Friday, April 18, 2014

9 Cybersecurity Tips for Small Business Owners


Small businesses have become a large target for criminals seeking sensitive data, because they typically have limited resources or personnel dedicated to information system security. To combat cyber-attacks, the U.S. Small Business Administration recommends following these 9 tips to keep your business secure.
1.      Use the Federal Communications Commission’s Small Biz Cyber Planner: The Small Biz Cyber Planner is a security tool that walks users through a series of questions to determine which cyber security strategies should be included in their planning guide, and also generates a custom PDF that serves as a cyber-security strategy template.
2.      Establish cybersecurity rules for your employees: Establish rules regarding how to handle and protect personal information, and clearly detail the penalties for violating the policies.
3.      Protect against viruses, spyware, etc.: Install, use and regularly update antivirus and antispyware software on every computer used in your business.
4.      Educate employees about safe social media practices: Employees should be trained to post online in a way that does not reveal any trade secrets or sensitive information to the public or competing businesses.
5.      Manage and asses risk: Ask yourself what you have worth protecting, and assess the impact of that important information being compromised. Make a personalized cybersecurity plan according to what is important for your business.
6.      Download and install updates when they are available: All software vendors regularly provide updates to their products to correct security problems and improve functionality. It is best to configure all software to install updates automatically.
7.      Make backup copies of important business data and information: Regularly backup the data on every computer used in your business. It is best to backup data automatically if possible, at least once a week. Depending on your business, backups may need to be processed more frequently.
8.      Control physical access to computers and network components: Prevent access or use of business computer by unauthorized individuals, and always store and lock laptop computers, as they are the easiest targets for theft.
9.      Secure Wi-Fi networks: Always require a password for access to your business’ Wi-Fi network, and consider hiding the network so it does not broadcast the network name for further protection. Also, it is advised to change the administrative password that was on your router when it was first purchased.
518 Arbor Hill Rd.
 Kernersville, NC 27284
 Ph: 336-996-3338
 

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