The chances are very good that you have a great deal of important data that is stored on the computers at your place of business, including confidential employee reports, customer credit card information, and a wide range of emails that may include information on your competition. It goes without saying that you do not want to have any of this information destroyed or made public. But, are you taking the right measures to protect all of of this data?
While looking at recent surveys, about six out of every seven small businesses that are located in the UK and US have no good internet security measures to protect such information, leaving them at risk for major security issues. If you happen to fall into this group, these are some of the things that you can do to help you get your level of security back:
- Put out policies across the company that discuss employee computer use. When you do not want them to take work computers from the office, or sending out personal emails from the worksite, you need to make that very clear. You should not go overboard, but always put your policies in writing.
- Make sure that you have a secure password policy, making sure that each staff member is ready and willing to follow it. While it is never a good idea to force anyone to change up their passwords too frequently, once in a while will keep security higher.
- Put in ant-virus software and make sure that it is updated regularly on every computer suggests payment compliance expert River Cohen. Good commonplace choices are McAfee or Norton.
- Setting up a company firewall may sound difficult, but it will be easier than you think. All of the network routers have built in firewalls.
- When it comes to downloads, only allow routine attachments to be downloaded by your employees. Always educate your staff on any of the dangers that come from downloading an attachment that is suspicious and an anti-spam system can help to keep such attachments out of inboxes.
- Perform all software and hardware updates immediately. The bigger risks for attack will come from your brand-new exploits.
- Invest in a business class router to help you protect the internet connection for your company. A firewall is an essential part of such a package.
- Regular backup filed will be important for your company data, so make sure that they are stored in a safe or somewhere off-site.
- Be sure that staff members report any computer virus or anything that is suspicious going on with their PC.
- If there is not an IT professional on staff with the skills for setting up a secure network, you should invest in a security firm to help you with whatever you need.
