Here are the ten essential measures that will help your business stay secure:
Conduct Regular Cybersecurity Assessments
Understanding your current security level and identifying any vulnerabilities on a regular basis is essential as these vulnerabilities can occur at any time a result of new systems, staff members or contracts. These assessments can help you to prioritise your resources and address any weaknesses.
To help support UK businesses we are currently offering a ‘Free External Penetration Test’ This test effectively works as an external hack on your business from a trusted UK IT Support provider. None of your data or systems are negatively affected in any way and the best way to complete one of these tests is through an external provider to ensure all results are presented with no agenda.
Once this external penetration test is completed we will send over the results for your to rectify any security gaps found and ensure you are protected in the future. If your team require expert assistance to secure these gaps please do get in touch, we would be happy to advise or assist you.
Implement Strong Password Policies
To ensure that your business is secure all employees must use strong, unique passwords and change them regularly. The best way possible to do this is to implement an industry recommended password manager within your entire team to ensure all accounts are protected at all times. To learn more about password managers and get access to our free ‘Password Policy’ click here
Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
As a base minimum, all businesses should require every employee to have Multi-Factor Authentication for accessing sensitive systems and data. Many businesses set this as a requirement but fall short by not restricting access to allow their team to manually turn MFA off. By allowing your employees to do this your business is at a much higher risk of being victim to an attack with cyber criminals needing only seconds to infiltrate your systems. If you require advice on how to set-up these permissions company-wide please contact us via email or by submitting a quote for assistance.
Keep Software and Systems Updated
Regularly updating all software, operating systems, and firmware will help to protect your business against known vulnerabilities. These updates can be automatically scheduled at specific times to ensure your team members are not affected. If you do not require outsourced IT Support due to an internal team or specific individual, but would like additional support and security with managed updates and automated security alerts to help support your internal team our ‘Device-only Monitoring’ could help to ensure your business is just as well protected as the larger corporations at a fraction of the price of fully managed support.
Backup Data Regularly
The maintenance of up-to-date backups for all critical data is essential, if you were ever affected by a cyber-attack you could ensure all devices were promptly disconnected and your business would be quickly restored . It is recommended for security purposes that you have more than one backup.
We have found many businesses rely on Microsoft cloud backup solely for their entire business. This is a huge security concern as if your systems are compromised so too is your entire data infrastructure.
We recommend you have a secure outsourced cloud backup as well as a physical external backup. If you would like to discuss this with one of our experts in more detail please reach out to us via email.
Educate Employees
One of the main and ever-increasing causes of a cyber attacks on UK businesses is due to a lack of training staff on recognising phishing attempts, suspicious emails, and social engineering tactics.
You can have the most secure defences possible but if your team are not trained to actively spot and be on the lookout for suspicious activity then this can pose a huge threat to your business.
Many business owners are opposed to having their team complete cyber security training due to “wasted time and resources”, but what if we told you instead of sending your entire workforce on annual cyber security training, that instead our training could be completed each month without the need of wasted time or resource absence.
Our conscious Testing & Training for employees was set up to ensure your employees are continuously kept aware of the ever-changing cyber threats.
Your team receive test spoof emails monthly that attempt to trick them with the latest phishing threats, these emails can appear to be from credited sources for example, Barclays, eBay, Amazon, Gov etc.
Click here find out more about our employee testing & training.
Monitor Network Traffic
By continuously monitoring your network activity for any unusual behaviour or unauthorised access you can rest assured there are no hidden threats.
We provide 24/7 dark web monitoring and reporting for our clients to do exactly this!
If you would like to discuss how we could implement this within your systems please get in touch!
Implement Access Controls
As an organisation you should limit specific employees access to sensitive information and systems based on user roles and responsibilities. By restricting access to only those who need it, you will massively reduce the risk of data breaches and unauthorised actions within your network and show a forward-thinking attitude to your business and your security.
- Develop an Disaster Recovery Plan
Ensure your have a clear plan in place for responding to cyber incidents, including communication strategies and recovery steps.
All of your employees should be informed of the steps of this plan and their own role within it. A disaster recovery plan will ensure that your business can quickly and effectively respond to cyber incidents to minimise your downtime and any damage caused.
Engage with Cybersecurity Experts
Work with a team of cybersecurity professionals that you can trust have your best interest at heart. These experts will be able to provide your business with the advanced knowledge and resources you need to stay ahead of emerging threats.
As the UK government has emphasised, the threat from Russia is real and ongoing. According to Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden, “Russia is exceptionally aggressive and reckless in the cyber realm.” He further warned that “Russia can turn the lights off for millions of people” with a cyber attack.
To help you prepare, we are offering a free cybersecurity audit.
A cybersecurity audit is a vital step in ensuring that your business is prepared to face sophisticated cyber attacks. By identifying vulnerabilities and improving your overall security, an audit can significantly reduce the risk of a successful attack, safeguarding your business’s operations and data.
Would you like to know more about the benefits of a cybersecurity audit or perhaps some real-life examples of how audits have helped businesses? Get in touch!
Don’t wait until it’s too late—take action now to protect your business.
