Cybercriminals know that gaining entry into a business’s IT systems can provide a huge bounty. Whether through illegal activity such as credit card fraud or selling stolen data, cybercrime is extremely lucrative yet damaging for those targeted. Learn the basics on how to protect your business from cyber crime.
AntiVirus and Firewall Software
f you’re one of those people who think that Microsoft’s Windows Defender provides adequate security to protect your business, then let me tell you now, you’re wrong.
Despite defender having improved over the years, it still lacks basic functionality, such as outlook and web-based email scanning, which unfortunately leaves users vulnerable to phishing attacks. Not only this, rather than automatically blocking and deleting found threats, it instead prompts the end user asking the question “run anyway?” which is a huge security risk, especially on larger networks. The purpose of such software is to take the guesswork out of what’s legitimate and what may potentially cause damage to your IT systems.
Business Grade Router
A business-grade router has a much wider feature set compared to the free devices supplied by your internet service provider. Enhanced features allow you to lock down your network to further prevent unauthorised access. We provide Draytek routers for small to medium businesses including full installation and configuration.
The most feature rich is the new 2862, which also incorporates 4G and external antennae, which can take over should your broadband connection drop or fail. These routers can form part of your disaster recovery plan as discussed below. The majority of companies cannot operate without an internet connection, and this business router provides a fail-over system to ensure that you’re always online.
So what else can these mighty devices do for you?
- Multiple Wi-Fi Networks – Separate your business from free public access or staff use on BYOD (bring your own devices)
- Restrict access to authorised devices only via mac address
- Restrict your employees accessing web content such as torrents, online chat, and adult sites.
- Allow you to separate your network by the use of VLANs (virtual Lans) (local area networks)
For example – Your Apple Mac devices may never need to send traffic to PCs so split them off and minimise the risk - DoS Protection – Denial of Service protection instantly blocks repeated attempts to take your device offline.
- SMS Notification of security alerts, line dropouts, device access etc.
Data Backup
No matter how good your defenses are, from time to time, you’re going to need to rely on a backup. Ensuring you can recover your data is another important step to avoid paying ransom demands when you’ve been infected with ransomware. The NHS was recently attacked in this way and each machine had to be wiped and reinstalled from scratch, causing significant downtime and distress for all involved.
Whether you choose to back up on-site or in the cloud, ensuring you have a data backup plan in place is an important step in protecting your business from a cyber attack. This forms an integral part of your disaster recovery plan. By ensuring your data is backed up, you can avoid the costly ransom attacks which require payment to retrieve your data. We always recommend multiple approaches to backup, and to not put all your eggs in one basket. A mix of on-site backup for speed and off-site for resiliency.
