If recent news and headlines are anything to go by, there is still a long way to go in terms of cyber security. On a global scale, there is frequently news of the vulnerability of our digital world and how it has most recently been compromised. National statistics indicate that nearly two thirds of individuals have been affected personally by either an attack or a victim of data theft, including fraudulent credit card charges, stolen information, identity theft and hacked emails.
Big businesses can often afford the fallout of a cyber-attack, but SME’s who suffer at the hands of cybercrime sometimes might find it too hard to ‘bounce-back’. Many small companies are still of the opinion that their data is not valuable enough to steal, and therefore will not be targeted, this simply just isn’t true. Small business owners need to change this mind set and get the basics right, strong passwords, up to date software and ensuring their data is backed up on a regular basis.
If you are a SME and currently have no plans in place with regards to cyber-security, there are a few steps you can take to begin securing your business. Firstly, you should secure your network via a good firewall or unified threat management. Secondly, you should protect your business from Malware and potential hackers by using a strong anti-malware product. Lastly, if possible you should control access to your IT, encrypt devices when hold sensitive information and if you use mobile devices, you should also consider a mobile device management system.