You know what your business needs are, you’ve crafted a technology plan for your organization and you’re ready to rock, but one important piece remains – security.
We joke that hackers must have a motivational poster hanging up on their wall, because no matter how many attempts are thwarted, they just keep coming back.
Here are 10 things you can do to keep your business and peace of mind safe.
1. Establish a strong password
- Do use: a combination of capital letters, lower-case letters, numbers and special characters 8-12 characters in length. Consider creating an acronym that is easy for you to remember. Change your password often – start each quarter off with a new password
- Don’t use: personal information such as your birth date
2. Patch & Update
- Set up automatic patching and updating for software and operating systems. Your security applications are only as good as their last update and an unpatched system has more opportunity for vulnerabilities
3. Antivirus
- Antivirus and anti-malware are critical
4. Secure mobile devices
- Control access to your machine. Don’t leave your computer in an unsecured area or unlocked and unattended. Laptops are at a much higher risk of being lost or stolen, so encrypting your laptop is an option
- This also includes mobile phones, especially company phones. Most people have a smartphone with emails, texts, and documents that could be seen as valuable to others. Encryption, passwords and the ability to remote wipe phones are all things that should be considered
5. Backup
- Protect yourself from the unexpected – schedule backups regularly to an external drive or the cloud. Make sure you can get your data if needed. Weekly backups are recommended
6. Use secure connections
- Remote connectivity and secure file transfer options are best to use when off campus. You never know who is trolling around open WiFi connections
7. Use firewalls
- Firewalls control internet traffic flowing in and out of your business. Some operating systems have basic desktop firewalls which can keep your files from being scanned but a more comprehensive, robust solution is the right choice
8. Stay informed
- Stay up-to-date on what is going on in the news and the technology industry or hire, contract or consult with someone who does
9. Educate your employees
- It is one thing to put in place safety measures for your organization, but it is another to make sure everyone is practicing safe computing
- Using strong passwords and then consistently leaving computer unlocked still puts you at risk
10. Don’t click the link
- Make sure your employees are careful and diligent when clicking links – inform them of how to see the destination of a link before clicking it by simply hovering the mouse over it
- This is the number one way malware ends up on computers
Check out our EnforceIT solution or contact us with any questions you may have about securing your organization’s technology!
