5 Tips for Improving Your Company's Online Security

While most company owners wouldn't think of leaving the office doors unlocked after hours, criminals can, unfortunately, still enter a business through an unsecured network. Cybercriminals are getting more sophisticated all the time, and even large companies are vulnerable to attacks.

If you are concerned about protecting your assets, it's vital to include online resources in your security plan. Here are five ways you can increase your data safety.

1. Manage the Basics

The first step to securing your online information is to understand where it is located. Do you have data stored in the cloud, on your office computer systems, or a combination of both? Once you know where your data is, you can take steps to protect it accordingly.

Software that protects your system from viruses and malware is essential. You may also require firewalls. For most companies, hiring a knowledgeable IT manager, whether in-house or outsourced, is the most efficient way to handle your network security.

2. Create a Company Cybersecurity Policy

While maintaining firewalls and antivirus software is critical, your data's safety also lies in the hands of your employees. Those who use your network need to understand how to keep business information safe.

You can educate your staff by creating a company security policy and ensure every employee knows and understands it. Larger companies may have in-house IT personnel who can train people on cybersecurity, while smaller companies can consider hiring an outside firm that specializes in data security training for employees. Once you've built a policy and trained everyone, make sure to review it regularly and update it as needed.

3. Set Applicable Access Levels for Employees

The chances are that not everyone in your company needs complete access to all data. Employees who have access to information not required for their job functions can subject you to security breaches, whether inadvertently or intentionally.

Review the duties of your employees and determine what access levels are required for each position. Once you have that information, you can set up a tiered system, granting employees access to only the data they need to perform their job. Allowing staff to use your information on an as-needed basis keeps data breach opportunities to a minimum.

As employees move to different positions within the company, it's essential to review their access status and change it accordingly. Privilege creep happens when employees accumulate connections to systems for which they are no longer responsible.

4. Keep Your Equipment Up to Date

Hardware that is too outdated to run current software leaves your business exposed to vulnerabilities. Software developers constantly release updates that protect against the latest malware. If you can't run the most up-to-date versions on your system, you may not be secured. Consider replacing your systems about every three years to stay current and increase your protection strategy.

Enabling automatic software updates on your system will ensure that you always have the most current versions, maximizing your protection against malware and viruses. Automatic updates take one critical function off of your to-do list.

5. Formulate a Recovery Plan

Despite your best efforts, your company can fall victim to a data breach. Preparedness is best — you don't want to design a recovery plan after you've been the victim of a hack. Time is of the essence after an incident, and you'll need to put your plan into action as quickly as possible.

Set up an incident management team to initiate your plan of action. The team may need to:

• Isolate affected systems
• Alert customers and vendors
• Change passwords
• Hire a forensics firm
• Recover data from a cloud-based backup
• Update the recovery plan as needed

If you have already taken steps to secure your company's data against hackers, you're headed in the right direction. Now is the best time to begin a plan if you haven't. As criminals become more sophisticated, businesses must stay vigilant to avoid the risk of a breach. Staying prepared is the ideal way to keep cybercriminals at bay.