Protecting Your Business from a Data Breach: What You Need to Know

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The number of reported data breaches increases annually, and the threat posed by these breaches is enormous – and it’s not just a concern for big businesses. In fact, more and more smaller businesses are targeted by hackers as they are seen as softer targets. Many small businesses lack adequate protection against breaches and often don’t have a protocol to follow if one does occur, due to a lack of resources or a lack of knowledge.

Online security breaches can be immensely damaging financially, as well as interrupting the logistics of business. Even if a breach is dealt with quickly and relatively inexpensively, a company’s reputation can sustain long-lasting damage which threatens share prices, business relationships and incurs possible financial penalties if sensitive data has been leaked. Most major breaches lead to ruinous devastation for small businesses, so it is of paramount importance to be ready to prevent or manage a breach should one happen.

Knowledge is power

Whilst hackers may have a reputation for innovative techniques, many of the old tricks seem to work best. You’d be surprised at how many breaches were traced back to suspect email attachments being opened, weak passwords (more on those later) and socially engineered attacks (phishing). In fact, educating employees in the dos and don’ts of cybersecurity has proven to be one of the most effective measures in preventing data breaches. A high number of data breaches can be attributed to human error or oversight, so it’s important to remember that staying secure is more than just a technical issue!

Regular vulnerability assessments

You’ve set up your firewalls, set your strong passwords, made sure all your security software is up to date? Now you need to test the strength of your business’s security from the perspective of the hacker. Ethical hacking is designed to assess your level of security and probe for any weaknesses. Unless you are a real whizzkid, it’s strongly advisable to enlist the services of an IT consultant for this (there is an entire industry dedicated to ‘penetration testing’ which keeps abreast of all the latest hacker techniques and known security vulnerabilities). Remember, those hackers are experts, so you need to be able to match them for craftiness.

Regular audits

Likewise, the way data is handled, managed and processed needs to be constantly audited to make sure best practices are being followed by staff, and that sensitive information is secure. Some companies check and audit their security strength quarterly – experts suggest this should be part of a weekly routine. Again, education is crucial here, so make sure staff understand the operating practices, the legal ramifications of overlooking them, and the content that is and isn’t appropriate to leave the company’s network. It may be useful to have a traceable system to monitor how and when employees are accessing and processing sensitive data.

Strong passwords

Simple passwords, easy to remember, right? Also very easy to guess. Hackers are well versed in the ways of the simple password, and guessing them is one of the most common ways security is breached and sensitive company information is accessed. Shockingly, over 60% of people use the same password for all their logins, so once a hacker gains access to one thing the other (potentially sensitive) accounts are breached too. Make sure your employees know how to set a strong password, 8 characters (minimum – 15 is better) with a mixture of upper and lower case letters, symbols and numbers. For added peace of mind think about using a passphrase system which can strengthen your defenses. All passwords should be complex, unique and updated regularly.

Update systems and software

Security software updates are a must, given the rapid development of hacking techniques and the response of software developers. New ways to target existing security systems and their vulnerabilities are constantly being sought – and found – by hackers, so it is imperative to update as soon as you can in order to protect your network. In many cases it is possible to set your system to automatically update, to eliminate human oversight from the equation. One of the biggest breaches in recent memory was the Equifax breach in 2017, which was completely preventable, because, guess what? A fix for the system vulnerability had been released but not implemented. As a result, the very name “Equifax” is now associated primarily with sloppy security, above all else. This kind of reputation damage lives long in the memory.

Encryption

Encryption changes your most sensitive data into a code, which can only be accessed by someone with the decryption key (a password) and is, therefore, extra secure. Encrypted data can be stored and transmitted with a high level of security and confidentiality. Again, this is a whole sub-industry, so you may find yourself turning to an expert to help with encryption solutions for your company’s data.

Avoiding a security breach is getting more and more challenging, but by staying up to date with your technical security solutions, and training your staff to be diligent and watchful, you stay in pole position to prevent your data getting compromised by malicious intruders. If you work with experts to make sure your data is protected on several levels, even if you do suffer a data breach, it may be possible to limit the harm it does to your company (and to your clients, finances and reputation).

By Sofia Lockhart, who is a passionate blogger from Sydney. Since she is much of an IT nerd, she loves sharing tips on protecting your accounts from data breaches, informing you on latest tech trends or simply improving her and her friend’s computers at home. Besides that, she loves to decorate her house with latest trends and enjoy days in nature under the sun.

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