Are You at Risk From a Cyber Attack? Here’s Why Your Business Needs a Cybersecurity Plan
As soon as you have gotten your new business off the ground, you will want to take data security into consideration. Hackers can cause major problems ranging from file destruction to HR record theft. A small business might not be able to recover from such a financial or reputational loss.
You have the power and tools available to you to defend your business from threats online. You do, however, need to create a plan to organize your efforts and keep your organization in line with your cybersecurity vision. It will take time, but the benefits of cybersecurity and organization will pay you back many times over during the development of your business.
Here are the areas that you will need to cover and some steps to take when you create a cybersecurity plan for your small business:
Training your employees
Not all employees are technologically proficient enough to trust to make the right decisions when it comes to cybersecurity. In fact, more organizational data breaches are the result of human error rather than faulty programming or inadequate security tools. It is one of the reasons why a cybersecurity plan is so necessary. One of the first topics your plan should cover is how and when to train employees.
You need to make training mandatory for everyone, even if you need to use company time to do so. Schedule it so people want to be there. Scheduling a special session on what would normally be a day off will provide an environment detrimental to learning.
The initial training should cover the following:
- Everything explained in your cybersecurity plan or the cybersecurity manual that results from it (the two can be separate documents).
- The proper use of any tools, with time for demonstrations and questions.
- The importance of data protection and what types of data are especially important to protect.
- When and whom to ask for help when dealing with cybersecurity matters.
- How to protect accounts and properly use verification measures.
After the initial training is complete, it is recommended that every couple of months you have a recap training session. It doesn’t need to be as comprehensive as the first session, but it should allow new employees to catch up, and it should cover any changes (and there will be changes) to the general cybersecurity plan.
Questions and openness
You can’t forget about employees and human error in between training sessions. Any business that takes cybersecurity seriously needs to have a policy of openness and understanding. Your business cannot afford to be lax in enforcing policy, but any questions should be answered happily and thoroughly. This should be explicitly stated in the plan.
Try to have a person designated to answer these sorts of questions–it would probably be your IT professional if you have one. If not, these duties may need to fall to you so that you can take full control of the situation and know the mindset of your employees.
Knowing when to get professional help
After you reach a certain amount of growth in your business, you may need to consult an expert. While you can educate yourself in cybersecurity topics so that you know how to create a general strategy, you can’t run a business and expect to be as knowledgeable as a cybersecurity expert at the same time.
Here’s when to consult a professional:
- When doing a major overhaul of your hardware or software.
- When your technology is failing at a rapid rate, preventing your business from functioning.
- When there is a particular or directed threat toward you or your business.
You may also wish to consult one when you are first developing your cybersecurity plan. They may know about tools and strategies you haven’t thought of yet, or ideas that will be particularly helpful to your type of business. Just make sure that you use a professional who comes well-recommended to you by others. Also remember that you have the final say in decisions regarding your business.
Emphasizing the danger
Sometimes your employees may not understand the scope of the danger that cybercriminals pose. They may understand the concept of identity theft happening to them if they click on a bad link online, but they might not understand the scope of what could happen to a company that is a victim of a cyberattack. Note and emphasize the following possibilities in your cybersecurity strategy and policy:
- Employees could have their personal records and information stolen to be sold to the highest bidder. If your company knows it, so could the Internet.
- Due to the financial costs of a cyberattack, it could literally cost many people their jobs.
- It could very well lead to a lot of justified customer complaints, which will mean days or even weeks of work that doesn’t advance anyone’s interest.
- If the wrong files are stolen or tampered with, it could mean the destruction or corruption of projects that involved months of work.
Information sharing and social engineering
Any thorough cybersecurity plan should address the problem of sharing too much personal or company information over the Internet. When dealing with potential clients and partners, many small businesses (especially online businesses) will encounter potential problems online. Marketers and outreach representatives for your company will face even more issues.
Social engineering is an overlooked issue in a culture that glorifies technical skill and fears the technologically proficient. Yet why hack software over two months when you can hack minds in two days? Prepare your business by addressing the following:
- Define what a phishing email looks like. Note that they can come from anywhere, and a hacked email account of a colleague or friend could easily trick someone into sending company passwords and other sensitive information.
- Remind people that the apparently easy solution to a problem is often problematic down the road, and that it is not their place to trade company information for what seems like an advantage.
- Any cybersecurity policy should make sure to ban the sharing of passwords and other sensitive data as determined by you or cybersecurity professionals. Should such information need to be shared, it should be done in person where the potential for fraudulent activity can be kept to a minimum.
