COVID has prompted businesses to go digital, making cyberattacks an easy job for scammers. Small businesses are especially at risk because of the lack of resources to purchase high security tools and software. Consider using the following strategies to avoid each type of risk to give your business the extra protection it needs.

Avoiding Phishing

Employees may receive emails that invite users to click on links attached to them. These emails can often mimic a casual interaction with a client or business partner, or even your electricity or telephone company. The most effective way to prevent phishing is to be more vigilant with responding to emails. Most organisations do not require personal information like bank details or date of birth over an email, and requests for these should raise a red flag. Checking email addresses for subtle misspells, pop-up messages and invoices for products you never purchased are common tactics to get you to interact with the link.

Anti-virus software

A traditional antivirus software can fail to pick up on newer forms of malicious codes that are used to steal passwords and your personal account information. Consider regularly updating your antivirus software to ensure that all firewalls are up (across all the computers used in your business). It can also be crucial to update your operating system and continually back up your folders and drives to make sure that you are able to access your information in case of data loss.

Securing your network

An unsecure network can cause a variety of security issues, including essentially granting access to anyone who wishes to join your network. Setting up a wireless network usually comes with a default password, and it is important to ensure that this password is changed. For heightened security, consider using multiple networks that separate guests, staff and contractors, for example, to complicate security breaches for hackers. It can be a great idea to use tools that generate random passwords to improve encryption across all your networks.

Multi/two-factor authentication

A growingly popular method of improving security is to use two different sources to identify the user trying to log into their accounts. This typically involves a combination of two types of verification like pins, passwords, fingerprints or a card. While criminals may have stolen one of these proofs, it can be harder to obtain your second proof of identity when being prompted to verify.