5 Steps to Protecting Your Business from a Cyberattack

Did you know: the average cost of a data breech is £337,000.

It can be easy not to relate such big figures to your own business, however cyber crime is becoming much more sophisticated and unfortunately, increasingly common too.

And it’s much more than just the financial repercussions. Continuity can be affected also, leaving your reputation on the line.

Want to know the secret to successfully preparing and protecting your business from an attack?

Planning.

Cyber security is complicated, and we understand that! So, we have condensed it slightly to give you a good idea of what is important in developing your plan.

Here are 5 steps to preparing and protecting your business against cybercrime:

1. Training

Your people are the weakest link in your defence.

Not intentionally, though.

Unfortunately, one bad click is all it takes for your staff to unknowingly take down your business.

This can happen through a phishing scam, a ransomware attack or through malware.

Your team’s awareness of the threats to your business, how to spot them and what to do when they find something suspicious can make a dramatic different towards your chance of being affected.

This is why we preach about cyber security education and training sol much.

And it needs to be regular. These online crimes are developing thick and fast, so it’s in your best interest that their knowledge (and yours) is kept topped up.

2. If you have the tools, USE THEM!

You or your IT partner have gone through the effort of implementing these security tools in your business. You pay for them. So why not make use of them?

You’d be surprised how many businesses have tools like password managers, VPNs, encryption, and multifactor authentication and don’t use them.

These basic measures add an extra layer of security and could be the blocking aid for any potential risks fighting to get into your systems.

When it comes to tooling, there a huge variety of options. It’s all about finding the right blend that works for your business and the people in it.

Your IT partner will be able to work closely with you to understand how your business operates and make recommendations.

3. Backup all data, all the time

We can’t stress this one enough.

If you don’t already have an automated back-up of your data, that happens every day and is kept offsite, arrange this today.

You need fall-back options that allow your business to bounce back and function if anything goes wrong.

If you don’t have 3 or more copies, it’s not a backup.

You’ll be happy to know that these can be automated, so you don’t have to spend your time saving data in multiple locations.

Another important detail to mention is that your backup is monitored and managed. This allows issues to be avoided and identified in enough time.

An IT partner can take this on for you, ensuring continuity.

4. Policy. Protocol. Procedure.

The 3 P’s are going to be your best friends.

• Your policy act as a guide for your people’s actions when it comes to things such as passwords and multifactor authentication. It will outline the minimum requirements for keeping your business safe.
• A protocol will involve a set of procedures; the who’s, the what’s and the how’s. For example, in the case of an attack; who do they alert, what are the steps to block it and how everyone should react.

If you’ve never put something like this together before, consult your IT partner for help.

5. Bring in the experts

As we’ve said, we understand that cyber security can be a confusing and complex topic so sometimes it’s best to bring in the experts who can give you clarity and confidence that your business is well protected.

An IT partner like ourselves can help with implementing the structures and the tooling for your business, but also doing the monitoring and management we spoke about earlier.

Protecting your business is a worthwhile investment ensuring it’s done correctly. And with this it’s more important to revisit your plans to keep up with the ever changing environment.

If you don’t already have a plan in place to help protect your business from a cyber-attack, we hope you can now see how vital it really is.

Come speak to our team if you’re thinking of implementing or revisiting a plan. We’d be happy to give you a review and our recommendations!