Business security is one of the most important areas of a business. If you are running a small company then you might have invested in the security for your business. Cyber criminals target small and medium businesses as they are the ones that frequently having fewer security measures in place.
What security measures have you deployed to protect your business? How can you enhance your business security without spending much on the same? We at Zero Effort Networking an IT support company in Sydney are providing some tips that you can use to improve your business security plan:
Awareness about potential threats
You might know about running and managing your business effectively but you must also think of your business security and potential threats. It is always useful to know about the websites that have already been targeted and the techniques used by hackers. The most popular tech and press websites will provide you some useful information. You should also look for the internal threats and statistics such as how many Internet connections you have. How many devices are connected to the Internet. How much is your staff aware of the cyber-attacks and Internet threats? Knowing the vulnerability level will help you plan your security against potential threats.
Defence-in-Depth
No solution is able to protect you against every threat. So you need to follow the defence in depth to protect your business from security attacks. Where your network connects to the Internet (i.e. the “gateway” or network border) you should have a firewall. Ideally at the network border you should also have an Internet content filter which allows management to monitor and manage an organisation’s Internet usage. An example of an Internet content filter is WFilter Enterprise (http://www.wfilter.com.au). Every device connected to the Internet should also have a software firewall for secondary protection. Both the firewalls act as the lines of defence against the theft and cyber attacks. For additional security, every device should have a malware and antivirus protection application installed. The antivirus software should be updated regularly and set to scan the device at scheduled intervals.
Backups
Regular backups are an essential component of business security. Many “disasters” (e.g. physical or self-inflicted through inadvertent staff error) can be resolved in a timely and in-expensive manner if up-to-date backups are in place. An effective backup system is one that is fully automated and that does not rely on any individual for backups to be performed, verified or taken off-site.
Access Control
Another potential risk for every business is the risk of data theft and loss of data. Your important data can be lost accidently or through a cyber theft attack. The USB ports should be locked, restricting the BYOD systems and control the usage of devices outside your office. These tips reduce the risk of data loss to much extent.
Data and password encryption is another method for data security. Say you have a laptop that contains sensitive data, you might consider encrypting certain documents or even the entire file system so that intruders cannot obtain access to that information without a password – even if they steal your computer. However you need to be aware that there are some important considerations when using encryption. First if you forget the pass-phrase, then access to the data will be lost, so it is wise to have a second un-encrypted copy of the documents at some other location just in case (e.g. in a private folder on the office file server). If you encrypt the entire file system of your laptop, then you will need to enter the encryption password each time you turn on your computer, in addition to your Windows logon password. Also if you encrypt your entire file system, standard Windows repair utilities (e.g. LiveCD etc.) won’t be able to access your encrypted drive, as a result if you have problems with your laptop you won’t be able to repair, re-install or upgrade Windows without first decrypting the system drive or by using a custom bootable repair utility.
Keep up to date
You must enable the automatic updates on all your devices. Usually, the feature of automatic updates is given in the system settings. All the security applications like antivirus and antimalware software should be enabled for automatic updates. This saves time and ensures latest protection for your business data.
Educate your staff
You should educate your employees about the usage and security of business data. Educate your employees about how to use the data and not to respond to the phishing emails or download email attachments from unknown websites. Users should not open or download anything from suspicious websites. Educating your staff about the potential threats and data security will help you protect your business from threats and cyber attacks.
Zero Effort Networking IT support Sydney suggests that considering these points and educating your staff about the same will keep the potential threats and cyber attacks away from your business. If you want to know more about business security you can call us at 1300 93 94 95 or email us at info@zen.net.au and we will be happy to assist you.