How to Protect Your Business from Cyber Crimes with these 11 Steps?

Posted on: Apr 21, 2022 | | Written by:

How to Protect Your Business from Cyber Crimes with these 11 Steps?

Remote or work from the home workforce is increasing owing to the pandemic and also better production levels however, with businesses opting for remote working structures, cybercrimes are also rising. In a study, it has been found that almost 43% of small businesses are affected by cybercriminals. However, that doesn’t mean bug companies do not get attacked by these cybercriminals. It is just that these people who do these crimes know that large companies have better security systems and safety protocols. Thus, it is easier to target small businesses. Whether you have a small-scale business or a big one, cyber security is important for both. Cyber insurance has also become popular with the rise of these cybercrimes.

11 steps to protect your business from cybercrimes:

1. Know your data:

Until a company knows the nature of the data it has in its systems, and the amount of data it has, it cannot fully secure the same. So, the first step to protecting your business and related information from cybercriminals is to be aware of your information and data.

2. Create back-ups:

The second step is to create a backup of the data and information that will help you recover any lost information in case of any cyber incident. Backing up data doesn’t cost a penny and it can be done with a single click. So, to secure and retail your data and information related to business, you must back them up regularly. You can create cloud storage for daily backup or weekly or quarterly and even yearly backups, you can use server backup as well.

3. Train employees to recognize spear phishing:

Whether you have a small scale business or a big one, you must have employees to run the same, isn’t it? They also use the business information and data, so it is equally important to train them to protect the data and information which they regularly use. They need to understand how to use the data and information without exposing them.

4. Do background checks on employees:

Businessdata gets sold for millions of dollars. If you are wondering how, then let’s take an example, suppose you have plans for launching a new product in the market that is completely new and no other companies have such product. This means, that if your product is liked by the customers/ consumers, the demand is going to be huge and you can increase your price and make a huge profit. Now, if one of your employees who are in the research and development team or marketing team, leaks all the information and data related to the product, not only your product will be compromised but all the efforts and money that you have put into the development and marketing of the product will go in vain. So, the protection of your business information should start from the point you hire an employee. You must do a background check and find out if there are any such past criminal records or intention to leak information about the business.

5. Limit the administrative capabilities for all systems along with social footprint:

Now, you cannot train or make every employee understand the importance of the business information, neither every employee will be that loyal to the company, so, it is always better to keep sensitive business information and data access to limited people who are trustworthy and have that passion for the business of yours.

6. Ensure that systems have an adequate firewall protection along with antivirus:

While installing any new software on the systems, there must be a thorough security check, complete machines need to be scanned, browsers and even emails need to be evaluated so that if any cyber threat is there, you can remove it then and there. While you can get cyber insurance for the value of the information lost in cybercrimes, it is always better to have your firewall and another antivirus up to date.

7. Incorporate protection against any data breach along with detection of intrusion:

Business houses use intrusion detection tools, however, for effective breach protection, your employees must be diligent enough to continuously monitor the software which is used for intrusion detection. Furthermore, they must take immediate action if there is a breach in the system so that most of the information can be retained.

8. Update the security of the software patches immediately:

Often on personal computers, you forget to update your security software, and firewall, however, if you do the same with your business laptops and computers, then be assured of losing all the crucial business information within a blink of an eye. It is crucial to update all the security features you have on your systems regularly.

9. Include the security capabilities of DDoS:

DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Services which is a diversionary strategy for targeted persistent cyber-attacks. These DDoS tools are being used by the cybercriminals to distract the security teams and network teams of the businesses and at the same time, they try to inject advanced persistent threats like malware into the network. So, for protecting your business information from DDoS, you need to have software that will either absorb or avoid these types of attacks.

10. Prepare for an alternative management plan in case of a data breach:

While the above points are about prevention, you must have a plan to cure as well. For instance, if a data breach happens, then what? You need to have a solid plan with security protocol, and the duties and roles of your employees outlined thoroughly to take care of the breach.

11. Cover the cyber risks of your business with adequate insurance:

If there is a data breach, as mentioned above, you can get coverage for the value of the data provided you have Cyber insurance. This insurance policy will cover costs related to the data breaches and in events of cyber extortion as well. Even these cyber insurance companies provide professionals to manage the event throughout.

Conclusion

Business information is crucial and thus protecting it is equally crucial for your business. You can follow the given steps for protecting your business information and data easily and also have Cyber insurance to get monetary coverage for the cost of data breaches and extortion.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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