HomeCybersecurity5 Ways To Protect...

5 Ways To Protect Your Company Data From Hackers

According to economists and industry experts, data is currently the world’s most valuable asset. This is hardly unexpected, considering that organizations of all scales and sizes rely solely on data to make crucial choices, seize opportunities, develop strategies, and enhance operations. For these reasons, you should make substantial efforts to protect your company’s data.

Unfortunately, online theft is rising as hackers attempt to keep up with technological advancements. As cybersecurity protections are enhanced, so are hackers’ skills and tools. Therefore, getting ahead of them is key to implementing preventative measures to ensure your data safety.

Check the following ways to protect your company data from these cyber criminals:

1. Invest In Data Backup And Recovery Solutions

Keeping your data backed up is critical to preventing catastrophic and sustained data loss. The fundamental objective of backup and recovery is to save your most vital files so the business may continue operations following a data loss incident. To protect your backups against ransomware and other security threats and ensure a speedy recovery, you must align your backup and security strategies. Fortunately, backup and recovery solutions are available on the market nowadays, so taking advantage of such tools is beneficial.

Data loss can happen not only as a result of natural disasters and other catastrophic events but also as a result of cyberattacks. This is where backup and recovery solutions come in handy. When a data loss or complication occurs, backup software can help you maintain your competitive advantage by saving you time and money. However, it’s essential to emphasize that hackers know this obvious company data protection strategy.

Cybercriminals know that your organization’s backups are one of its key defenses against ransomware attacks. Various types of malwares have been designed to search for backups. However, if you apply the most advanced and high-quality backup and recovery solutions, these attacks will not affect your data backup. You can also choose backup as a Service (BaaS), a service provided by third-party companies that can back up your systems to a public, private, or hybrid cloud provider. This is an excellent alternative to on-premise solutions.

2. Always Have Your Systems Encrypted

The power of passwords continues to safeguard your company’s data unimaginably. Therefore, always encrypt your systems using lengthy and difficult-to-guess passwords. The ideal password should contain at least eight characters, including uppercase and lowercase letters, a unique symbol, and a number. In addition, avoid storing passwords on company devices, as hackers may penetrate them easily.

Ensure that all your organization’s employees and authorities know about this cybersecurity measure. Create a setting that requires passwords to be re-entered when the data has been idle for a few minutes or when it is no longer being used. This ensures that your data are always secure, even when no employees are accessing them.

Adding strong passwords to your company’s systems and software may not completely deter hackers, but it gives you an advantage. It would be advisable to maintain regular password rotation as much as possible. One excellent option is to use reliable password managers. It would be best if you encouraged everyone to use different passwords on different platforms and software. By doing so, once an attack has occurred on one system, it cannot take data from other applications.

3. Communicate And Train Your Employees

Phishing attacks are crucial topics that employees should be aware of. Having said that, it’s vital to hold a training course for all employees regarding this subject. Cybercrimes are happening worldwide, and your company is invincible to that. Occasionally, one second of complacency can result in catastrophic data loss, and it’s too late to undo the damage.

Therefore, your HR department should collaborate with your internal IT department to organize cybersecurity and data protection educational seminars. Holding frequent sessions to prepare employees for phishing attempts can help prevent breaches. During these discussions, it is critical to emphasize the risks to the company’s reputation and the protection of customer information. Another alternative is to invite an industry expert who can share their knowledge updates and expertise about data safety and educate your employees about the best practices. While this may cost your organization some money, the benefits will be priceless.

4. Download Antivirus Software

Malware and viruses are all over the Internet, and they’ve only grown stronger and more complex over time. It would help if you thought about investing in high-quality antivirus software. This is one surefire approach to protecting your computer from malicious software or unauthorized code. Viruses can quickly infiltrate your systems and files if anti-virus software is not present to act as an inspector and filter.

Nevertheless, an anti-virus program is crucial to ensuring the safety of your data by detecting real-time threats. The anti-virus software will ping and notify you of some suspicious viruses when you click a site, open a file, or receive an email. Various advanced anti-virus programs provide automatic updates, so you can stay protected from the new viruses that emerge daily. Utilize these advanced capabilities and never be stingy or hesitant when purchasing anti-virus software.

Especially with the ever-increasing advertisements, banners, and pop-ups found on most websites, they are all dangerous for your computers. Installing anti-malware and anti-virus software will prevent these attacks from seizing control of your systems. Ensure that these tools are installed on all company-owned devices and frequently updated.

