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7 data security tips for businesses in 2021

It may only be early November, but the start of the new year is closer than you might think, and it's never too early to start planning the cybersecurity strategies to protect your company and its employees. For that reason, you might need to do more to understand the emerging threats you may face — no matter what your size or industry — in 2021.

The following are just a few suggestions:

1) Test your weaknesses

You never want to be caught unawares by a potential attack or data breach, so it's important to see what vulnerabilities your company may have, according to Cyber Report. Simulating an attack can help you see where weaknesses lie, and better understand what you need to do to contend with them.

2) Update all your software

All too often, companies or individual workers aren't as proactive as they should be when it comes to updating their software, Cyber Report warned. However, because so many patches are specifically focused at closing security gaps, you should automate updates wherever possible and educate employees on why manually doing so is critical.

Employees should be proactive about updating programs they use for work.Employees should be proactive about updating programs they use for work.

3) Establish or reinforce remote-work security policies

Many companies have been working fully or partially remote for months now, and employees may have let some of their good security habits slip, according to TechRepublic. If you don't have clearly defined policies for logging into company accounts from remote locations, now is the time to set them. If you do, remind workers of their importance.

4) Implement two-factor authentication wherever possible

Another great way to protect work-based accounts is to set up two-factor authentication, Tech Republic said. That way, potential hackers don't just have to crack a password, but also find another way of identifying themselves. Often, this is enough to foil many attacks before they become a problem.

5) Install security software

No one should be logging into company accounts from unsecured systems, and your business should play an active role in helping employees do so, according to Withum. That includes having anti-virus and anti-malware programs on computers, as well as firewall protection that makes it harder for hackers to get into a system in the first place.

6) Have employees update their passwords

All too often, workers will have the same one or two passwords they use for every account, meaning that if one password is exposed, an entire system can be brought down from the inside, Withum advised. As such, workers should be required to update passwords to be more complicated and unique, preferably on a regular basis.

7) Hire an expert

If your company does not have a dedicated IT expert who can help boost security protocols and maintain a vigilant stance against threats, now might be the time to bring one aboard. At YES Partners, we can help connect you to candidates who would be ideal for this position. To see some of the roles that we have already successfully placed, click here.

Finding people is easy, but finding the RIGHT people is not. YES Partners helps companies FIND the right people for all company functions, across many industries.

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