Even though the annual cost of cybercrime to global business is a whopping £200bn, some members of staff still aren’t taking online security issues seriously enough. In fact, 93 percent of UK and US ‘knowledge workers’ engaged in at least one form of risky data security last year according to a survey by Intermedia.
Therefore, there is a good chance that your business could be a victim of hacking or cyber crime in the near future. So, to prevent this worst-case scenario from happening here’s how to boost and bolster your organisation’s online security.
Upgrade your web servers
With a solution such as 100TB Bare Metal Servers, your website won’t fall foul of Remote Code Execution or Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. This is because the latest server technology features security measures such as unlimited SSL certificates, two-factor authentication, and enterprise grade hardware firewalls.
There are also numerous other advantages to enjoy if you upgrade your web servers, including faster performance, greater capacity, and more automation.
Update your IT infrastructure
Seeing as hackers will identify and target computer systems that don’t have the latest safeguards installed, you must update your IT infrastructure as often as you can. This means signing up to automatic updates from operating system and anti-virus software vendors as they constantly release patches that address weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
As well as automatic updates, you should also have software programs in place that block spam and detect spyware trying to worm its way into your system.
Encrypt your customer’s data
If you want to provide protection for your customers who hand over credit card information when making purchases online, you need to use some sort of encryption software. But on account of the fact this can cost small businesses quite a lot of money to implement, consider using payment-processing companies like PayPal.
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You should also think about encrypting your organisation’s internal information too, as hackers and cyber criminals may target personnel files, financial accounts, and other valuable data.
Increase your access requirements
With more and more workforces telecommuting to complete their daily responsibilities, you should look closely at how employees gain access to your IT infrastructure. For example, it makes sense to require more than just a username and password.
This is particularly important when it comes to personal and private devices such as smartphones and tablets, as they are more vulnerable to hacker attack than ones connected to your network. So, introduce mobile software that encrypts email traffic and monitors phones for suspicious activity.
Educate your employees
In light of the findings that certain employees take unnecessary security risks, one of the best ways to avoid hacking and cybercrime is to educate your workforce about the dangers that exist.
First of all, create a formal company Internet policy that details what members of staff can and cannot do online, including things like ignoring suspicious email attachments and limiting private device access to the company’s Wi-Fi. However, you may need to schedule periodic meetings to discuss new and emerging online threats too.
