If you’re concerned with security, managed IT services can help to protect your business. Protecting your small business from a cyber attack is vital to the success of your business. Sadly, about 60% of small businesses wind up closing shop six months after a breach, according to the SBA. There are three things you should do right now to prevent a cyberattack on your business.
Educate Yourself
You likely have a full plate as a small business owner, but you should clear off some of the load to make room to learn about cybersecurity. For many small business owners, it can be a challenge to make room to learn about cybersecurity. Even if you are a small business owner who invests in managed IT options, you should still make time to learn a little bit about cybersecurity so that you can effectively communicate with your IT service provider. And since the effectiveness of your cybersecurity influences the success of your business, it’s a good idea to at least know the basics so that you can protect your assets.
There are a lot of free resources on the web where you can gather information and find tips and tricks to help keep your business safe. National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is every October and there are usually a lot of educational opportunities during that month.
Have a Plan
Cybersecurity does not happen on its own. You have to have a plan in place. Your plan should include training for your employees. You should also have an incident response and recovery plan in place as well. This is where managed IT services really start to pay off. Having experts on board to help you devise a training program and a recovery plan can be one of the best investments that you make to protect your business.
Change Passwords Frequently
Yes, everyone does complain about frequent password changes, but it is incredibly important to change passwords frequently. If you have an employee leave, you should change passwords. Typically, changing passwords every month is a good rule of thumb. No one likes to do it, but it’s necessary to reduce the risk of a cyberattack.
Passwords should always be unique and never include birthdates, dog names, or addresses. Nonsense words make the best passwords with different characters, numbers, and a combination of upper case and lower case letters. Anything that is easy for you to remember will be easy for someone to guess.
Managed IT services solve a lot of problems for the small business owner, including helping to keep the cyber environment safe. Learn more about how managed IT can help you by contacting American Technology Specialists today.
