Cybersecurity Tips for Businesses

October is an important month for all of us who navigate the digital realms, as it marks Cybersecurity Awareness Month. During this time, we collectively delve into the intricacies of our online lives, shedding light on the ever-present threats that loom behind each click and keystroke.

While most companies feel they’ve taken the necessary steps to prevent a data security breach, the reality is that 28% of employees have never received cybersecurity training.

With significant data breaches occurring at an all-time high, it’s essential that business leaders understand the importance of data security to ensure their information is safe. To protect your organization and strive toward a safer digital ecosystem, follow these cybersecurity tips for business:

4 Cybersecurity Tips for Businesses 

1) Have a Policy in Place

The first step is to establish a cybersecurity program in your organization. Without having a formal plan in place to implement data security policies, your efforts will be unorganized and your business won’t benefit from them.

Also, if your industry is required to meet certain regulatory standards, it’s likely your business must document its information security program.

With a formal cybersecurity program in place, you create employee buy-in at all levels, making it the optimal time to implement security awareness training.

2) Train, and Retrain Security Awareness 

Cybersecurity awareness training is crucial for employees to reduce the risk of them serving unknowingly as entry points into your data systems by sophisticated attack methods. 80% of data breaches are caused by employee negligence, such as clicking on a malicious link or accessing free WIFI on insecure networks makes the period before the holidays a critical time to create cybersecurity awareness within the workplace.

Ensure every employee — from admin to technologist — understands how to identify and protect against threats by covering security measures including:

• Avoiding the use of personal accounts for business workflows
• Not opening attachments or clicking on links sent from untrusted sources
• Using encryption to send documents with confidential information
• Not providing ID, password, or other confidential information in an email or in a response to an email
• Locking off computers when not in use

Lastly, you’ll receive a much higher retention rate if you perform regular cybersecurity awareness training throughout the year. Ongoing education to employees about potential security threats now will lessen your chances for a breach in the future.

3) Avoid Phishing Pitfalls

Mobile platforms and social media have become ideal channels for hackers to spread phishing messages. Phishing messages introduce special offers during a season of spiked holiday sales and shopping. Often, cybercriminals scheme attacks on customers of banks and financial institutions by requesting victims to provide sensitive information for an online purchase.

Cybercriminals are also likely to send out false messages to update customers on the status of their shipments. These messages usually include a malicious link or malware. Since the holidays are a period when customers are eager to check their shipping statuses, it’s an ideal time for cybercriminals to plan an attack.

Lastly, cybercriminals are aware that most employees are out of the office during the holidays which increases the likelihood that organizations will not pay ransom over the break. Consequently, more extended periods of unresponsiveness yields more money per attack for hackers.

4) Test Your Cybersecurity Program

When it comes to cybersecurity for business, it’s always best to prepare for the worst. Failure to do so can negatively impact a business’ finances and reputation that you may never recover from. By taking a proactive approach to protecting your data network and the assets within it, you’ll be more resilient to potential attacks that can occur later on.

Keep your organization safe by:

• Regularly performing data backup
• Installing malware
• Implementing a password policy
• Ensuring your business can withstand downtime

With proper testing of your cybersecurity program and an incident response plan in place when something happens, you’ll gain peace-of-mind knowing that you can resume business quickly with limited impact.

Data Protection for Your Business

While these cybersecurity tips for business are only a few recommendations to keep your company safe, partnering with a specialist helps ensure you’re receiving a comprehensive business continuity plan.

At Vital Records Control (VRC), we have a network of data management professionals who provide reliable, responsive solutions for your business. With digital cloud storage, data backup solutions, and secure tape media storage, we protect your information and improve data availability to ensure it’s there when you need it.