Cybersecurity is often a secondary concern for startups and small businesses, but it’s critical to have a comprehensive security strategy that keeps your data secure and your users’ personal information protected. You may have an amazing business idea, but if someone hacks into your company’s computer system and steals customers’ credit card information, then that could all be ruined by one breach of cybersecurity. Here are some key things that every small business should know about cybersecurity:
How to train your staff on cybersecurity
When it comes to training your staff on cybersecurity, the first thing you’ll want to do is start with the basics. Your trainings should cover topics like how to identify phishing emails and what the implications of a data breach could be for your business.
In addition, when choosing a cybersecurity training program for your employees, make sure that it’s relevant to your business and easy-to-understand. Make sure that you’re using an eLearning platform that will allow you to implement these trainings in an effective way — and also track which employees have already completed them!
Beyond these basic training programs, it’s also important to make sure that your staff is aware of the latest threats and vulnerabilities. These are often the result of new technologies being introduced into the market — so it’s important to keep up with this information as it becomes available.
How startups should measure their cybersecurity
The first step to addressing cybersecurity is measuring your vulnerability to attack. You can do this by using one of two methods: either the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) or an alternative method like SANS’s NIST NCSC/NVDs. These numbers will tell you how vulnerable you are and help prioritize efforts for improvement.
If you do find yourself with a low score, don’t panic! There are plenty of ways to improve it — and most of them are free or relatively inexpensive. For example, adding multifactor authentication (MFA) to all accounts that have access to sensitive information would likely bring up the overall score significantly, even if MFA costs money. A great way all startups can add MFA is through Duo Security’s free VPN service which integrates seamlessly into Slack and other communication platforms so employees don’t even realize they’re using it — it doesn’t get any easier than that!
Remember: just because there isn’t an easy fix right now doesn’t mean there won’t be later on down the road; being proactive about cybersecurity means constantly thinking critically about what could happen in order to prevent attacks from ever happening at all instead of relying solely on preventative measures which could potentially leave gaps open for hackers looking for those very same vulnerabilities.
The importance of organizing regular security checks
It’s important to organize regular security checks for your startup. A good reason for this is that it can be difficult to find out if you’ve been hacked until it’s too late. Hacking often happens slowly, over the course of weeks or months, and in many cases there are no obvious signs of hacking until something has gone wrong.
When you do a security check, look at your company’s network and make sure all computers are secure. This includes checking that they have up-to-date software installed and aren’t running on outdated operating systems like Windows XP (which has been known as an easy target). You should also make sure that all passwords have been changed regularly — preferably every 30 days — and avoid using any one computer or device as an administrator account because this makes it easier for hackers to break into your system if they get hold of the password.
The importance of having a secure team collaboration platform
As a startup, you need to ensure that there are no security breaches in your team collaboration platform. A secure platform is one where all the data that is stored and shared remains safe from external threats. This can be achieved by making sure that you choose a secure and reliable team collaboration platform before beginning to use it.
A few things to look out for when choosing a team collaboration tool include:
- The kind of data being stored on the platform — whether it’s sensitive or not;
- Who might access this data — employees, third parties etc; and
- How important this information is for your business — if it’s crucial for daily operations, then make sure you take steps towards securing it properly.
The importance of choosing the right vendors
When choosing your vendors, it is important to consider the following:
- If a vendor does not have a security audit program in place, they are unable to adequately assess risk and provide you with the appropriate solutions.
- If a vendor has an insecure infrastructure, it will be difficult for them to protect your data from cyber attacks. Consider whether their business is built on a solid foundation before working with them.
- A good reputation goes hand-in-hand with having secure infrastructure; if there have been any breaches in recent history or if there have been major changes in leadership at any point since then (for example, if someone was fired), this could indicate that there were issues that needed addressing within the company itself but were not addressed until later on due to lack of managerial skills or oversight from above management level staff members who had no knowledge about what was happening behind closed doors at all times until such time when something bad happened which forced them into action mode when they realized how bad things had gotten by then already.
Security is important
If you’re a startup founder or executive, security is an important topic for you to understand and keep track of. You don’t have a lot of money to invest in cybersecurity, so you need to be smart about where you spend it.
Security is an issue for all businesses — not just large ones with lots of money and resources. Small businesses are also vulnerable because they may not have the time or money needed to properly protect themselves from hackers trying to steal their data. Many small companies don’t even know that they’re at risk until it’s too late; but there are steps that entrepreneurs can take today which will prevent them from becoming victims tomorrow.
Cybersecurity problems are solvable; it’s just a matter of finding the right solution for your company’s needs. It’s important not only because these kinds of issues affect everyone who owns personal property online (including those without internet access), but also because they could potentially disrupt operations if not taken care of immediately (e.g., leaked information could lead consumers away from buying products). Also, it is worth mentioning that to keep the company safe from fraud activities, business verification services may come in handy as well.
Conclusion
All in all, startups need to be aware of cybersecurity. It’s not only important for their own data and assets, but also for their clients’ as well. If you want to keep your company secure then it is essential that you take these steps towards doing so.
