Running a business comes with a lot of different types of things to keep track of, especially when you are in the startup business. Due to the low amount of employees in a standard startup company, you may find yourself taking on a lot more tasks than you normally would if the business was much better established.
There are certain things that you need to think about to make sure that your business is safe and free from potential data thieves, and as they say, prevention is better than cure, so here are a few tips to keeping your business hardware and software safe:
The first approach is just to make sure that you would close all your systems off to prevent malware. Much like you wouldn’t leave your door unlocked at night, you would not invite cybercriminals inside, but without having the correct computer security, this is exactly what you are doing! Malware is software that is designed to damage a PC or a network without you knowing, so make sure you employ the following protection methods to prevent malware infiltrating your business.
Firstly apply the firewall. Every good internet router will have a firewall, however, this is not a cure-all when it comes to the complexity of malware, but this is a good first port of call. Investing in security software that is up to date will go beyond the standard protection methods, and the best ones are able to provide protection from things like risky websites, attacks, and identity theft. As well as these, good security packages will have location awareness, and this changes the security settings on laptops, regardless of where the employee resides.
It doesn’t just boil down to the technology that you use. It also includes implementing good working practices, which you can communicate to employees, such as changing your password every 30 days, being vigilant when it comes to outside emails with questionable attachments, and dealing with confidential information in the most appropriate way, adhering to the tenets of the data protection act.
Business security does not just extend to the antivirus or technological methods. There are things such as preventing “modern emergencies,” whether it is a natural disaster or terrorism, or a major cyber attacks on a massive level. And this is where the business continuity plan comes into play. If you are asking yourself, what is a business continuity plan? This is essentially a method or document where you can have a step-by-step guide to prevent your business from every type of imaginable attack, from the aforementioned natural disaster to an infiltration from the inside of the organization.
Finally, the most effective methods to running a business with a protection-based angle comes down to communicating the best working practices with your employees. By your employees’ understanding of what is effective and what is not can be communicated simply via packages such as e-learning or regular catch ups with staff. These are things that need to be implemented in a good business, not just for the safety aspects, but also for communicating, as staff can further improve on their skills. By developing a resilience within your employees, this will help to improve employee morale and create resourcefulness and similar skills with your staff, securing a good business practice on all grounds.
