In the 21st century, almost any business could fall victim to a cyber-based threat if they aren’t careful. These tips can allow you to keep your finances secure and out of the hands of hackers:
Always Use a Strong Antivirus Program
While this tip may sound obvious to some people, far too many small business owners either ignore this altogether or use a substandard antivirus program. Many companies use a managed antivirus program that ensures that an employee could not turn it off. Furthermore, these programs tend to be monitored much more closely than unmanaged ones. Always choose an antivirus company that is reputable. Unfortunately, some smaller (and free) antivirus software companies are actually malware programs themselves. The Windows operating system is more prone to malware than other operating systems, but you might want to consider getting an antivirus program for other types of devices as well.
If your antivirus program regularly requires that you perform updates manually, it’s essential to do this. Luckily, a managed antivirus program will not require that you regularly perform updates on your system manually. Furthermore, it’s important to ensure that the company you choose is known to keep up with the times. If your business works with an IT company or you have a technical department, you can schedule periodic updates to go to every computer on your network.
Always Update Your Website to Keep it Safe
Did you know that if you don’t update your website’s plugins regularly, you can compromise its security? This is especially important for site security plugins like Wordfence, which have to update frequently in order to keep up with new threats. Updating your hosting package to keep up with an increase in hack attempts or general rise in traffic is also crucial to keeping your site safe. Aside from security reasons, updating your site regularly also communicates to Google that your site is active, helping it rack higher in search results.
Use a Virtual Credit Card
Virtual credit cards can help to keep you and your company’s finances and your customers safe as they greatly reduce the risk of credit card fraud. There are many options of virtual card to choose from, and new versions are being offered all the time. Do plenty of research on the company that you’re considering getting one from, and read reviews from other business owners. This is also a great opportunity to find good deals on cash back or other card perks.
Invest in Cyber Liability Insurance
From general liability insurance to workers’ compensation, there are a variety of commercial insurance products that work to protect businesses. With cyber crime becoming increasingly common, you should take steps to protect your business in the event that sensitive customer information and business documents become compromised. Cyber liability insurance is particularly important if you do handle people’s financial information.
Keep Your Customers Safe, Not Just Your Company
You should make a list of the types of customer data that you need to protect on your business website and then think about what you’ll need for protecting financial information and user data. Always ensure that you have backups for records of the data. Put together a plan of how to respond if you find yourself hacked; this is extremely important if you have any saved private information.