Along with things like marketing, product development and customer service, the security of your business should be one of your biggest concerns. In addition to the physical security of your building and documents, your business also needs to make cybersecurity a priority. Hacks and data breaches are common, and can be very stressful to deal with.
While many companies do a good job in this department, many others will make mistakes that could have dire consequences. With that in mind, here are three major cybersecurity mistakes that your business needs to avoid making.
Not Securing Your Software
Securing the software and programs that your company uses is of the utmost importance. You need to ensure that everything is password-protected, and only those who need to use the software can access it. Of course, these are only a few of the basic best practices your company should adopt.
The security of your software is especially important if you have created your own programs. Unfortunately, many companies solely focus on the functionality of their software, and not as much on the security. This could lead them to disregard security outside of the very basics, which could leave them vulnerable to hacks or other security issues.
If you want to ensure that security remains consistent throughout your software development life cycle, it is a good idea to enlist the help of a quality web development company. They can help you design a piece of software for the exact needs you have, while ensuring it is secure at every level.
Also, if you create software products for customers, it is imperative to take the time to ensure they are secure. While software is a competitive space and development and release needs to be rapid, you can’t rush things into release, especially if its security is subpar.
Not Adequately Training Employees
While your company can have a laundry list of procedures and best practices when it comes to cybersecurity, if employees aren’t trained well on them, it won’t do much to help. A lot of the time, data breaches are due to human error and hackers know this. It could be due to improper use of the internet, falling for a phishing scam, leaking passwords and more.
Be sure to spend time training each and every employee on all things related to cybersecurity at your business. Allow them to ask questions and give them primers every few months or whenever something changes. Also, make it a requirement that your staff uses strong passwords and changes them regularly. In fact, around 80% of hacking-related breaches are due to weak or compromised passwords.
Assuming Your Company Isn’t a Target
When many people think about large hacks and data breaches, they may assume they only target large companies. Business owners might feel as if their smaller business is safe and will fly under the radar. However, this simply isn’t the case. Approximately 43% of all cyber attacks are perpetrated against small businesses, and these can cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Also, a data breach can affect your reputation in the eyes of the public, which can hurt your bottom line. No matter the size of your firm or the industry you are in, you need to be careful. Always watch out for phishing, keep your programs updated and use a quality anti-virus program. It’s better to be prepared and never fall victim to an attack than to fall victim because you are not prepared.
Keeping Your Business Safe and Secure
Cybersecurity is an important part of any business, no matter which niche or industry you are in. Mistakes like not securing software, not training employees well and assuming you aren’t a target could have potentially dire consequences.
