Living in the boom of a digital era is terrific. People can find a job or work from home instead of commuting. You can make a living online, even create your own opportunities and become an entrepreneur or a business owner. If you know how it works, you can create a logo, register it, start an online store, and manage it. Of course, more extensive operations will require better skills or maybe more people.
But digital operations also mean attention to cybersecurity. Cyberattacks can leave your business vulnerable to data theft.
Every respectable company of any size integrates technology into its operation to ensure the safety of money and information. As a business owner, you must consider security a priority; if you are writing a growth plan or applying for small business loans, you should consider cybersecurity an investment you shouldn’t skip.
Stop them before they hit
Better safe than sorry, so you should consider some of these preventive measures.
Antivirus software
It goes without saying; every company device needs to have this kind of software to counteract if someone clicks on the wrong link or receives a hidden virus in an attachment that seems harmless. You never know when or how you will be the target, and repairing the damage can be expensive, and in the worst-case scenario, you won’t be able to recover.
Timestamp and geography logs
Ensure that your IT team installs software that tracks every log into email accounts or the company server. This way, they can detect and investigate anything out of the ordinary, like a login using a new device or from a place where it’s unusual to have activity.
Hire an automated monitoring system
If you are considering a small business loan for your company’s growth, you should write in your business plan the investment on a monitoring system as part of your expenses. Those usually are not cheap.
With automated monitoring systems, you can know the activity from all of your devices and have alarms in place that let you know if there is suspicious activity and give your team time to fix whatever is making the warnings jump.
Vulnerability testing
Hire someone to hack into your servers and devices so you can detect weak spots and strengthen them. It will be better to hire an excellent company to run the vulnerability test, so you know who is responsible for access to your servers. Sign a contract to avoid any misuse of information.
A vulnerability test will be crucial as your company grows and deals with big client’s sensitive or financial information.
Have up to date operating systems
An updated device is faster, which will allow your employees to be more productive. When you update your software also helps to patch security issues. Hackers take advantage of your old operating systems; they know what are the security holes and can easily access your data to misuse it in your name, sell it or make you pay to get it back. It’s your job to make it harder for them to get in.
Having an up-to-date IT team that knows how to prevent attacks will be crucial. This way, they can perform maintenance in your hardware and secure software and always be one step ahead of an attack.
Invest in your security with team training, legitimate licenses for your devices, and software that has the sole purpose of protecting your data. Let your employees know what you are doing and help them understand the threats out there and the best way to keep them and their computers safe.
Always think of these implementations as investment in your company’s future and safety, not as an expense. Include small business loans as a fixed spend in your financial projections so you can count on them to keep you safe.