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The dangers of cybersecurity can be substantial. Here’s a look at some other cybersecurity tips for small businesses.

New small businesses often have a long list of risks to overcome. This usually results in neglecting the importance of cybersecurity in the early stages of business. 

A lot of precaution and effort is invested in maximizing technical capacities for minimum cost, but this also means that security gets compromised to adjust the costs of running a small business.

But in this modern age with modern crimes of malicious hacking and identity theft, you must take cybersecurity seriously for protecting your business. 

If you want to avoid the pitfalls like - 

Loss of records, theft of your customers’ personal information, fraud – the following ten simple tips can keep your flourishing small business away from disaster.

1. Back up your data: -

   Data backup is important to protect the continuity of your business. Backups ensure that all the critical information is retrieved when there is a disaster like a ransom attack, DoS attack. Also, you should test the efficiency of your backups regularly to make sure that the files are recovered smoothly.

2. Encryption is key

Backed up data can be reinforced with encrypting the data. You can do it by enabling- 

• Encryption on all devices and drives, and to encrypt emails that contain sensitive information.

• Installing an SSL certificate that encrypts all data that is transferred between your website and users of the website. 

The good news is that SSL certificates are highly affordable by all types of businesses and are readily available to purchase.

3. Install Robust Firewalls

A firewall protects unwanted access from malicious or unauthorized persons. Therefore, you must invest in an advanced, next-gen firewall which will add extra security layers to your data and information. There are many choices present in the market. Some are –

• Cisco ASA: Superior inclusive firewall for small businesses.

• Norton: Premier host-based firewall software.

4. Multifactor Authentication

Implement a multi-factor authentication system that requires additional information along with a user’s password. Use of security questions, biometric scans, and captcha can help prevent your data from falling into the wrong hands.

5. Secure yourself against viruses, malware, and spyware

Don’t just set and forget antivirus. Top brands always provide patches and updates to protect against new threats. Configure your software updates to install automatically to run a scan after each update. And avoid Freeware which seems too good to be true!

6. Create a Mobile device policy

Nowadays, most people access business online through mobile devices, including employees. Mobile devices hold confidential information and are susceptible to attacks. MFA, encryption, and installing security apps can prevent this. Be sure to set reporting procedures for lost or stolen equipment.

7. Check the third parties

All small businesses rely on third-party vendors to ease their business. Be careful of the access and privileges you grant. It’s a good idea to have vendor management and policies in place as well. 

8. Train your employees

Ensure all your employees know the importance of constantly maintaining cybersecurity best practices and have a set of clearly defined rules to follow. If required train them with top certifications in cyber security like CISSP, CISA and more

• Train everyone – employees, vendors, stakeholders.

• Conduct sessions and seminars for awareness

• Regularly test employee’s IT security knowledge

• Have a crisis helpline to notify breaches, if any.

9. Follow best practices for Payments

Fulfill all security obligations to your bank or payment processor to ensure your customers' trust. Isolate payment systems from other programs and use different computers to process payments and internet browsing.

10. Consider managed IT services

One of the easiest ways to improve your cybersecurity is to outsource it to experts who know how to protect your systems. Today, many companies offer managed IT services that are designed with data security in mind, and these cover all aspects of business operations.

Some other benefits of managed IT services are-

• Less Downtime

• Prevention before anything happens

• Accountability for security

• Improve the quality of the IT Network and Customer Service

• Close IT Infrastructure Gap.

Overall, small business or not, to earn and maintain the company’s reputation, to build and fortify customers’ trust, cybersecurity practices are of utmost importance. Remember, safeguard is greater than restoration. That’s why small businesses should be attentive in finding solutions that strengthen their security.