By Nick Porter – Guest Blogger

Whatever industry you’re in, having a strong online presence is vital to any business hoping to grow to its fullest potential, and in many cases, it’s necessary to operate. To that end, much like you need to protect physical business assets, you need to protect your online presence as well. People care and will check if your website is safe. Cybercriminals are constantly operating, and they are usually organized.

While cybersecurity is a complex topic, here is some of the basic information you can use to get started protecting your online presence:

The Human Factor

When running a business, the absolute most important thing to remember about cybersecurity is that human error is responsible for the vast majority of successful cyberattacks. Whether it’s lax security, mixing personal and business accounts, or other common lapses in judgment, hackers use social engineering techniques far more often than the type of brute force hacking you might first think of.

You need to make sure your staff is trained and remember that the weakest link in the chain is going to be the one that causes issues. As easy as it might seem to let things go at some point, it won’t be easy to deal with the fallout of a data breach.

Lock Down Your Website

Depending on your business and website, it could have valuable information attached to it or have accounts related. Many websites are different, and so specific recommendations here as to how to best secure your site wouldn’t be effective. However, you should invest in an SSL certificate, use tools or plugins to secure your website (and update them), and check for potential exploits.

Implement Strict and Formal Policies

Related to the importance of reducing human error is the fact that businesses that have a formal cybersecurity plan (for both prevention and response) will be less susceptible and less damaged by cybersecurity threats. Take some time to develop it with whoever is on your IT team, and make sure everyone is on the same page once it is complete.

Common Threats

Here are some of the most common threats and issues you or your team may encounter:

• Phishing Scams: Either through email or phone (or on occasion other methods), a scammer will attempt to get login or other information out of you or one of your team members, and then either use it against your system or for profit. This is where having strict cybersecurity pol
• Malware: If you don’t have proper firewalls and cybersecurity suites installed on office computers, malware can cause a wide range of malicious effects, ranging from stealing data to slowing down (or even ruining) your computers. Instruct employees to stay off of suspicious sites and be careful of unknown files.
• Ransomware: A specific type of malware that will hold a device or data hostage until you send money. Never pay those responsible what they want under any circumstances.
• DDoS Attacks: Effectively, hackers, through various means, can try to overload requests to your server. It’s unlikely for a business to be a victim but know that data is relatively safe (even if your business is disrupted).
• SQL Injection Attacks: An injection of code into your website that exploits a vulnerability on your website. These types of attacks can affect your site, allow hackers to access data, and more.

Update and Adapt Regularly

Cybercriminals and cybercriminal organizations are regularly going to use new social engineering tactics and tools, and as such you need to adapt regularly and keep abreast of what you should look out for. Learn about recent common scams, update your applications and security programs, and review your business cybersecurity strategy at least every six months.

Conclusion

In some ways, this article is only breaching the surface when it comes to cybersecurity for your business, but you must start with the basics and the important tasks listed above. The sooner you get these items taken care of, the sooner you can settle into a routine for it and otherwise focus on growth and the other things that matter. We hope that this information proved useful and wish you success in your future endeavors.

An additional source for your online security:

https://www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/how-to-tell-website-safe-legitimate

Nick Porter is a writer and blogger who is especially interested in Cyber Security and Digital Marketing.  Sharing his knowledge to help his readers be more productive with social media and SEO brings him great joy! He also enjoys educating readers on more effective online security controls.