How to protect your business data from cyber attacks

With there being an average of 80,000 attempted cyber-attacks per day, equating to around 30 million per year, it’s no surprise that many businesses remain concerned when it comes to protecting both their client’s and employee’s sensitive data. However, despite understanding the threat that cyber-attacks and data breaches can bring, many businesses do not have the necessary cybersecurity required to operate safely within the digital age. In addition, the sheer number of tools that are at the disposal of these cyber attackers, as well as the recent shift towards ‘working from home’, makes it hard for business owners to make the right decision when it comes to utilising the most relevant cybersecurity software for their company.

Types of cybersecurity breaches

Security breaches can come in many forms, ranging from individuals targeting your computer or phone data via the utilisation of intrusive software, to the psychological manipulation of your employees to gain otherwise private information. One of the most popular cyber-attack methods is the use of ‘Malware’, which is essentially a piece of software that has been written with the intent to do harm to your data and devices. These can come in a variety of forms, such as trojan viruses, spyware and ransomware among many others, and are most often deployed via ‘phishing’ emails that are opened and clicked on by unsuspecting employees. Phishing emails are written by individuals posing as known or trusted contacts within your company or outsourced associates via the creation of seemingly ‘legitimate’ email aliases. This is done to gain the trust of the recipient and make it more likely for them to engage with the malware-ridden content they have created. For example, between 2019 – 2020, 55% of businesses globally were subject to a successful phishing attack, in turn costing billions in damages related to lost or compromised personal data.

How can you protect your business data?

Now that we’ve identified some of the main methods cyber attackers use to access your information, how can you start to secure your business data and outline a strategy to prevent against future breaches? By partnering with us here at SADS IT, you’ll be supported by a team of IT specialists with over 30 years of experience in the industry. We will work with you to ensure that all of your IT and cybersecurity needs are met with just one experienced and trusted supplier.

To provide an insight into how you can start preparing against these risks, below Is our ‘6 step guide’ for protecting your business data. These actions outline a basic strategy that we employ in order to understand what cyber threats your business is vulnerable to:

1. Identify Threats – These can come in a variety of different forms, however most threats begin with users providing unauthorised access to information via ‘phishing’ attacks and scams. We look to Identify the kinds of attacks that you and your staff are most exposed to, or have been targeted with in the past, to prevent further breaches in the future.
2. Risk Analysis & Management – Understanding the threats and vulnerable areas within your business. For example, the likelihood of a certain threat and its subsequent cost to your business if it were to ever occur.
3. Counter Measures – After identifying all threats, we work to configure state of the art firewall, anti-virus, antispyware and an array of other deterrents alongside regular patches and hot fixes to make sure your business has 24/7 protection.
4. Staff Training – Most security breaches begin with users lacking the understanding and awareness of their IT systems. We can provide general awareness training and refresher sessions to make sure you and your staff are in the know when it comes to IT security.
5. Develop an Information Security Policy – Create a document stating how you plan to protect all of your IT assets as well as who has the proper authorisation/ access to each facet within this.
6. Business Continuity Plan (BCP) – By investing in your IT security, you can prevent disasters further down the line. We always advise that our customers develop a BCP so that your clients can be confident in the fact that you are well prepared for any eventuality.

If you’d like to find out more about how SADS I.T. can help secure your business data, as well as provide your staff with the relevant training to protect them from falling victim to cyber breaches, then be sure to visit our Cyber Security Awareness Training page to discover how we can help get you started on the right path.

How can we help your Business?

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