Companies have a responsibility to protect their own data, and their customers’ data, from cybercrimes, hackers, and basic digital weaknesses. Companies can utilize several strategies to protect their information, such as password protection, encryption, refusing to save sensitive data such as credit or debit card information, and more. Your company needs to take its data security seriously because a breach will certainly tarnish your reputation, and customers will be skeptical about doing business with you. To keep your reputation in check, read our cyber security tips to protect your company’s data.
Perform Vulnerability Tests on a Regular Basis
Regardless of the number of security layers your company has on its data, you still need to try to penetrate the data because if you aren’t, chances are someone else is. If your company doesn’t have employees who are experts in data penetration, then you should outsource the process to a reliable servicer such as Redbot Security or Secureworks. Both companies are experts in helping other companies protect their data, ultimately maintaining or improving your reputation among customers. Most cybersecurity experts suggest that companies have penetration tests at least twice per year. Even if you think your security is top notch, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Train Employees About Email Security
Many commercial data breaches originate with employees. Hackers are getting better and better at sending phishing emails that look trustworthy, making employees think they’re safe to click a link. Unfortunately, clicking that link gives the hacker access to your information. To avoid employee-targeted scams, your company should regularly train employees. Make sure all your employees know about common red flags in phishing scams. For example, look for grammar or spelling errors and the email domain. Another common email phishing tactic hackers try to use is a sense of urgency. For example, Netflix will never ask you to provide your personal information such as credit or debit card numbers over email. By holding regular training sessions and refreshers with employees, your company and your employees will be much safer.
Use Password Managers
There’s some skepticism around password managers; however, if you use a reliable service, your passwords will be virtually impossible to hack. Password managers are a service available to both individuals and businesses, that house all your passwords under one primary password. For example, if your primary password is “Pa$$word”—which we would definitely not recommend—you can sign into the password manager to access the rest of them.
There’s a few advantages to using a password manager both at work and in your personal life. First, you don’t have to remember all your passwords, so that’s nice. Second, experts are finding that passwords are needing to be more and more complex, involving longer character counts, numbers, capitalized and lowercase letters, symbols, and so on. Many password managers can create unique passwords for you that ensure complexity, making your passwords very difficult—if not impossible—to guess. Finally, password managers are in the business of security, so all major password-manager services offer two-step authentication, and they encrypt all your passwords to make them that much safer from cyber-attacks. So we would strongly encourage you to begin using one of the leading password managers, such as Dashlane, LastPass, or 1Password.
You Should Have Backups for All Your Data
Most companies have at least one backup of all their data, just in case something were to happen. However, you should probably have more than one backup. There’s a helpful process many companies use that’s called the “3-2-1 backup rule.” It’s really a guideline to storing data. For instance, the rule suggests that you should have at least three backups of your data, but more than three can’t hurt, so go for the 6-2-1 rule if you want. The rule also suggests that you should store your data in at least two different devices, and at least one offsite backup. It’s a lot of work upfront, but it’ll save you in the future if something were to happen.
Update Your Ethernet Cables
Changing your cables seems unrelated to security at first, but in fact, your cables could be a weak spot for your business. For instance, copper Ethernet cables can transmit data effectively for businesses and homes, but the electrical currents can emit signals that can allow for hackers to tap into your information. While wiretapping isn’t as common for hackers nowadays, it’s certainly possible. Unfortunately, because many companies put all their effort into protecting their data online, companies neglect to secure their cables, and hackers know it. So instead, put some effort into protecting your network preferably through fiber optic cabling, as it’s the most secure option. However, if you have limited resources, you can reduce the possibility of a breach with shielded outdoor Ethernet cables.
Consider Getting Cyber Insurance
The reality is, even if you’ve taken all the right preventative measures, data breaches can still happen. Unfortunately, cyberattacks still happen, and hackers are always looking for a new way to penetrate networks, whether through wiretapping, phishing, or other methods. So more and more companies are taking additional measures and purchase cyber insurance to protect themselves.
Whether you’re a start-up or if you’re Amazon, every company needs to take cyber security seriously. We strongly suggest you take these cyber security tips to protect your company’s data seriously, because your company’s reputation is on the line. Not to mention, a data breach can be detrimental to the business socially and financially because no one wants to shop with a company that doesn’t protect its data. By regularly supporting employees and running penetration tests, your company should be on its way to a safer and more secure future.
We also mentioned that you can secure your data through updating your network cables. Here at CableWholesale, we take cyber security seriously, and we want to help you protect your business as well. To reiterate, fiber optics are best cables you can install for security purposes, so you should try to get fiber optics when possible. However, if you’re working with a minimal budget, you can go with shielded cables because the shield around these cables reduces the signals emitted from electrical currents. Whether you’re looking for fiber optics or shielded Ethernet cables, we have the cables for you. Contact us today for more information, and our expert customer service team will be happy to help you find what you need!
