For businesses of all stripes, comprehensive cybersecurity should be your first, second, and third concern. Hackers and cyber-thieves stole a record $400 billion from companies last year, often via fairly basic, easily preventable attacks.
You might think that your small business has little to offer the sophisticated cyber criminals of today’s world, but you’d be wrong.
Your IT system will contain professional and personal data from yourself, your customers, and your employees that hackers will want to obtain.
You might have sensitive trade secrets or financial data on your servers that could be worth millions in the wrong hands.
Web security at all levels is important for every business, which is why you need to know the most common security mistakes that businesses make. Read on to find out more.
1. Assuming it Won’t Happen to You
One of the worst mistakes you can make as a small business manager is to assume that it won’t happen to you.
Given that the majority of headline-grabbing cyber-attacks concern Fortune 500 companies, you might be forgiven for thinking this. However, research has shown that a full 43% of all cyberattacks are aimed at small businesses.
This is often because hackers assume those businesses don’t have the resources or know-how to defend themselves. Don’t make this mistake.
2. Not Educating Your Workforce on Web Security
Your cybersecurity is only as strong as the weakest link in the chain. If your employees aren’t fully up-to-speed on the cyber-security threats they face, they face the risk of making your network vulnerable.
Say you fail to provide staff training on navigating questionable websites, and an employee clicks on a phishing link.
That one, easily preventable error could result in incalculable losses for your business. Always provide regular, up-to-date training for all workers.
3. Failing to Conduct a Comprehensive Security Audit
All too often, business leaders are blissfully unaware of the vulnerabilities that exist within their IT network.
Without this awareness, you will have no idea how hackers and scammers are able to exploit your weaknesses. Every business should conduct regular audits to test their security capabilities.
This is just one of the many security services from IT Pros Management, a professional digital security team, that are designed to keep small businesses safe and secure in the modern cybersphere.
4. Ignoring Regular Software Updates
All of those software updates that keep nagging you when you log-in every morning are there for a reason.
Microsoft, Apple, and all of the rest add regular updates when they learn of new vulnerabilities that hackers are trying to exploit.
If you ignore these updates, you are leaving your IT system wide open for attack. Always be proactive by ensuring that frequent software updates are a part of company policy.
5. Not Having Strong Passwords and Encryption in Place
Finally, it is important to pay close attention to your most basic line of defense; your passwords. In 2020, the world’s most common passwords are still “qwerty” and “password1”.
As you might have guessed, these passwords are easily and frequently guessed by people trying to gain illicit access to another system.
Always choose strong passwords for every single entry point into your IT system. In addition, you should be guaranteeing end-to-end encryption at every single level.
Learn More
To learn more about the kind of web security you need to make your business thrive, make sure to consult our extensive Web Development section for up-to-date, expert advice.
