INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Enterprise Security
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Five things SMEs
should be doing to
combat cybersecurity
/////////////////////////////
With unprepared
businesses ending up
on the firing line,
Michael Colin,
Sales Director at
telecommunications
service provider BitCo,
offers five ‘easy-to-
implement’ defence
mechanisms.
N
aivety and ignorance are no longer
valid excuses and owners of small
and medium-sized organisations
in every sector are under even more
pressure to comply with data protection
requirements as well as safeguard their
operations. If big fish like Liberty can be
hacked, how vulnerable are local SMEs to
cybercrime? You do the maths.
Despite the obvious danger, about 87%
of small business owners don’t consider
themselves at risk of falling prey to cyber-
predators. This misconception highlights
why it is so important to take real action
and ensure that your security measures can
adapt to risks before they materialise.
1. Strengthen password protection
Possibly the easiest security procedure
to execute, there’s no reason to still
use your birthday as your desktop
password. Increase password difficulty
and uniqueness with a mix of lower and
uppercase letters, numbers and special
symbols, and utilise reminders that prompt
you to update passwords regularly.
Two-factor authentication (which
you’re probably familiar with in terms
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of banking app transactions) is also
valuable as an additional layer of
security for sign-in processes.
A further good idea is to limit employee
access to passwords according to their
role at the company – not everyone
needs access to everything on the
system as this creates additional
avenues for cyberattackers to exploit.
2. Educate employees
The most advanced cybersecurity system
means very little when your staff don’t
know how to use it properly. Introduce
security protocols for keeping employee,
vendor and client information safe, as
well as damage-control procedures staff
can follow should a breach occurs.
Train employees to follow best
cybersecurity practices. This applies
particularly to identifying fake emails
and unsecured websites – the typical
source of malware infection.
3. Update devices
Regular software, operating system
and web browser updates are crucial
to shield desktops, laptops, tablets and
cell phones against the latest, ever-
evolving security threats.
Cloud software should be automatically
updated by the provider but ensure
you and your staff make a point of
manually checking for new versions of
all other software anyway, especially
your antivirus protection.
If your employees use personal devices
for work – in line with the growing BYOD
(Bring Your Own Device) trend, consider
having a network administrator install
monitoring software and promote
automatic security updates on these
pieces of hardware. Such cautionary
moves help to ensure an uncompromised
company network.
4. Create backups regularly
Schedule routine backups (daily,
or at least weekly) of all important
information stored on company
computers and keep a copy of these
backup files in the cloud, as well as on an
offline hard drive to be extra-safe. Both
copies should be encrypted.
Data backups form part of a broader
cyber resilience strategy to help your
business resume normal operations in
the event of a cybercrime incident.
5. Install an on-premise
managed firewall
For around-the-clock, all-inclusive and
enterprise-grade protection, your best
bet is an on-site firewall.
A service provider will install, manage,
monitor and maintain the hardware,
removing any guesswork and offering
you peace of mind that your systems
and all the precious data they contain
are safe from illicit access attempts.
Given that cyberattacks are so prevalent,
and increasing, it’s best for businesses of
all sizes to prepare for the worst.
Implementing these security measures,
and having a holistic cybersecurity
strategy in place, will help to prevent
unauthorised network entry and
reputation-damaging data loss. n
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