Top 6 Basic Ways to Improve Cybersecurity

Everyone has the sole responsibility of ensuring their security online. With hackers and other malicious individuals lurking online looking for loopholes to get hold of your private and financial information, taking a proactive cybersecurity approach is the only best way to protect yourself. Hire cybersecurity professionals with Barclay Simpson. You don’t need a military-grade level of security to keep your devices and information secure. Taking on even the simplest of online security protocols can make it almost impossible for a hacker to target you. Here are a few tips on how.

1.  Enable Automatic OS Updates On Your Computers

Always ensure you have the latest operating system updates on your device. Operating systems receive security patches in the form of updates that help enhance the system’s security, blocking any system vulnerabilities.  Hackers may also look to manipulate an outdated browser or other apps installed on your device to gain access and control over it as well. Enabling automatic and signed updates on your operating system, software, and apps can help improve your device’s security.

2.  Limit Access To Specific Information And Files

Always ensure all computers in the workplace, including personal computers, are password protected. No one apart from employees with adequate should be allowed to access or use the computers. It would also be advisable to implement tiered access, where employees can access certain information and not all, and require a password to access more sensitive information. With such a system in place, it will be considerably harder for anyone to access the most sensitive company data.

3.  Run Background Checks On New Employees

A simple background check can save you from a data breach nightmare. This is particularly important if your company handles lots of private data and information through its custom software. As a rule of thumb, any employee with a history of crime should be denied access to crucial company data.  You, however, can only uncover this if you run a proper background check. Understanding the candidate also gives you a better chance to handle such a person and what level of clearance to grant him/her.

4.  Use Passwords Everywhere

Passwords are the keys to all the accounts you might have.  You thus want to use a strong and unique password for each of your accounts. Don’t use passwords that are easy to predict, but something strong enough with numbers, letters, and even symbols in them.  Security experts also recommend changing these passwords often or every three months to keep your accounts secure. Make a habit of changing or deleting an employee’s credentials when they stop working for the company.

5.  Have Backups In Place

Data backups, file backups, and bandwidth backup are crucial for your business’s safe and smooth running. These backup systems should always be up and running, and back-up everything saved on all company computers in real-time for enhanced security. The backup systems should be password protected too. This is particularly crucial for cloud-based data backups, which can be compromised as well.

6.  Keep Your Network Secure

Hackers have evolved with time, with some capable of sniffing packets from a Wi-Fi network. For this reason, you should always ensure your network is secure and protected from such kinds of breaches. One of the best ways to do so is to have a strong password for your Wi-Fi network and create separate networks for guests and employees. The private ’employee’ network should have the highest encryption possible, separate from the guest network.  You also want to limit the usage of the same to mobile devices and personal laptops, to be safe.