From malware to data theft to social engineering, risks are everywhere

No, your business isn’t safe.

Statistics show that small and mid-sized businesses are not immune to cybercrime, and as much as 50 per cent of the businesses reported to have at least one cyberattack in the last 12 months. It cost these businesses well over US$955,000 for restoration.

The global cybercrime cost is expected to cross US$2 trillion by 2019.

If your business doesn’t have the resources to spend on cybercrime restoration, follow these techniques to keep your business protected from most of the cyberattacks:

Educate and train your workforce

It doesn’t matter how foolproof the security system your business has, if your employees aren’t trained and don’t follow the security standards, you’re likely to lose data.

According to a report by Intel, of all the data breaches, 43 per centare attributed to the workforce. More than 68 per cent of these data breaches impacted financial records of the businesses.

Your employees, intentionally as well as accidentally, can lead to a security breach. For instance, not having strong enough passwords, using business email and accounts on public computers, etc. — all of these could potentially lead to a breach.

Also Read: Building a mobile app? Here’s how to address security threats

You need to train your employees. Tell them what they’re supposed to do to make sure they don’t become a source of the data breach.

Use a VPN

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a must part of your business’s security. There is hardly any business that goes without a VPN. It encrypts data, hides IP address, and protects infrastructures and devices from hackers.

Claudio Ramadori, the founder of Anonymster with over 9 years of IT security experience, says:

“It is hard to believe that you can run a business without a VPN. It will cost you money but in the event your company is attacked by a hacker, the encrypted data will be kept safe. Your VPN pays off, undoubtedly.”

Recently, Duo Security has offered a new solution that is better and more secure than a company’s VPN. It is based on Google’s BeyondCorp framework and is sure to help businesses on a massive scale.

You can try the security solution that best suits your organisation.

Use anti-malware software

A malware is deadly. Statistics show that some 18 million new malware samples were captured in the third quarter of 2016.

Don’t rely on free anti-malware protection tools. They’re good for nothing. Invest in high-level premium malware protection software for your entire organization. Anti-malware software will protect your servers and computers from malicious software, bugs, and most security threats.

Use cloud storage smartly

Do you use the cloud? Sure you do because there is no better way to store and share loads of data. But data stored in the cloud is not safe as it is easier to hack.

Also Read: As 2017 walks in, get yourself ready to face these cyber security threats

Victoria Ivey from CIO says: “Avoid storing sensitive information on the cloud.”

This seems to be a reasonable advice that makes sense. While you cannot stop using the cloud but you should never store the sensitive information on the cloud. Keep it elsewhere.

One last thing, keep the software, operating system, apps, and all other tools updated. Outdated software programs on your computer are the biggest threat to security.

There you go, you know how to keep your business and data safe.

Stay protected. Earn more.

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The views expressed here are of the author’s, and e27 may not necessarily subscribe to them. e27 invites members from Asia’s tech industry and startup community to share their honest opinions and expert knowledge with our readers. If you are interested in sharing your point of view, submit your post here.

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