5 Cyber Security Tricks That Will Change Your Business Forever

Hackers accessed 7.9 billion consumer records by the middle of September in 2019.

While no one wants to be the victim in any type of cybercrime, it can happen to anyone.

How can you keep your information secure? What about your employees?

If you own or operate a business that uses technology regularly, there are some specific cyber security tricks that you should utilize to keep your data safe.

Cyber Security Tricks You Need to Know

As a business owner, you know that security in-person and online is extremely important.

Cyber security is something that seems to be changing all the time, but you need to keep up with these changes if you want to keep your data secure.

Do you know what you can do to make sure that your cyber connection is safe? Here are 5 things that you should implement today to make sure you are protected tomorrow.

1. Update Your Systems Regularly

A cybercriminal that wants to get into your system and infiltrate all of your information is going to be persistent. This means that they will use every trick in their book to get into your data.

For this reason, it makes sense that you have the latest and greatest patches, security software, and updates installed on all of your business computers.

Updates in the past were all about new features. Updates now are all about increased security.

To minimize any risk to you, you should take action and download these things right when they are released. It helps you stay ahead of the curve against cybercrime.

As soon as your operating system prompts you to update, you should do it! Even better, you could consider turning on “auto-update” so that the computer does all of the work for you.

2. Use Unique Passwords

Avoid using passwords that are really easy to guess. This makes it that much easier for you to become the victim of a cybercrime.

Passwords are the first line of defense that we have against cybercriminals, so why do we keep using repeated passwords or commonly used ones? Instead, come up with a password that makes sense to you and may not make sense to someone else.

It’s always best to use passwords that are hard to guess, but easy for you to remember.

Change these passwords on a regular basis as well to ensure maximum protection. As long as you can remember the password (or use a good password manager), you should be safe.

3. Use a Virtual Private Network

If you’re in a business that has remote workers or people that occasionally work out of the office, they need to also have the chance to have a secure internet connection. When you’re dealing with company data, this is a must regardless of where you are in the world.

Invest in a virtual private network, also known as a VPN, to allow your employees to access an encrypted connection. This means they can access your company data, secure files, printers, or other needed resources without the risk of an unsecured connection.

Don’t let your employees use public Wi-Fi or hotspots to access company information.

This will put them directly onto a hacker’s radar and make it much easier for them to get into your system.

4. Don’t Download Just Anything

If you are managing just one computer (or several) for a business, you don’t want to download software or plug-ins that are not needed.

Even if it is free or from a vendor that you trust, there is always a chance that there could be something damaging in the software. Instead, only download what you need and avoid putting anything on your computer that is unnecessary.

With less software downloaded, you have less of a risk of any of it compromising your computer or data.

If possible, it is a good idea to have a system administrator (possibly you) that controls all of the settings on the computers owned by the business. You can allow or deny access to certain things and have a security policy in place to protect all employees.

5. Use Multi-Factor Authentification Methods

The reason that people use authentication on computers is to ensure that the person accessing the machine, device, or data is who they say they are.

If you enter just an email and password to get into an account, it could be anyone entering that information. But, alternatively, if you enter that login information and then also are required to answer a security question, it is much more likely to be you behind the screen.

Passwords can be unreliable, especially if your password is weak, so multi-factor authentication is a much better way to go.

Your authentication factor can be a variety of things, including a security question, a digital certificate, or even a fingerprint.

Keep Your Data Safe

Now that you have a few more cyber security tricks up your sleeve, you’re prepared to keep your company secrets guarded and safe.

Staying up to date with the latest technology and knowing what is out there is a good way to protect yourself in the future.

In addition to that, be sure that you know and understand what type of technology you are using, how it works, and how hackers could be a threat.

Do you want to learn more about what’s happening in the world of technology? If so, check out our latest trends in tech news and hacks section for all of the information you need.