Top 4 Tips to Improve Your Digital Security Strategy

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Each year, cyber-attacks cost small and medium-sized businesses millions in damages. From lost revenue to the cost of addressing an attack and removing malware and viruses, even a single attack can spell the end for a business. In fact, according to some reports, as much as 75 percent of small- and medium-sized businesses would have to close for financial reasons within just one week of falling victim to a serious ransomware attack.

The best way to prevent this outcome is to make sure that your business is prepared before an attack can happen. Whether your digital security strategy is outdated or in need of an upgrade, keep reading as we explore four tips to improve it.

1. Never Neglect Your Passwords

You no doubt already understand the importance of regularly changing passwords to protect your personal accounts, including those for online banking or email. But when it comes to business accounts, like apps your teams use for communication, cloud storage, or other online tools, it can be easy to forget that those need regular updates as well.

Whether your business has a dedicated IT team or not, make sure that someone in the office is responsible for updating all company passwords at least once every three months. If employees have their own individual logins for these accounts, send reminders every three months. Some apps and websites will allow you to manually set accounts to require employees to reset their passwords on a regular schedule.

SEE ALSO: Are Hacker Attacks a Real Threat to Small Businesses?

2. Educate Your Employees on Cybersecurity

Your employees failing to regularly update their passwords is risky. But there could be a number of other internal security threats lurking out of view. While your business takes measures to protect itself from cyber attacks, your employees could unintentionally sabotage those efforts and put you at risk. In fact, in one study, more than half of surveyed businesses reported that they believe they could be at risk from within their company. Employees acting carelessly or who are uninformed of cyber security best practices are the second leading cause of security breaches for companies.

Educating your employees on cybersecurity can help reduce your risk of falling victim as a result of an internal mistake. Depending on your business, this education can come in many forms. Hold regular training sessions, send out weekly newsletters, or develop other methods for educating your team on common scams, safe internet practices, and other critical security information.

3. Upgrade Your Certificate Management

Digital certificates are an important tool for businesses. They can help ensure that trusted devices are the only ones that can connect to your network. They let web browsers know that your site is authentic, which means that it can be indexed and easily accessed without incurring warning signs. 

But in order for digital certificates to remain effective, they need to be regularly updated and improved. Investing time and resources to improve your company’s security certificates can pay off in the long run by keeping your business safe and ensuring that your websites are accessible to customers.

4. Secure Your WiFi Networks

Depending on the type of business, providing a free WiFi connection may be a great way to increase visitor numbers or make for happy customers. But providing an unsecured WiFi connection could put your business, as well as your customers, at risk.

If you want to continue to provide free WiFi, consider adding a second network for your business operations, and make sure that it is secured. Monitor traffic on that network, and regularly update passwords, run security checks, and limit access to prevent a breach.

SEE ALSO: Securing Remote Access for Employees: The Ultimate Guide

Improving Your Digital Security Strategy

Every day, thousands of websites fall victim to hackers. Improving your digital security strategy can help you protect your business from an attack. Setting a schedule to update your passwords, educating your employees on cybersecurity best practices, upgrading your security certificates, and securing your WiFi network are just a few ways to improve your current strategy.