The Business Owner’s Cybersecurity Checklist

Digital technology has become critical to the way that the world does business. In the era of digital business, every company must establish a robust cybersecurity program to protect itself from cybercriminals. But how do you know if your business’s cybersecurity program is up to snuff? Take a look at the checklist below. Are you checking off every item?

Antivirus Subscription

It’s important to install antivirus software on all machines used for company activity, but just installing the software and calling it good is insufficient to protect against cyberthreats. In order to be effective, your antivirus software must be regularly updated to combat newly developed malware. With a subscription, you can ensure that your antivirus software updates automatically to maximize protection.

Cybersecurity Training for Employees

It’s critical to provide regular end-user training to all employees. These training sessions should be conducted at least twice per year and should cover the company’s cybersecurity tools, systems, policies, and procedures. Employees should also be taught cybersecurity best practices, trends, and common threats.

Strong Password Policy and Protection

Use complex and unique passwords for every account. Passwords shouldn’t be easy to guess or steal. A password manager is a useful tool that stores and encrypts your passwords so that you don’t have to remember a long, complicated password for every individual account. Use multi-factor authentication whenever possible. Ensure that employees all do the same.

OS Patches and Updates

One of the simplest and most effective ways to consistently protect your organization’s cybersecurity is immediately installing patches and updates to your OS and other applications as they become available. These updates and patches are designed to remediate vulnerabilities and minimize cyber risk.

Network Security Architecture

To mitigate the damage of a potential cyberattack, it’s critical to design your network with secure architecture informed by a network segmentation and segregation strategy. With secure network architecture in place, even if a hacker gains access to one part of your network, the damage they can do will be limited to that segment of the network rather than the network in its entirety.

Email Encryption

To ensure secure communications, encrypt your email applications and train your staff on how to use email securely. Ensure they know what data can and can’t be shared via email, know how to recognize scam messages, and aren’t accessing their business emails from any personal devices.

Vulnerability Scans

Every quarter, if not more often, conduct internal and external security scans to look for malware, assess the strength of your network segmentation, and identify weaknesses in your cybersecurity measures. Use the information you gain from these scans to inform your policies and trainings.

Access Control

With access control measures, only the people who need access to something will have access to it. When every employee has access to sensitive company data that isn’t necessary for the execution of their job duties, that opens up the business to an unnecessary level of risk. This includes administrative permissions; ensure that only the users who need administrative privileges have that power.

Back-Ups and Disaster Preparedness

Regularly back up your company’s data to a secure and encrypted system that’s separate from the rest of your network. Create a cyberattack response and recovery plan that will help to mitigate damage and expedite recovery in the event of a successful cybersecurity breach. If a disaster of any nature occurs, you’ll be relieved you protected your business’s information by preparing for the worst.

Cybersecurity MSP

If there were any items on this list that you couldn’t check off, it may be time to partner with a cybersecurity managed service provider. A cybersecurity MSP can work with your business to identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities, craft a custom strategy, and implement solutions that match your business’s needs and budget. This article isn’t an exhaustive list of the cybersecurity measures you can take to protect your business. An MSP will be able to review your options and identify all available cybersecurity measures.

Since 1999, CyberTeam has been trusted by businesses big and small to manage their cybersecurity systems, provide expert guidance, and ensure compliance with all relevant data and security standards. To learn more about how our team of cybersecurity experts can help protect your business, contact us today to schedule a consultation.