Cybersecurity is of vital importance to any modern, interconnected business. If your computer network becomes compromised, then you may find yourself unable to operate.
At the same time, if an outside party should gain access to your customer’s data, you might find yourself vulnerable to legal difficulties.
Cybersecurity shouldn’t be thought of as something to be done every so often. It should be baked right into the culture of your business, rendering it water-tight against outside threats. Let’s take a look at a few ways in which this might be done.
Install a Firewall and Antivirus
A firewall is a special program that screens incoming transmissions and prevents outside parties from accessing your data. It’s among the most important parts of any business’s cybersecurity apparatus.
Another critical component is the antivirus, which is designed to identify and remove malicious programs before they can do damage. In order to remain effective, antivirus programs must be kept updated with definitions (these are the lines of malicious code that the antivirus is looking for). As malware is constantly evolving, so too must your defences.
Have a Written Policy
For everyone in your company to be aware of how you do things, it’s critical that you write those things down. This will provide a point of reference for any employee who runs into confusion. It should be clear, concise, readable, and regularly updated.
Set out Rules for Passwords
Among the most important parts of your policy should be its rules concerning passwords. These should be robust and difficult to guess and rotated regularly. Passphrases tend to be easier to remember than passwords; ‘iihbfcejihbmlta’ is difficult to guess, but ‘if it hadn’t been for Cotton-Eyed Joe, I’d have been married a long time ago’ is easy to remember.
Consider Mobile
With the Covid-19 pandemic just getting started, working from home has never been more essential. But if your staff are going to telecommute, you’ll need to set up the relevant virtual private network to allow them to securely communicate with your onsite (or remote, cloud-based) network.
Backup Regularly
Hardware failures, fires and thefts can cause irreplaceable data to be lost forever. For this reason, it’s critical that you put into place a daily backup schedule. If you opt for an external, cloud-based storage system, then all of this can be taken care of automatically.
Lawyer Up
If the worst should happen and your security is breached, then you’ll need to seek legal representation from a firm like Withers. Do this ahead of time, and they’ll be able to advise you of your risks, as well as acting in your defence.