5. Block Unnecessary Sites

Companies require unique websites, platforms, applications, and software to function. Therefore, your company’s computers don’t have to browse websites that offer no operational use. To reduce the chance of a security breach, it is prudent to restrict access to specific online data to only the required individuals. For example, exclude any sites that your business does not require and only keep the ones you utilize for everyday operations. This minor intervention can already have a significant influence on your data protection.

By restricting access to select websites, you can lessen the likelihood that your company’s network will be infected with malware and spyware. Your staff can only access the files necessary for business operations. This maintains data security and helps your workers to concentrate on their work by preventing them from using their work computers for personal purposes and activities. Therefore, you should block unwanted websites and keep your anti-virus software up-to-date.

Conclusion 

Fortunately, numerous data protection practices are available, such as those listed above. While hackers attempt to steal your company’s data, you can only increase your security by implementing backup and recovery solutions, encrypting passwords, and educating your employees on cybersecurity best practices. These tactics will ensure that you will not lose your most precious asset, which is your company’s sensitive information. When your data are safe and secure, use them to take your business to the next level.

Check out: What is First-Party Data and How to Build a Strategy?

Most Popular

More from Author

7 Ways to Protect Your Identity This Year

In the past few years, identity theft threats have grown exponentially....

Surfshark VPN Review: Privacy, Performance & Pricing

VPNs increase your privacy by sending all of your web traffic...

How to Learn Ethical Hacking? A Step-by-Step Guide

A job as an ethical hacker is exciting and lucrative. Any...

Importance of Mobile App Security Testing

In recent years, more than 36 billion data files have been...

Read Now

Network Automation: A New Approach to Network Assurance

Networks are a critical part of any business, and ensuring that they operate at peak performance is essential for success. Network automation through the use of AI has emerged as one of the most effective ways to address the growing complexity of networks while also improving their...

5 Cybersecurity Tips for Businesses

There are many benefits to working with IT Support Services to improve Cybersecurity through IT Infrastructure improvements; here are a few tips to improve your business Cybersecurity: Educate your employees (IT Consultancy) One of the best ways to improve business security is to educate employees about the risks and...

Use An LMS to Train Your Employees About Cybersecurity

Do you conduct cyber security training in your company? If you do, are you sure your training is effective and bringing the change you require? A survey of over 1200 employees revealed that 61% failed the basic cybersecurity test even though they received cybersecurity training from their company....

Jobs You Can Get With CCNA Certification

Cisco Certified Network Associate is a widely respected IT credential. The material covered on the exam spans a broad range of networking concepts. It ensures that those who take the CCNA test are ready to work with today's challenges. Whether you want to refresh your skills or...

6 Important Ways To Improve Your Website Security

Recently, it has become easier than ever before for anyone to build a website. However, many people forget that building your own website means that you are responsible for the safety and security of your own site. This is especially important to remember if people are taking...

Top 7 Latest Trends in Online Data Privacy

With the ever-growing number of cyber-attacks and data breaches on the rise, online data privacy has never been more important to protect. And while it may seem like an abstract concept at first, it’s one that many people are still woefully unprepared to handle. How we interact with...

Revolut Became the New Target For Phishing Scams. What happened?

On the 11th of September, Revolut users noticed unusual events in the app chat. A few days after the activity, people were alerted via email that the company had been the target of a cyberattack, which exposed multiple user accounts. This has decreased the bank’s credibility, and...

Getting Started with PCI Data Security Compliance

Getting started with Payment Card Industry (PCI) security for payment card processors and merchants is an actual result of the demand for credit card data security. The PCI standard comprises 12 requirements for companies managing, processing, or handling payment cardholder data. The 12 PCI requirements determine the architecture...

Common Email Phishing Attacks, Techniques & Preventions

Email phishing attacks are a form of social engineering commonly used to obtain sensitive user information, such as login information and credit card details. It occurs when an attacker poses as a trustworthy entity and convinces a victim to open an email, instant message, or text message....

Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities Any Business Should Look Out For

No business is immune to cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Small businesses are more at risk than larger businesses. This is because they often have fewer resources to devote to cybersecurity and may not have the same level of protection as a larger company. If you are a business owner,...

5 Ways to Quickly Secure a Small Business from Cyber Attacks

There is no question that cyber attacks and hackers are targeting small businesses. They don't have the infrastructure to deal with professional attacks; most can't afford to hold out against ransom attacks. Many businesses don't have any viable defense at all.  Any small business online is fundamentally a cash...

Pros and Cons of Using Shared or Private Proxy Servers

Proxies are internet go-betweens that are used by businesses and individuals. Shared or private proxy servers, in essence, functions as a buffer between you and the Internet. Proxies provide anonymous online browsing and can conceal the user's IP address. Anonymous proxy servers protects your location, browsing habits, and...