Protecting your business from hackers and cybercriminals is not a choice. The aftermath of a security breach or malware attack can be destructive. Besides financial losses, you could lose investors, customers, and have a permanent dent on your brand image. Numerous reports and studies, including one by SIA in association with Wall Street Journal, have pointed out the impact of security breaches and how small businesses have been attacked in recent years. If you believe that your small business is ‘relatively’ safe, you are making a huge mistake. Also, acting after a breach has occurred is not enough. What matters more is proactive security.
What exactly is proactive cybersecurity?
In layman terms, the premise of proactive cybersecurity is to take necessary steps and measures, so as to prevent a breach in the first place. It is also about finding security vulnerabilities and fixing bug issues and other concerns, before a real hacker exploits the same. So, what about reactive cybersecurity? Sometimes, despite the best measures and security practices, security issues do occur, and it is absolutely wise and important to have an incident response plan in place, so that the loss and damage can be minimized.
How to do proactive cybersecurity?
- Ensure that you have basic cyber defenses in place. From removing old legacy software, to installing updates for existing firmware and software, all of these steps count. You have to ensure that your business is using a preventive suite, such as antimalware and antispyware. If your company isn’t using multifactor authentication, lockout feature, and access right management tools as yet, consider these on pro
- Train your employees. Let your employees know what risks and concerns loom large on your business and ensure that they know about basic measures related to email usage and safe browsing. Also, train them about social engineering tactics that hackers often use.
- Engage the security community. You have to engage ethical hackers for finding security vulnerabilities, beyond the basic in-house measures. This could be in form of bug bounty programs or hiring them on payroll. There are many professional services that can help you manage your bounty problem without any additional effort and within a budget.
These are just a few basic aspects that matter for proactive cybersecurity. Ensure that your business doesn’t compromise on employee training and aspects related to ensuring security within the workplace. Establish BYOD and work from policies, if your workforce is scattered and is relying on different devices for company work.
