A cybersecurity incident can have distressing financial effects on a business. This information security guide offers some tips to help your business stay alert and prepared.

1. Make business insurance a priority.

Business insurance guarantees your business protection from potential losses that may occur during business operations. There are many types of insurance available to businesses, and these cover property damage, legal and employee-related risks.

Some insurance policies to consider include professional liability insurance, general liability insurance, cyber liability insurance, just to name a few. As a business owner, you can compare business insurance with iSelect and get a small business insurance quote to determine what type best suits your business. Doing your research and finding the best coverage and price for your business will give you peace of mind in the long run.

2. Invest in employee training.

Make it best company practice to hold regular cybersecurity employee training to advise your staff on how to identify and avoid falling prey to technical support scams.

Some cybersecurity best practices to incorporate into your information security policy can include warnings against opening suspicious email attachments, especially .exe files, streaming illegal content online, removing the Chromium computer virus, clicking on pop-up advertisements, and conducting regular evaluations through e-learning courses. Do the work of training your employees to be tech-competent now so you don’t have to pay later. 

3. Install firewalls.

A firewall is a network security system that creates a barricade between a reliable internal network and an untrusted external network. A secure firewall can prevent your employees from browsing inappropriate websites. Regularly update firewall systems on every employee network device.

4. Backup your data frequently.

Regularly back up important files to enable data recovery in the event of a cyber attack. Backup and recovery involve restoring data to the original location. These days, most hosting providers allow website owners to start cPanel backups. A cPanel backup works by making a copy of all of your essential files, emails, and databases.

5. Narrow data access to management.

As a defense against potential cyber-attacks, restrict the full functionality of the company network to only a few people, such as administrators. When appraising the tools that your team uses, make sure you have taken the time to define connection privileges by the employee level or role.

6. Ensure that all software is up to date.

Malware is malicious software created to damage devices and steal data. Some elements to consider when shopping for antivirus software include: checking for protection against malware, finding an antivirus solution that can provide an automatic quick scan, choosing an antivirus that can scan downloaded files and email content, and checking for compatibility with your operating system. Software that is out of date can make you a prime target for cybercrime, so make sure you update your software regularly.

7. Set up web filters.

Caution employees against visiting websites that are potential cybersecurity threats. Some of these websites include pornographic websites that present adware—a malware which presents unwanted advertisements as pop-ups or redirected pages. To counter this, install web browser filters to block your employees from visiting websites that pose adware risks.

8. Establish secure passwords and usernames.

Make sure your passwords are case sensitive by using both lower and uppercase, and where possible incorporate numbers and symbols. Make it a best practice to change passwords every three months as the longer these passwords remain unchanged, the more vulnerable they become to hackers.

9. Secure your physical location.

Attackers can gain physical entry into your commercial building or data center and access login credentials, business infrastructures such as laptops and other valuable information. To avoid this, have in place surveillance equipment. Additionally, incorporate a clear desk and clear screen policy to protect confidential company data.

Cyber-attacks have become a major threat to businesses, so make your business resistant to attacks by investing in business interruption insurance. This may seem like a lot of work now, but you will be saving yourself many headaches in the future.