If you own a company, one of the worst things that could happen is an intruder breaking into the software or network you’re using. The hacker could gain access to sensitive client information, as well as company funds. However, there are many ways you can prevent such an incident from happening, and secure your data.
Don’t Store Passwords
Using your internet browser to store passwords can be a major risk. If you have many passcodes that you can’t keep track of, Microsoft has a password manager vault that could help. In terms of the passwords you should use, those with mixed characters are especially hard to crack.
Wi-Fi Access
Your company’s Wi-Fi should be secure so that only you and your employees can access it. Any device that gains access would be able to connect to the other devices on the network, as well as the hub. The best thing to do would be to approve devices that are trying to connect one at a time. Your IT technician should be in charge of this. Alternatively, look into the price of dedicated internet access, as it is a good way to ensure that the internet you are connecting to is for your private use and not a shared network.
Reduce File Sharing
When it comes to handling company data, storing a large number of files, servers and devices on your network would make it more vulnerable. An intruder may be able to find what they need without any problem. To correct this, you can isolate permissions, and disable sharing when it’s not needed.
Check for Vulnerabilities
There may be gaps in the software that you use, and hackers can use these vulnerabilities to break in. No matter how secure you think the program is, there is always room for improvement. Microsoft’s vulnerability scanner can be used to look for any weaknesses.
Even though the software you’re using may be trustworthy, there could be vulnerabilities throughout your IT network that you’re unaware of. IT consulting firms would be able to help you test these gaps. They will not only analyze your infrastructure for vulnerabilities, but would come up with solutions as well.
Update Systems
If you know there is a gap in a program, you may not be able to fix it yourself. Most of the time, the developers of the software would have realised this and released an update. You may have automatic updates enabled, and the patch would be dealt with on its own. It’s a good idea to occasionally check for additional updates, though.
Encrypt Data
Let’s imagine that there’s a vulnerability in your system that hackers can take advantage of. Even if they manage to break through, they’ll need to be able to read the data to use it. To make this difficult, always encrypt your systems. The information in place would be locked without an encryption key.
The software you’re using may have been developed by your team. In this case, encryptions in your own code are necessary. If you’re sharing sensitive data via remote communication, local encryptions would have to be placed to prevent packet reading.
You don’t have to consider yourself a good leader to worry about a hacker accessing your company’s data. Not only could they get access to sensitive client information, but data on your company’s funds may also be stolen.
Make sure that you constantly check for vulnerabilities in the programs you use. It might be a good idea to work with an IT consulting firm too. They would be able to analyze your network for cracks. You can also safeguard information by limiting who can file-share and connect to your Wi-Fi.