Cybersecurity breaches can be hazardous to your company: not only is your customer’s sensitive information precariously balanced, but their money could be under attack if their account details have been stored. This can have a knock-on effect with their other data, so it really can be devastating when breaches happen. Even the smallest business needs to worry about its security, as there is so much at risk.

In this article, we’ll cover the best ways to keep your business and customers safe, some software built to help protect you from cyber attackers, and what good cyber security actually means. Using this knowledge, you should be able to protect yourself, your employees and your customers from cyber risks.

Cybersecurity covers any action taken to reduce or prevent the risk of an online attack. Good cybersecurity aims to protect all devices and the accounts associated with them, which is vital for the protection of information.

It should be implemented in all areas of your business at risk, but most importantly the ones where you really wouldn’t want any prying eyes to see. Improving your cybersecurity can give peace of mind as well as improved trust between you and your customers, meaning it really is a no-brainer.

Even if your business isn’t necessarily reliant on data or the internet, there will always be at least one or two areas that should be protected – card payment information, contact details, customer addresses or other information that is better off protected. Before we offer you dedicated software, here are some tips to keep in mind:

1. Back up any and all essential data – if this is on external hardware keep this in a safe place, or think about using cloud storage instead to minimise risk.
2. Beware of malware – install antivirus software, don’t download apps you don’t trust, patch software to keep it up-to-date and think about installing a firewall.
3. Keep your devices safe – password protection is the first blockade, stolen devices can be tracked/locked to improve their security, make sure your apps are up to date so their security is too, don’t join unknown WiFi servers.
4. Strengthen passwords – avoid using predictable passwords, use 2-step verification or Google Authenticator.
5. Be vigilant – look out for phishing attempts, scammers or fake emails asking for sensitive information. Report all attacks and brief your staff not to give out passwords to anyone.

However, remember that it’s still important to keep physical security measures in place such as locking buildings and keeping track of equipment – you wouldn’t want to risk someone simply walking in and having access to your physical devices. If an employee leaves, make sure they can’t log in with their old details – and make sure every other employee is able to access shared spaces safely.

There are many types of software widely available to help with cybersecurity. For example, Phishing Tackle helps train employees on how to react to phishing attempts with automated phishing scenarios. Cloudflare is great for protection with cloud computing – boasting that everything you connect to the internet is secure, private, fast and reliable. Also, Malwarebytes for Teams is a cybersecurity solution that provides malware detection and remediation tools for small businesses.

There are also hardware options for protecting your business – physical hardware security modules offer cryptographic protection, which involves scrambling data to make it utterly unreadable to anyone who may try to access it. Yubico’s device is portable and has direct USB support. Other types of electronic security can include tamper or trigger switches, which can detect light or other forms of tampering and will quickly wipe data or sound an alarm if it is under attack. 2N offers one for intercoms, but there are many more widely available.

Now, you probably already knew that it’s important to protect your business as an absolute priority – but you may have learned new methods and software to help with this. Customer information and other sensitive details are something you do not want to be compromised, but now you have the tools to act.

The Lincoln Be Smarter Scheme offers the opportunity for academic support, as well as grant funding of up to £50k to support your business’ quest to use the most up-to-date technology; contact Stuart Cassey to learn more.