, it’s highly recommended that you know enough about possible threats out there to plan out preventative measures and ways in which you can deal with a possible attack.

So, with that in mind, let’s look at some common security mistakes that companies are making:

Believing You’re Not a Target

The biggest mistake that commonly occurs among businesses is failing to accept the fact that hackers target all companies, big and small. If you are a small business owner and assume that only large enterprises will be targeted, you’re in for a surprise, and not the good kind! Contrary to common belief, cyber criminals prefer going after small businesses because they typically lack the security levels implemented by larger enterprises, therefore making them an easier target.

Accept the fact that you will be victimized by this crime at some point and plan accordingly. Ensuring your staff know exactly how to respond before problems worsen will help tremendously in protecting your data security and technology. Consider a data backup management plan so that if your company’s network is down briefly, you won’t suffer any loss and can still quickly get back on your feet.

Not Training Staff on Cybersecurity Awareness

Without proper training in place, it can be difficult to foster a culture of cybersecurity awareness. Your staff should be made aware of the latest threats and take the initiative to do their part in preventing them. Sure, it may seem tedious and unnecessary to train staff individually on phishing scams and unsecured websites but taking the time to do so could save your business tremendous loss and headache.

Training requires ongoing updates and shouldn’t be a one-time occurrence. Make the effort to re-train all employees, including remote and in-house staff, and focus on security protocols, being weary before clicking, and knowing what steps to take when it is obvious an attack has taken place. Hackers are more sophisticated these days than ever before. While something may appear legitimate, hackers practice a level of sophistication that can easily be missed by the untrained eye.

Ignoring Basic Best Practices

It’s easy to convince yourself that small details like password variation really don’t matter al that much.  For instance, you may be wondering whether you really need a different password for every type of login. Furthermore, you might question whether it’s necessary to change passwords on a regular basis.

Short Answer? Yes.

Password security is still a top priority in keeping internal and external threats to a minimum. Always be sure that every work device is encrypted and block access from any employee that has recently resigned or has been removed from a position that was previously granted access.

 Doing Away with Professional Services

Purchasing anti-virus software, while a great first step, typically isn’t enough to ensure you are thoroughly protected. For an effective cyber security and information security plan in general, it is in your best interest to turn to the professionals trained in these specializations. Consider partnering with an IT service provider along with a media destruction provider to cover all bases. You don’t want to be cutting corners when it comes to securing your confidential business information.

Remember that successful cyberattacks can be costly to your business, and this goes well beyond the financial losses often involved. You will quickly experience company downtime, a reduction in customer trust, and potentially even compliance fines.

We hope that you will take the above considerations and apply them moving forward. At A1 DATASHRED in Boston, our expert team will happily walk through any questions you might have in relation to cyber security and protecting your data. Avoiding these common cybersecurity mistakes will provide you with the peace of mind you deserve.

Contact us today to learn more about our business solutions.

Call 1-888-95-SHRED

October 23, 2019