Running a business requires a lot of effort and requires owners to wear a lot of hats. Leaders are not just the owner of a company: they also act as HR, administrators, trouble shooters, accountants, and more.
This is particularly true of new businesses, as leaders often don’t have the money to outsource many tasks in the beginning.
So, as a business leader, you need to learn the basics in a range of niches, including cyber security. Companies in today’s modern business landscape cannot avoid using digital technology, which means that you need to understand how to protect your data and digital presence.
As such, it’s crucial that you learn about the most basic and popular cyber security practices out there right now.
In this article, we outline the basic practices that every business leader needs to understand and be aware of, so that you can get a rough overview of what your organisation needs to do to protect its digital assets in 2022.
Update Your Business Software
Businesses, even those that don't work entirely online, use many pieces of software on a daily basis. These software tools need to be updated regularly to ensure that they continue to function optimally. As the cyber security market evolves, software manufacturers update their tools to adapt, and if you don't keep your software up to date, then you might have gaps in your security. As such, you should make sure that everyone in your organisation updates their software tools as soon as a new version of a tool is available. Write this into your IT policy document and consider investing in an automatic software updater tool to save you time and effort.
These are just the most basic cyber security practices that every business leader needs to understand. The cyber security market is constantly evolving, so you need to make sure that you stay up to date with the latest developments and that you adapt your policies regularly
Install Anti-Virus Software
There is no excuse in this day and age for not having anti-virus installed on your devices, servers, and computers. It is not enough to have it installed, you want to make sure that it automatically updates and automatically scans the systems. This is a very simple, cost effective first line of defence and one that often goes overlooked. Whilst not infallible, let the anti-virus software catch the problems before they catch you.
Implement ISO 27001
ISO 27001 is an innovative international cyber security system that is designed to give organisations a framework around which to build their cyber security practices. ISO 27001 incorporates cutting edge insight from global leaders in cyber security and helps businesses to create a strategy that will reduce their chances of being the victim of an attack. It's easy to think that implementing ISO 27001 will be complicated, but if you're interested in it, then check out the services of High Table. They offer ISO 27001 templates that will save you time and allow you to save time and put this valuable practice into place.
Install A VPN
A VPN, or a virtual private network, is a useful way to protect your devices when you're using a public or unsecured WI-FI network. As such, these tools are useful for anyone who travels for work and can't guarantee that they'll be able to access a private internet connection. VPNs hide the internet user's online activity, reducing the threat of a hacker being able to access your device. These innovative solutions are cost-effective and can give you peace of mind, particularly when you and your staff are working outside of the office.
Backup
Taking backup copies of your information is your last line of defence. Ransomware works by encrypting your data so you cannot access it without a fee and can remove it forever. If you have a backup, you can always recover those files from that backup. Imagine if you lost the photo album on your phone of all of those family photos and memories. Now imagine how you would feel if you lost your entire business information. Back it up before you lose it forever. You will not regret this decision.
Author: Stuart Barker | Director at High Table the ISO 27001 Company: https://hightable.io