Is your company’s data network safe? The answer is that it’s most likely not. Every smart phone, laptop, tablet, and other device connected to your company’s network is a doorway through which hackers can enter to steal your company’s data and wreak havoc on your system. And in a world in which organized cybercrime is one of the most formidable threats facing businesses, it’s crucial to protect your company’s data. 

But how can you keep cyber criminals from illicitly accessing your network, and the valuable data it contains? You have to make cyber security a priority across your enterprise. Read on to learn more.

1) Establish a Company-Wide Cyber Security Policy

If your company doesn’t yet have a cyber security policy, it’s time to get cracking on writing one up. Your company needs protocols for how it stores, accesses, uses, and protects data. Your company cyber security policy should outline how different kinds of data are classified – for example, some information may remain available to the public, but other kinds, such as company secrets, should remain restricted, while still others, like customers’ personal or financial information, should remain under the strongest layers of encryption. Make sure your company cyber security policy includes protocols for the use of personal devices, password management, email security, remote working, and so forth.

2) Keep Devices Updated

As we’ve already mentioned, devices create weak points in your network, because each device connected to your network presents an opportunity for hackers to break in. That goes not just for smart phones, tablets, and computers, but also for IoT devices like printers, scanners, and security cameras. In fact, these connected devices may be even more dangerous because they so often come with security flaws. 

One way you can protect your network devices is to make sure their software and firmware is updated regularly. Hackers are constantly looking for software vulnerabilities that allow them to hack in to devices, but manufacturers know this, and that’s why they release updates that address these weaknesses. Software updates, and regularly replacing your devices, can’t stave off all cyber attacks, but it can protect against many of them.

3) Train Employees on Cyber Security Best Practices

Your employees need to be on guard against the possibility of phishing attacks, which are among the most common cyber attacks deployed today. They also need training on how to resist other forms of social engineering attacks, as well as basic best practices like choosing strong passwords, keeping confidential information and critical areas safe, and practicing good cyber hygiene at home as well as at work. 

To ensure that all of your employees are on the same page, offer regular trainings on cyber security best practices. Post security reminders in common areas so employees are constantly reminded of the need to stay safe online. You might even go so far as to stage cyber attack drills in which employees practice what they’ll do in the event of a breach.

4) Use Endpoint Security Protection 

Endpoint security protects your company by applying a single security standard to every device, or endpoint, on your network. Unlike an antivirus program, which protects a single device from malware, endpoint security provides comprehensive protection for your entire network and all your devices. It does more than shield against malware – it also protects against other types of attacks. 

This kind of protection is vital when you have many devices, including a range of IoT devices, connected to your network. In addition to comprehensive protection, an endpoint solution can also allow you to monitor and deploy software remotely, manage security across all of your network devices from a single dashboard, and even provide security for employees’ devices if you have a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy.

5) Encrypt Data and Connections

Despite your careful and diligent efforts to keep hackers out of your network and away from your company’s data, they could still get in. All it takes is one employee making the mistake of opening an attachment from a dubious email, or assuming erroneously that the man in brown clothes approaching the side door with a stack of boxes really is from UPS. That’s why all the sensitive data on your network should be encrypted, whether it’s stored on your server or in the cloud. That way, hackers will still have to break through the encryption even if they manage to get their hands on the info.

For the same reason, emails should also be encrypted, and employees accessing the network remotely should use a virtual private network (VPN). Web connections should only be made over the https platform, as it’s more secure. If a hacker does intercept an email, access your network remotely, or get their hands on a company device, you’ll be glad for the extra level of security.

A data breach could destroy customer confidence and force you to close your doors forever. So when it comes to your company’s data, there’s no such thing as overkill. Protect your company’s data, and protect your company.