The 5 minimum security considerations for any business

Back up your data 

Think about how much you rely on your business-critical data. Customer details, quotes, orders, and payment details. Now imagine how long you would be able to operate without them.

All businesses, regardless of size, should take regular backups of their important data, and make sure that these backups are recent and can be restored. By doing this, you’re ensuring your business can still function following the impact of flood, fire, physical damage or theft. Furthermore, if you have backups of your data that you can quickly recover, you can’t be blackmailed by ransomware attacks. 

Protect your organisation from malware 

Protecting your organisation from malware Malicious software (also known as ‘malware’) is software or web content that can harm your organisation, such as the recent Uber hack.

The most well-known form of malware is viruses, which are self-copying programs that infect legitimate software. 

Keep your smartphones (and tablets) safe  

Mobile technology is now an essential part of modern business, with more of our data being stored on tablets and smartphones. What’s more, these devices are now as powerful as traditional computers, and because they often leave the safety of the office (and home), they need even more protection than ‘desktop’ equipment. 

Use passwords to protect your data  

Your laptops, computers, tablets, and smartphones will contain a lot of your own business-critical data, the personal information of your customers, and also details of the online accounts that you access.

It is essential that this data is available to you, but not available to unauthorised users. Passwords – when implemented correctly – are a free, easy, and effective way to prevent unauthorised users from accessing your devices. 

Avoid phishing attacks  

In a typical phishing attack, scammers send fake emails to thousands of people, asking for sensitive information (such as bank details), or containing links to bad websites. They might try to trick you into sending money, steal your details to sell on, or they may have political or ideological motives for accessing your organisation’s information.

Phishing emails are getting harder to spot, and some will still get past even the most observant users. Whatever your business, however big or small it is, you will receive phishing attacks at some point. 

If you would like help or advice about implementing these security measures fill in this form to discuss with one of our security experts. 

_{*Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.}