Any Boy Scout can tell you that the key to a successful troop outing is to always be prepared — and this simple wisdom is no less applicable when it comes to the cybersecurity of a business. And, the fact of the matter is that cybersecurity is one of the most important issues facing businesses today, as a breach can have unforeseeable ramifications throughout an entire company. With these concerns in mind, AT&T Enterprise Business publishes a Security Resource vertical on our Enterprise blog to help businesses stay on top of their cybersecurity. Here’s a starter pack of five ways to keep your business more secure.
- The unhappy fact is that cyber attacks of some degree are inevitable; hackers and IT experts are in a constant tug-of-war between taking advantage of and reinforcing the latest technology. But not every attack results in a breach, and the key to keeping hackers at pay is in how we structure and train our teams. After establishing the proper protocols company-wide, run cybersecurity tests like fire drills, and adapt your team’s response based on their performance.
- Not every business specializes in cybersecurity, but this doesn’t mean you should be left vulnerable. If your team is built to play on other strengths, don’t think of this as a necessary weakness on the cybersecurity front, though, because a trusted outside partner is a valuable asset for even those most savvy company. Whether that’s a specialized firm, or a law enforcement agency, or regulatory body, remember that identifying your allies isn’t enough—you want a solid, trusting relationship with them, so they’ll make sure you’re properly prepared.
- If you use a common piece of software, or run commercially developed apps, don’t assume that these are properly and constantly secure. Combine both of the first tips by routinely performing (or having a trustworthy firm perform) security checks. Don’t forget that this extends to your employees too. Of course your team is to be trusted, but unintentional contamination is one of the most common ways hackers get into our systems. So, build in failsafes resistant to human error, such as protections against the copying of crucial information to portable drives, and mandate the use of quality antivirus software.
- Today, we know that our employees can be more productive when they’re free to work remotely. But that doesn’t mean that we need to open up our systems to anybody else sitting on the same coffee shop Wi-Fi. Establishing a VPN helps guarantee that remote access to your enterprise remains secure. It takes a bit of legwork to set up, but it’s effort well-spent.
- If your company is the target of a cyberattack, remember that identifying the origins of the attack is crucial in preventing it from happening again. This is something we often de-prioritize, particularly when the most pressing concern seems to be to get a system live and running again for our users and clients. However, ultimately we protect them by protecting our enterprise, so don’t be hasty when performing your post-mortem, and keep vulnerable software away from no-good hands until it’s been patched.