Protecting Data as a Small Business: 4 Tips

Cybercrime is now a significant threat to businesses and consumers more than ever, and many predict it to grow continuously. For example, a statistical roundup by CSO has shown that over five thousand data breaches occurred in 2020 based on Verizon’s investigation report of 2021, which analyzed the data out of nearly thirty-thousand incidents.

Moreover, attacks aren’t limited to larger organizations alone; smaller companies are also being targeted. Because of the catastrophic impact that cyberattacks can cause—especially on a small business—it’s crucial that you adopt practices and implement strategies that will protect your enterprise from becoming a victim. In this article, we’ll talk about some tips to help you do that.

Get insured

Nearly all businesses today are covered by insurance at some level and for a good reason. Beyond protecting the organization’s financial assets from legal claims involving property damage, injuries, and errors, to name a few, it also gives peace of mind. Moreover, getting a tailored small business insurance policy will add an extra layer of protection if you’re attacked successfully.

Use a VPN

Virtual private networks or VPNs enable users to connect safely to a specific network by encrypting their connections. In other words, it makes them more secure while offering them greater privacy and anonymity online. Many organizations today use these software solutions to ensure a safer and more secure connection to protect against any attempts at data interception. If you want to protect yourself from cyberattacks, you should do the same.

Establish security policies

While having the right software can go a long way in stepping up your cybersecurity efforts, it takes more than reliance on these solutions to remain protected. You must also establish security policies and educate your workforce on the value of your data. Doing so will enable you to strengthen your security efforts and make it easier to establish guidelines for its enforcement.

Give yourself enough time to formalize security strategies, even if you’ve only got a small team. A more formal policy will ensure that all relevant personnel knows how to deal with business data properly. Additionally, be sure to check if the strategies are being practiced and implemented. In this way, it’ll encourage everyone to follow protocol.

Ensure that all your software is up-to-date

When software updates are available, it’s never a good idea to ignore them. After all, these patches may be able to strengthen the applications or programs you use and make them less vulnerable to cyberattacks. In addition, they may address any bugs or glitches that exist in the software or even add features that will make them more useful.

Conclusion

Cybersecurity is easy to take for granted when you’re running a small business and have more pressing matters to attend to. However, you mustn’t make this mistake, or it may cost your company everything. So follow these tips and keep your business data protected. It might not sound like a big deal now, but it will make a difference in the long run.