Ways to Protect Your Business from Cyber Threats

Cyber threats are a serious concern for any business that relies on the internet and technology. Cyberattacks can compromise your data, disrupt your operations, damage your reputation, and cost you money. According to a report by IBM, the average cost of a data breach in 2020 was $3.86 million, and it took an average of 280 days to identify and contain a breach.

As a business owner, you need to take proactive steps to protect your business from cyber threats and minimize the impact of a potential attack. These are some of the common ways to protect your business from cyber-attacks. 

Train Your Employees

Your employees are your first line of defense against cyber threats, but if they are ignorant of the hazards and best practices, they could also be your weakest link. Your staff should receive frequent instruction and training on how to spot and prevent typical online dangers like phishing emails, spyware, ransomware, and social engineering. Well-defined policies and procedures should be established and followed when utilizing and gaining access to company equipment, networks, and data.

Install a Firewall

A firewall is a software or hardware device that monitors and controls the incoming and outgoing network traffic on your devices and networks. A firewall can help you block unauthorized or malicious access attempts, filter out unwanted or harmful content, and prevent data leakage. You should install and activate a firewall on every device that connects to the internet, including computers, smartphones, tablets, routers, printers, etc.

Types of Firewalls

Some common types are:

i.) Packet filtering firewall:

• This type of firewall examines each packet that passes through it and blocks or allows it based on a set of rules.

ii.) Stateful inspection firewall: 

• This type of firewall keeps track of the state and connection information of each packet and applies rules based on the context. It is more secure and flexible than packet filtering.

iii.) Proxy firewall:

• This type of firewall acts as an intermediary between the source and destination of the traffic. It creates a new connection for each request and filters the traffic based on the application layer data.

iv.) Next-generation firewall (NGFW):

• This type of firewall combines the features of stateful inspection and proxy firewalls with additional capabilities such as deep packet inspection, intrusion prevention, malware detection, and application awareness.

Backup Your Data

One of your most valuable assets is data, and losing it could be disastrous for your company. Because of this, you should periodically back up your data and store it somewhere safe, preferably off-site or on the cloud. You can recover from a cyberattack, a natural disaster, a hardware malfunction, or a human error with the aid of data backups. Periodically test your backups to make sure they are functioning properly.

Methods for Backing Up the Data

Some of the most common methods are:

• Using an external hard drive or a USB flash drive to copy your files manually or with backup software.
• Using a cloud storage service such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive to sync your files online and access them from any device.
• Using a backup service such as Backblaze, Carbonite, or iDrive to automatically back up your files to a secure server and restore them in case of a disaster.

Keep Your Software Updated

One of the easiest ways to prevent cyberattacks is to keep your software updated with the latest security patches and fixes. Software updates often address known vulnerabilities and bugs that hackers can exploit to access your systems or data. You should enable automatic updates for your operating system, applications, antivirus, firewall, and other software tools. You should also check for updates when you purchase or install new software or hardware.

Secure Your Wi-Fi Networks

Wi-Fi networks are practical and effective, but if they are not properly secured, they may also be open to cyberattacks. Hackers can access your network or devices, mess with your wireless signals, steal your data, or use your network to launch attacks against other targets. You should utilize robust encryption techniques (such as WPA2 or WPA3), alter the default network name and password, turn off remote access features, and restrict the number of devices connected to your network to safeguard your Wi-Fi networks.

Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a security method that requires users to provide two or more pieces of evidence to verify their identity before accessing a system or service. For example, you may need to enter a password and a code sent to your phone or email. MFA can add an extra layer of protection to your online accounts and prevent unauthorized access even if your password is compromised. You should enable MFA for all your online accounts that support it, especially those that contain sensitive or confidential information.

Get Cybersecurity Insurance

Cybersecurity insurance is a type of insurance that covers the costs and liabilities associated with cyberattacks or data breaches. Cybersecurity insurance can help you pay for expenses such as data recovery, system restoration, legal fees, fines, customer notification, credit monitoring, reputation management, etc. Cybersecurity insurance can also provide you with access to experts and resources that can help you respond to and recover from a cyber incident.

Defense In Depth

Defense in depth is a security strategy that applies multiple layers of protection to prevent unauthorized access to data or resources. The idea is to create a series of barriers that an attacker would have to overcome to compromise the system. Defense in depth can include physical, technical, and administrative controls, such as locks, firewalls, encryption, passwords, policies, and procedures. By implementing defense in depth, an organization can reduce the risk of a single point of failure or a single vulnerability being exploited.

These eight points discussed above only list precautious methods that one can use to protect, against and identify cyber threats. These are by no means 100% foolproof. Every business owner should keep these points in their mind as well as take extra precautions to make sure their assets are protected at all times. We live in such a digitized world that nothing is 100% secure, everything is hackable and breachable, all we can do is take precautions and build our walls stronger so that no one can tear them down.