As the owner or executive of a small or mid-sized business, you have a lot on your plate, all of which demand time or attention you may not always be able to spare. And while you certainly have a running list of priorities in your head at all times, one area you can never afford to overlook is cybersecurity.
These days, companies of all descriptions do a large percentage of their business online and even a small misstep when it comes to web security can be disastrous for the organization. As such, you need to understand the most common mistakes smaller companies make, and how to avoid them. The following guide to these errors should help:
1) Assuming they don't have much to do on this front
No business, whether it's a company with thousands of employees or a one-person operation, is immune to cybersecurity risks, according to Techgenix. You no doubt receive a lot of spam emails to your personal inbox, and you're just one person. As such, you can't proceed under the assumption that you're too small to be targeted, and you have to invest wisely in both training and software solutions that ensure you can protect yourself.
2) Not installing software updates
When you have any kind of software that connects to the web, you need to make sure you're always using the most current version, Techgenix added. They are often updated to fix security holes and other issues, and if you're running on older versions, you're more vulnerable to an intrusion.
3) Failing to understand risks
When it comes to a company's unique cybersecurity risks, many leaders "don't know what they don't know," according to Small Business Trends. As such, you need to carefully evaluate all the potential risk factors your company has, and then plan to address them on an ongoing basis.
4) Using a bare-bones security setup
In many cases, companies without true cybersecurity expertise think they're all set on this front if they have basic antivirus software installed on a number of devices, Small Business Trends said. However, many of these consumer-level options — especially the ones that are available at little to no cost — simply aren't enough to stand up to many potential threats. This is not an area where you can afford to cut corners.
5) Thinking they can handle it all themselves
Finally, if you're not an expert in cybersecurity, and you don't have one on staff, you can't assume you're reasonably protected until an actual professional evaluates your security posture, according to Switchfast. Whether it's a new hire or just a third-party pro, you should have someone with experience sign off on your setup.
If your business is growing to the point that you can hire someone to work on your cybersecurity, it's certainly an area where you want to make the best possible hire, and YES Partners can help with that. To see some of the roles that we have already successfully placed, click here.
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