With a wide range of cyberthreats out to get your business every day, it’s important that you implement robust security measures to protect your data, systems, and customers. But where should you start when it comes to cybersecurity? Which security solutions or services are right for your business needs, and which efforts should you prioritize investing in?
While building a formidable defense for your California-based business can be complicated and laborious, you can start by following these five cybersecurity best practices.
1. Enforcing strong password policies
Function: Protects your network from unauthorized access
Passwords that are simple, shared, or recycled can easily be compromised if cybercriminals launch brute force or credential stuffing attacks. It’s therefore critical to establish strong password policies to ensure that only authorized users have access to your accounts and confidential and/or protected information.
You can bolster your password security by:
- Using complex passwords – String together at least eight alphanumeric and special characters to create passwords that are difficult to guess or crack.
- Enforcing password expiration – Set a policy that requires users to change their password after a specific length of time, such as every 90 days.
- Implementing multifactor authentication – Require users to provide at least one more form of authentication on top of passwords to make it more difficult for cybercriminals to gain account and system access.
- Educating users on password security – Provide users with guidelines on how to keep their passwords secure, such as by not using the same password for more than one account.
- Monitoring password activity – Keep an eye on user accounts for suspicious activity, such as repeated login attempts or password changes.
It’s also a good idea to use a password manager for storing all of a user’s passwords in one secure location and generating unique passwords for each account.
2. Having a reliable firewall system
Function: Prevents potential threats by scanning incoming and outgoing traffic
Firewalls act as gatekeepers; they control the flow of data both into and out of your networks by blocking unauthorized access while allowing legitimate traffic to flow through. This ensures that any malicious code or suspicious activity is blocked before it reaches its target destination, helping prevent data breaches, reducing the risk of malware infection, and enhancing overall network security.
3. Implementing anti-malware and antivirus software
Function: Identify and remove malicious software
Anti-malware and antivirus software can protect your devices from threats such as viruses, worms, Trojans, and ransomware that can wreak havoc on individual systems and infiltrate an entire network. These security solutions scan for malicious codes that invade computer files and programs, blocking them before they can be executed and cause any damage. When used with properly configured firewalls, these solutions are invaluable in keeping networks safe from attacks.
4. Creating a solid backup and data recovery strategy
Function: Prevents data loss and helps ensure business continuity
Data is a valuable asset for any business, and losing it can be catastrophic. A solid backup and data recovery strategy can protect against data loss caused by human error, cyberattacks, hardware failure, or natural disasters. It can also minimize downtime by enabling companies to quickly restore data and systems in case of a data loss event, helping businesses maintain continuity and protect their bottom line.
5. Conducting regular employee awareness training
Function: Minimizes human factor risks linked to cybersecurity
Making sure employees can recognize social engineering attacks is critical for keeping data safe. By understanding how such attacks are carried out, employees can look out for suspicious messages, fake websites, and other nefarious tactics that attackers use to trick their victims into divulging sensitive information.
What’s more, cybersecurity training can teach employees how to respond to such attacks, such as who to notify in the event of an incident. This way, admins can be alerted immediately, enabling them to better mitigate the impact of the threat.
The need for robust cybersecurity in today’s business landscape has never been greater. With LANPRO Systems, you gain access to top-of-the-line, strategic, and personalized solutions so you can rest assured that your business is always protected against attacks. Drop us a line to learn more about our services.
