Your biggest mistake, of course, would be to disregard cybersecurity in the first place. But we are assuming you aren't that negligent, as (unless you have been living under a rock), you are probably fully aware of the hacking attempts that have been made on big businesses both large and small over the last few years.
In this article then, we are going under the assumption that you have already installed both antivirus and firewall software to your computer systems because we know and you know that you would be foolish not to. Especially when we compound that with the statistics provided by Cybersecurity Venture - 60% of small businesses close within six months of being hacked - it's easy to understand that cybersecurity is not an area you need to be lax in.
Still, in the event that you haven't yet put procedures in place to protect your business, then now is the time to do. Research the software available to you, or contact your nearest IT Support company to ensure your computer systems are safe.
However, after taking the necessary measures to protect your business, don't assume you are completely safe. If you make any of the following mistakes, your business could still be placed at risk of harm. Read them, heed them, and then make every effort to avoid them.
Both old and new employees need to be well-versed in cybersecurity. They need to understand the dangers of using work devices on open networks outside of the office. They need to be phish-proof, having an understanding of the signs of dodgy-looking emails. And they need to be alert to any new viruses that are currently in existence. You need to be trained up on these things too, of course.
So, if you have overlooked training on cybersecurity, do a Google search and find the relevant training provider. Or enlist tech-aware members of staff to research cybersecurity risks and conduct your training in-house. In either case, make such training a regular occurrence, because as hackers get wiser in their attempts to hack businesses, both yourself and your employees need greater wisdom to block their malicious advances.
You know the importance of backing up your data already, of course. If your hardware was to fail, your business would suffer if you couldn't access important files and data pertaining to your business. However, the possibility of hardware failure isn't the only reason to back up your data. If you were to be hit by a ransomware attack, a hacker could hold your data hostage through clever forms of encryption until you paid the desired ransom.
Now, you can take steps to prevent an attack happening to you. Adding antivirus software to your computers is a must, and having the common sense not to open suspicious linking files and links in your emails is important. However, in the event that you are hit by a ransomware attack, you could make the decision to pay nothing if you had copies of your data. Using the cloud or an external hard drive to store your docs and files, you would then suffer less disruption to your business, on both a productive and financial level.
So, if you haven't taken steps to back up your data recently, delay no longer. You would only regret your procrastination later if you did become the victim of an attack, so remember the old adage; it's better to be safe than sorry.
When you receive a reminder to install the latest software updates on your OS or antivirus software, what do you do? If you were to tell us that you ignored them, probably because of the inconvenience they would cause to your business day, then we would tell you...BIG MISTAKE!! The same applies to negligence over any other piece of software you might have installed on your business devices. By ignoring them, you might be missing out on security patches that could one day save your business from harm.
So, rather than ignoring the software updates available to you, either set them to install at a time that is more convenient to you, or remind yourself to manually install them when you don't need your devices for work purposes. Your business will then be better protected from whatever new hacking attempt any cyber criminal might attempt to attack you with.
Businesses, both large and small, have faced failure because of the mistakes we have discussed within this article. To ensure you don't suffer the same fate, take heed of our suggestions, and then continue your research online to ensure you don't make any other mistakes that could badly affect your business. Your survivability might depend upon it!
Thanks for reading.
