5 Ways to Keep your Digital Business Safe from Hackers

As more and more small businesses begin to operate their business online, it’s important to understand the risks involved with this emerging form of business. If you don’t take the proper precautions, you could be in the middle of a major data breach scandal that will damage your brand and cost you plenty of money. Just like you need to set up cameras, security personnel, and padlocks for your physical workplace, you need something similar for all the online platforms that you operate your business on. So how can you keep your digital business safe from hackers?

According to Techjury, 30,000 websites are hacked daily around the World, and 64% of companies worldwide have experienced at least one form of a cyber attack. Every 39 seconds, there is a new hacker attack around the world. You never know when you will be next. Although there is no special anti-dot for hackers, there are few things that can keep your digital business safe from the “heartless online massacres’ (hackers). Before we dive into what you should do to protect your digital platform, let us take a look at the different tactics that these hackers use to get into your system.

• Hackers can get into a network by sending an email or instant message to a targeted victim that will have an attachment or perhaps a link to a website. Once the recipient opens the attachment, they will have granted the hacker access to their online business.
• Malware can also get onto a computer through a USB key. Therefore, do not just use untrusted USB keys.
• Hackers can guess or social engineer passwords or trick users into sharing their passwords.
• Hackers can invade a system by exploiting an open wireless network, or one with easy security.
• Hackers use stolen credentials from third-party sites like LinkedIn.

Quick Note: There are countless methods that hackers can use to get into your digital business. If you find something that is suspicious, do not click on it or share your login credentials with sites or people that you do not trust.

How to Keep your Digital Business Safe from Hackers

By using a strong password, constantly updating operating systems/applications, setting up a firewall, and encrypting data, you will have created a huge bridge between your digital business and hackers.

1. Use strong passwords

The first step in keeping your business data secure is choosing strong passwords. Here are some guidelines: Don’t use personal information, like birth dates or pet names; they’re too easy for malicious people to guess. Use a combination of numbers, symbols, and letters at least eight characters long and more if you can manage it. Now that you know how to create strong passwords, you may wonder how often you should be changing them? Well, in order to beat the hackers at their own game, you need to change your passwords very often and ensure that you use a different password for each platform. If you have issues with remembering your passwords just because you choose a hard one, you can use Password manager platforms and authenticator platforms.

ALSO READ: Microsoft Catches IOT Russian Hackers 

2. Constantly update the operating systems and applications

Having outdated software on your computer is a big security risk because cybercriminals are always looking for loopholes. If there’s a security update available and you don’t install it, you leave yourself vulnerable to an attack. That’s one of many ways that people compromise their own systems. The updated operating systems offer more security making it hard for hackers to hack into your system. Install all updates automatically or at least check frequently so you don’t forget about them and leave yourself open to attack. Having out-of-date software can also be problematic because it may not be compatible with newer operating systems when you upgrade in the future.

3. Use a firewall

The firewall is your first line of defense against cyber threats, so it’s an essential tool for any business owner. If you’re not sure how a firewall works, imagine a giant gate at each entrance to your computer. When someone tries to enter through that gate say, by trying to open up an email attachment the firewall will detect it and stop it before doing any damage.

ALSO READ: How Hackers Make Use of VPN services

4. Backup regularly

This is a no-brainer: Regularly back up any information you may need, and make sure that it is in more than one place. This includes passwords, contact lists, and especially financial data such as tax documents and bank statements. While cloud services are great for storing your files, they’re not always secure enough for important documents.

5. Encrypt your data

Information is stored and sent over a network in electronic form. Just like everything else in a computer, when data passes over a network, it has to be encoded so that only those who have access can read it. The technique used for encrypting data is cryptography. Encryption ensures that when we transmit information online, it isn’t readable by just anyone who happens to get their hands on it.

ALSO READ: How Ugandan accounts are being hacked and stolen by Hackers

Conclusion

If you want to protect your business, you should take basic security precautions and make sure everyone who works with you follows suit. Not only can breaches cost businesses time and money, but they can also be destructive to a company’s reputation. Understanding how to deal with cybersecurity threats is an essential part of being a savvy entrepreneur. Take these steps today and prevent any breaches down the road!