All businesses are now online – or at least have an online presence. Even stores that purely provide services in-person need to have a business website, social media accounts, an email list, and possibly even order forms depending on the nature of the business. Even with just that amount of digital use, a business exposes itself to a lot of risk online. Hackers and cybercriminals love to prey on businesses like this – businesses who do not understand that there are some basic things they can do to protect the security of their business online. Because of this, it is important that even businesses that are barely online in comparison to purely online businesses prioritize their digital security. With that in mind, here are three easy ways that most businesses can take basic steps toward improving their company’s digital security.
Use a VPN
One of the easiest ways that hackers can access information is when you make it easy for them. A good way to make it more difficult is to require employees to use a VPN to access your website and other digital assets through a VPN. A VPN helps to block your IP address, and has a whole host of other benefits as well. This it makes it more difficult for hackers to access things like your financial account information for your business, as well as things like social media account information and website login information. Keep in mind that your internet speed might be affected by the use of a VPN, but this needs to be weighed against your business’s digital security considerations.
Use a deal room
A lot of companies, especially those that transact with other businesses, do not often consider the security of those transactions. This is especially the case for companies that have a host of different business relationships, including investors and strategic partnerships. If that is the case, your business should consider using a deal room. A deal room is a software solution that helps protect documents involved in the deal-making process, including contracts that are in negotiation, disclosure forms, financial balance sheets, and other sensitive data. Using a deal room, companies can create a secure environment to hammer out deals online that moves beyond unsecure cloud storage solutions such as Dropbox or Google Drive.
Backup your important files
One of the worst things that can happen is if a hacker comes in and deletes your files, and then tries to ransom them back to you. This is what is called a ransomware attack, and it can destroy a business of any shape or size. Making sure you have backups of your important files, even if they are not sensitive files, can help to create a contingency plan in case a ransomware attack occurs. You might even consider using an external hard drive or other way to create automatic backups so that you have another area where these files are stored in case of a cyberattack. This can put your mind at ease as to how accessible and secure these files are, especially in the event of an attack.
In summary
All companies, no matter how online they are, need to think about their digital securtity. Even if they only have a website and social media profiles, and do not conduct business online, hackers can still take down a website or post damaging things from a hacked social media profile. Making sure to secure these is extremely important, especially for businesses that do not yet have the reputation to recover from a cyberattack.