- It should be noted that, when dealing with unknown quantities on the Internet for business purposes, suspicion and security should always be a higher priority than making a deal or improving the business. It might slow things down, but it’s a necessary step.
Backups and cloud services
Data backups and cloud services are nearly an absolute necessity when running a small business. Unfortunately, they can be a major security risk, but you can create a plan so that they are handled safely and productively. Try to consider the following:
- Every small business needs to backup its data. This advice has become so common that it is often taken for granted. Your plan should provide for regular backups to either a secure cloud service (assuming a large amount of data to save) or well-maintained external hard drives or flash drives (for much smaller amounts of data).
- Cloud service sharing privileges and accessibility need to be restricted depending on roles within the company. Your newest clerk doesn’t need to have access to detailed customer information.
- The cloud services section in your cybersecurity strategy needs to include a regular interval to remove unnecessary but sensitive data from the servers and move them to a safer location, such as a flash drive (preferably in your own personal safe).
Cybersecurity for remote and traveling employees
A good cybersecurity plan should also deal with instructions and plans for remote employees and employees who take their technology for your business with them on the road. People can be particularly vulnerable outside of the office, so you might want to consider incorporating the following into your plan:
- Those who use public networks for Internet access or travel frequently need to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) on their devices. Just make sure that they are using a decent service that can be relied upon to provide strong encryption.
- Non-local employees should be aware of the surveillance and common Internet usage laws in their area. While surveillance and spying might be unavoidable, you should know what you’re dealing with when communicating with someone on an important trip.
- Remote workers pose an increased risk to cybersecurity. For these workers, use more security-minded cloud services (look for user-end encryption) and have stricter guidelines regarding access to company data. Make accommodations to provide support to remote workers if needed, as they are often forgotten in the grand scheme.
Updates and adaptation
The last major part of your cybersecurity plan is how it will adapt over time to changes both in the online environment and within your organization. You need to have a plan that will allow you to change it rapidly. You might not think this to be a major problem now, but as your business grows, you will discover that changing the status quo isn’t so simple for 50 people.
These updates can’t be ignored for two reasons. The first is that every cybersecurity plan must ensure that all devices and tools are being updated constantly. Hackers will frequently take advantage of the fact that there is often a gap between a patch being released and people downloading and installing it. In the meanwhile, every hacker in the world knows this and can use it against you.
It is also strongly recommended that you mention in your cybersecurity plan that everything is open to rapid change and that in extreme circumstances (but only extreme circumstances) best judgement is to be used instead of the current guidelines. Additionally, a solid strategy will have plans for adjusting to company growth, adding in new levels of communication or roles when size allows.
Where to start
This is a lot of information, and all of it is necessary. It can be daunting at first, but it just requires setting some time aside to strategize. You may want to start by doing the following:
- Perform a general review of the role of technology in your small business. If you have an Internet or technology-dependent business, then you need to address specific concerns regarding your website and the specialized programs you use to run your business. If not, you can stick to the basics.
- Conduct a survey of your employees or otherwise interview them about their cybersecurity habits or experience. It might help you tailor your plan to the culture of the company or otherwise help you plan a training session for your employees. For example, an extra hour might need to be spent on cloud services if it seems to be an area of weakness.
- Start with what you’re most familiar with and research it more. The best way to learn about technology is to experience it and solve problems, and you can apply that knowledge into further development of your plan.
Explore every facet and think two steps ahead
Once you have created a cybersecurity plan, you will be well on your way to having a safer business. That being said, you can never be entirely certain what the road ahead will bring.
The growth of your business will bring additional cybersecurity problems or a need to upgrade the tools and policies you have. This is natural, but it needs your attention. Always know where you are going and have a basic idea of what your cybersecurity needs will be in the near future so you can allocate the necessary resources.
Share this information with those you work with and other colleagues, and make sure that you double-check your decisions as you make your cybersecurity plan. Hackers and cybercriminals will attack your weakest points, so always be on the lookout for ways to improve. Always be vigilant, but take solace in your great security plan and focus on growing your business to its full potential.
About the Author
Post by: Jen Martinson
Jen Martinson is an internet security specialist, math nerd, and blogger for Secure Thoughts , an excellent resource for important internet security information. She is delighted to share these tips with you and hopes that you will seek out more information on the matter.
Company: Secure Thoughts
Website: www.securethoughts.com
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