Cybersecurity is a major concern for businesses and consumers alike. The importance of cybersecurity is at an all-time high, and it will only continue to grow in the coming years. Security breaches can erode customer trust, disrupt the business flow, and even open a business up to lawsuits and fines.
Businesses are nowadays, more than ever, willing to implement new technological solutions and thus become more reliant on technology. With so much information being stored digitally, there is a higher risk of security breaches.
In 2022, businesses that haven’t already need to take a proactive approach to protect their #data from hackers and other #cyber threats. Click To TweetThe possible problems are many, as are the solutions and defenses, but here are the top five things to focus on, especially if you are a small and growing business.
Use SSL
The importance of safe websites is perhaps more than it has ever been. Because content on the internet is more accessible than ever, the sheer volume of information available shared and interacted with poses security concerns for everyone participating in the process.
When something is so crucial for such a diverse group of people, a uniform approach is required to provide a minimal level across the board. The SSL certificate for websites has become such a tool over time.
The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol is used to establish an encrypted connection, which is required if you want to provide a dependable environment that makes your clients feel completely safe when surfing your website.
The WP Force SSL plugin is the quickest and easiest way to achieve this. The software will save you a lot of time, money, stress, and clients by ensuring that your SSL is up to date with a more secure site on the Internet.
So, if you get this plugin, you and your site’s visitors can stop worrying about the site’s security and get back to business. The purpose of the plugin is to reroute unsecured Internet traffic to encrypted HTTPS. Furthermore, by using WP Force SSL, you will be able to repair problems without having to write any tedious code.
Secure Your Login Page
WP Login Lockdown is a WordPress plugin that helps to secure your WordPress login page by limiting the number of login attempts and blocking IP addresses that make too many failed login attempts. Here’s how you can use WP Login Lockdown to secure your WordPress login site:
- Install and activate WP Login Lockdown plugin from the WordPress repository.
- Once the plugin is activated, go to the “Settings” section of your WordPress dashboard and select “Login Lockdown.”
- In the “Login Lockdown” settings, you can configure various options such as the maximum number of login attempts allowed, the time duration for which a user will be locked out after exceeding the maximum login attempts, and the notification email address to receive alerts when someone gets locked out.
- You can also customize the error message that is displayed when someone tries to login and exceeds the maximum login attempts.
- Additionally, WP Login Lockdown allows you to whitelist specific IP addresses that should never be blocked, such as your own IP address or those of trusted users.
By using WP Login Lockdown, you can protect your WordPress login page from brute-force attacks and unauthorized access attempts. This can help to prevent security breaches and protect your website from malicious activities.
Protect your email communication
Did you know that security awareness metrics for email are going through the roof? It doesn’t matter what stage a business is at, it is likely to be using email for various purposes. That might be surveys, offers, customer support tickets, etc.
The last thing a business needs is great engagement and growing customer loyalty to be abused by a malicious party executing a phishing attack. Email fraud is a powerful tool in the arsenal of modern hackers, so make sure to deny it to them.
One way for hackers to abuse your system is to breach your security by stealing passwords, installing malware on your computers attached to your network, and phishing. The success of these tactics greatly depends on your employees, but more on that later. For now, let’s focus on plugging all the other holes.
Make it impossible for hackers to use your domain to send fraudulent emails to customers who don’t know the entire list of your official emails. Follow this guide on how to add dmarc record to your DNS, and you will solve this issue all on your own.
Keep track of your entire network.
As businesses grow, so do their tools. The number of doors that lead in and out of a cyber system tends to increase greatly. This means that the job of overlooking the security will soon become too abstract to keep track of easily.
This is why it’s important to keep track of metrics. If an attack does happen, and it very well may, it’s imperative to have an idea of what is going on. There are various metrics to keep track of, so it’s no easy task, but several software solutions will be of great help.
Monitoring network security with Aruba Clearpass, Grafana and Graphite is fairly easy and comprehensive. This tool will cover the needs of a medium business in terms of monitoring the security network easily, as its components come with various plugins.
Deploy a consistent SIEM strategy
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) is a system that collects, analyzes, and reports on data from logs, alerts, and events. It is a system that can help organizations manage their security risks by providing information about the network’s activity.
SIEMs are used to monitor networks for security events such as unauthorized access or attacks. They can also be used to analyze data from logs, alerts, and events in order to identify patterns in the network’s activity.
The most common use cases are in IT departments where they are used to monitor network traffic or in financial services where they are used to monitor transactions for fraud. SIEM can be deployed on-premises or as a cloud-based solution. Both of these options are good if executed correctly.
Depending on the size of your business, you may or may not have a big or even a small security team. The more constrained you are with resources, the greater the importance of prioritizing – deciding what to log in a SIEM.
Backup your data in a cloud storage service
Another potential result of a security breach is data loss and data corruption, so performing ongoing backups is critical. Cloud backup is a great option for data backup because it offers unlimited scalability while eliminating additional infrastructure costs, which is great for a growing business.
Cloud offers predictable storage costs and all but eliminates downtime, as data from the cloud can be instantly accessed and restored, ensuring business continuity. Some cloud vendors provide dedicated resources that they don’t share with other customers, which may or may not be a feature to look for depending on business size and type.
Educate employees
Perhaps the best defense has less to do with technology and more to do with vigilance on the part of people within your organization. Humans have been consistently shown to be the weakest link in the security system. With the advancements in technology, new avenues of attack open. However, a robust security system can still prevent or at least mitigate the damage.
Something that never changes is human nature and its susceptibility to social hacking. Most people don’t know how to identify a threat and don’t recognize a fraud attempt when they see one. According to a stunning report by KnowBe4, a cybersecurity firm, anywhere between 85% and 55% of employees did not have a firm grasp on social engineering attacks such as phishing, business email compromise, spear phishing, etc.
Educate yourself and your employees about the dangers of cyber threats, what to look for, and how to report a possible attack. Ensure there is a clear and strong cybersecurity policy and culture in your organization and keep reinforcing it. Humans tend to relax and drop their guard after a long lull. Ultimately, only through that can you mitigate risk and reduce incidents.
To conclude
If you haven’t already, implement these solutions in your business. They are scalable and easier to introduce in a small business so it’s always good to start early. In fact, if your business is so small that the website is pretty much all there is in terms of business infrastructure, focus on securing your website first.
Cybercrime is a lucrative business that costs companies untold millions every year. Just because a business is small, at least right now, does not mean it is not anyone’s target.
It’s better to be safe than sorry, so start with these tips, and your customers and employees will appreciate you for it in the end. Doubly true when data security scandals inevitably arise in other companies only for their worries to be eased by your spotless record.