Cybersecurity Awareness Month – A Review of Best Practices for Businesses
One of the most fitting ways to celebrate this Cybersecurity Awareness Month is by spreading knowledge among business owners. As a business attorney who also focuses on cybersecurity, I often guide business owners on how to protect themselves and their assets from cyber threats. I’m taking this opportunity to discuss a few of the best cybersecurity practices and precautions that can help protect businesses:
1. Stay up-to-date. This is a major area of concern, because regular updates are typically required to help keep the workplace secure. To start, you’ll want to ensure that you’re using updated hardware. Replacing your older equipment will enable you to benefit from enhanced security features. It’s also important to access the latest software and install the updates recommended by the software provider or manufacturer.
2. Use anti-virus and anti-malware programs. Their use in the workplace means that you’ll have some form of protection for your data and hardware. These programs should be installed on all work computers, including employee laptops, to help ensure protected access. Additionally and, as mentioned above, the programs should be updated as recommended.
3. Use secure file-sharing. Finding a way to securely transfer data is a crucial part of business, protecting not only your office but also your clients and their data. Ensure your office has a standard way to share files that will be secure.
4. Use strong passwords and change them frequently. Your office may need to use and keep track of hundreds of passwords. Each of these should be unique, challenging to guess, stored securely, and updated often. Keeping your passwords up-to-date can help prevent unauthorized access to your company data.
5. Backup important data. When a business is attacked by cyber criminals, one of the most crucial parts of their recovery is being able to recover their data. Having a secure backup is one way to ensure your business will be able to continue operating smoothly, in the event of a cyberattack.
6. Train your employees. Establishing office-wide policies and procedures and training your employees on them can be key to help ensure that your business remains secure. This should include how to store company data securely, how to spot suspicious emails or links, how to use a VPN or secure Wi-Fi connection, and more.
If you’re in doubt about any of these practices, or if you need individual assistance with the legal issues related to your business’ cybersecurity, feel free to reach out to me. Together we can help make sure that your business remains protected.
The information presented here is for general educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.