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Tips for Small Businesses for Protection against Cyber Attacks

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Do you own a startup or a small business? Well, if you do and think that your business is beyond a cyber hacker's reach, then beware! Small businesses are also vulnerable to breaches and hacks. Well, don't worry, we've got you back! In this blog, you will get to know all about cyber attacks, what are the things you can do to ensure cyber security, and how cyber insurance will be helpful.

Here are 4 ways small businesses can become proactive against cyber attacks:

1. Understand the level of sensitivity of any business data:

Most often, credit card information is the main target of cybercriminals. Apart from this, they try to keep an eye on other sensitive data of the customers like the profile information, email address, account details, and even the contact numbers. These can be quite valuable to cyber hackers.

To be proactive, small businesses need to understand the level of sensitivity of their data. They should categorize what is more sensitive and what's not.

2. Educate the business team:

The more your team will know about the cyber attacks, causes and actions to be taken, the more you will be able to ensure the safety of your business. Send reminders to your team not to open the emails and attachments received from suspicious accounts or the people they don't know. Let them know about encrypting sensitive and personal information and ask the entire team to change their passwords regularly as the first safety measure. Moreover, it is important to educate the employees to double-check the accounts and requests to issue unexpected amounts, which is one of the common scams.

According to the Internet security threat report of Symantec 2019, around half of the malicious email attachments are received from business files. Thus, it is the first step not to open any links or attachments that look suspicious. When your business is dealing with the client’s personal data, you should encrypt the documents so that both sender and recipient need a passcode to open them.

3. Take a look at the hardware security too:

In this data-driven world, people give more importance to software security, but hardware security is also important as they are easy to steal. Some people may not know but data breaches can happen even with the physical property being stolen.

If your laptops, desktops, cellphones, and other electronic items are not secured and can be accessed by anyone, then you are still at a big risk. In such a scenario, installing security cameras and alarms can be very helpful, but locking down computers and servers physically can help more.

4. Avail Cyber Security Services:

In some cases, small businesses lose their sensitivity due to a lack of security sources and when no timely actions are taken by the owners. Outsourcing a cybersecurity expert from any reputed and trusted company is beneficial. an expert can evaluate even the minor issues and risks. If necessary, he can safeguard your property both online and offline.

But, it is crucial to hire a team of experts or a single cybersecurity expert from a trustworthy company. You can even confirm from your insurance company for the same. Some insurance services also provide risk management and cyber consulting services, thus you can check with your broker and agent while applying for cyber insurance coverage.

Quick reminders to prevent Cyber Attacks:

Now, the Quick Safety Reminders for your business to prevent cyber attacks. Let’s have a look:

1. Stay updated with the news:

Do you know about the NCSAM? It’s “National Cyber Security Awareness Month'' which is held every year in October. The

event aims to make people and businesses aware of cybercrime and the importance of cybersecurity to ensure streamlined processes for businesses and keep people stress-free from cyber threats.

2. Make a well-organized cybersecurity plan:

Making a cybersecurity plan is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure the safety of your team, assets, and data from various cyber-attacks such as ransomware, malware, and phishing attacks. Your plan should involve employee training sessions as well as incident response & risk management.

The initial step should have a program to make sure that every employee understands the security procedures and policies associated with it. This can be considered the need of the hour. When the employees will be aware of updating the software, following the cybersecurity best practices, and understanding the role of precautionary measures, it will be quite easier to mitigate damages.

3. Don't forget to be smart about creating strong passwords:

NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has advised almost all the government firms for adopting strong password best practices. It is recommended to create strong passwords of at least 8 characters. You can remind your team to use unique, long, and strong passwords which are a combination of alphabets, numbers, and special characters, which is easy to remember as well. If your business has highly sensitive data, make sure you have multi-factor authentication that needs every user to show two identifying factors such as a code and a password before accessing any program.

4. Use a firewall or any strong antivirus software:

When it comes to the digital shield, everyone thinks of using a firewall, which is for protecting your data from malicious software. Using firewalls or any antivirus software will help to avoid any virus reaching your network. Some antivirus software has virus scanning features that help you to take proactive steps by removing any malware. With such an alert, you can deal with the breach very efficiently, instead of figuring out what's wrong with your system or network.

5. Consider wi-fi network security:

When you purchase a wifi requirement, it is not secured. Your device has a default password that needs to be changed with a strong and unique password that you create. Moreover, you can have an option to hide your network which means your router will not show the network name. If your clients want to access your wifi, you can set up a guest account that has different security measures and passwords. In this way, you can hide your network while protecting it.

6. Protecting all the payment options:

Having a secured payment system is one of the factors that make your customers trust you. The more complex your payment system, the more difficult it will be to secure. Well, there are certain ways to protect your payment systems. With the help of good and secure payment gateways, you can allow your customers to make smooth transactions that are free from any fraudulent activities.

Conclusion

Regardless of the business, whether you are a retailer, restaurant, bank, contractor, or even a real estate firm, if your business stores sensitive information, it is crucial for you to have cyber insurance. A cyber insurance policy helps you spend less time thinking about the cyber-attacks while ensuring the financial well-being and the growth of your small business.

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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