Criminals, who commit cyber-attacks look to steal data, steal information, disable websites and can cause the downfall of a business. Losing all your customer data is not just a business issue and potential legal issue; it’s also a breach of customer trust and can destroy a hard-built reputation.

The ability to email safely, keep data safely stored, and offer safe transactions remotely, as well as having a working website, are now basic elements required for most businesses – but these are the places where criminals exploit cyber weakness.

Here are five tips to help keep your business cyber secure:

Tip 1 - Carry out a risk assessment

The first step in helping to improve your business cyber security is to identify all the potential risk areas – where could cyber criminals reach into the business and what impact could that have? Which system would have the most impact on the business if it was hacked or had to be taken off line for repairs?

Have a look at issues like: remote access to computer systems, potential virus infection, the vulnerability of the website and any mobile devices. If the website went down, would this impact the business as much as if someone hacked into the online banking where the staff wages are paid, for example?

Assess all the potential threats and where the potential attacks could occur, then you can take measures to address them and put preventative systems into place.

Tip 2 – Assess your expertise

Once you have all your risks and weak areas identified, the next tip is to see what can be dealt with in-house, and where the business might need to outsource help from IT experts. If the business has an IT team there might be certain aspects of cyber protection which can be carried out in-house.

However, for smaller businesses or those with less experience in IT, this is the time to call in the professionals, like our team at Hampshire Business Computers, where we can offer help and guidance on the most appropriate cyber security measures.

Tip 3 – Implementation and installation

Work with your IT team or external consultants to develop a cyber security plan and once counter measures have been found against every identified risk, make sure they are all fully implemented and all required software or hardware is installed.

It’s vital not to cut corners – just compare the issues a cyber-attack could cause your business compared with the potential slight inconvenience of having to update all your systems and install new software.

Tip 4 – Think about physical attacks

Remember that cyber criminals don’t just attack online – it can be that a third party, or staff member, accidentally or deliberately, via USB drives, memory cards, DVDs etc. Your cyber security plan needs to include a way to counteract these types of problems as well as online invasion. Make sure you discuss this with your IT consultancy.

Tip 5 – Bring all your staff on board

Unfortunately people can be the weak link in cyber security so make sure your staff, contractors and anyone who has access to your IT systems, is on board with using them properly and adhering to all of the business’s cyber security protocols.

These five tips will help you to check the weaknesses and address cyber risks facing your business but it’s important to take direct action. If you need professional advice about preventing cyber-attacks please do give us a call at Hampshire Business Computers and our experts will work with you to develop a bespoke solution for your company.