The many layers of cyber security protection

Online criminals can hack into business bank accounts, damage your PCs and hardware, lose or corrupt your data, steal your identity and cause untold damage and stress.

By Mark Edwards, regional operations director, StoneHouse Logic.

The sad fact is that it’s impossible to ever fully eliminate the risk of a cyber attack but, by adding different layers of protection throughout your business, you can significantly reduce your vulnerability to crime. Let’s start from the inside out.

Protect your people

People are at the heart of every business, so it makes sense to start with your staff. As cyber criminals try increasingly clever ways to make their emails look ‘normal,’ and contact businesses for seemingly innocent snippets of information, so it’s harder to stay alert to possible hacks.

Investing in staff training to raise awareness and keep cyber security as a top-of-mind concern can have a positive, protective effect throughout your business.

Protect your hardware

Next, think about where your company comes into the contact with the outside world. Once your people know how to keep your company data safe, it’s time to look at any technical vulnerability that may exist.

Using strong passwords on routers, investing in anti-virus and malware protection software and installing firewalls can all help to keep your company safe from an attack.

Protect your data

When was the last time you backed up your company’s data? Scheduling regular back ups of all your company’s files ensures that, should the worst occur, you can reinstall all your files quickly and easily.

Keeping a second back up of all your data either off site or in the cloud gives you added piece of mind that your information is safe. Protecting your business against electronic and online threats isn’t straightforward. Taking a multi-layered approach that combines staff training, knowledge and software will help to build a shell of protection that can stop issues from occurring.