The Canadian Center for Cyber Security recently issued a whitepaper talking about the many steps small businesses need to take to ensure their businesses are protected. While many of these steps are discussions on product uses and industry practices, they do outline the steps that apply to everyone, no matter their industry.
Here are some of the steps Canadian businesses should take to better protect their data.
Develop an Incident Response Plan
As we have stated before, it’s not if there will be a cyber security incident but when so the importance of knowing the process to responding to an incident is a huge part of the recovery and business continuity of any business, large or small.
Ensure your employees know what steps to take when an incident is discovered by creating a plan and making sure everyone is aware of it and what their role and responsibilities are when the worse occurs.
Fix Any Errors as Quickly as Possible
The moment you discover a vulnerability in your system is when the clock starts ticking. If your staff has found a dangerous backdoor into your systems, it won’t be long before hackers find it as well. If you find that your system has been compromised, you should do everything you can to patch the exposure and protect your data and the data of your clients.
Enable Security Software
Security software is one of the first defenses against cyberattacks, but these security suites need to be properly configured. Make sure your software is enabled to do regular security sweeps and automatically update to keep its malware database fresh.
Set Up User Authentication
Security threats may be more common these days on social media and data-sharing sites, but your physical devices can still be the greatest vulnerability for your company. Laptops and desktops alike have excellent tools to authenticate their users, so train your staff on how to use these tools to protect them from cybercriminals.
Train Staff Regularly
Cybersecurity isn’t a one-time course or seminar–it’s a constantly evolving field where threats and solutions are emerging faster than we can track them. Make sure your staff stays on the cutting edge by regularly scheduling meetings and forums where employees can learn about new threats and improve their ability to recognize them.
The Canadian government has outlined the basic steps every business needs to keep themselves safe, and we are here to help you take those steps.. If you’re looking for the most experienced IT professionals to help keep your business secure, reach out to our MicroAge locations.
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