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Improving Your Company’s Computer Security

Computer security needs are at an all time high for any company that accesses the internet.

By Damien JustusPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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A highly visible online presence is crucial for every successful company, but cybercriminals have only increased their efforts to infiltrate your system and steal vital data. Massive corporations and family-owned e-commerce sites have experienced cyberattacks, and with more transactions and browsing occurring online than ever before, criminals have found new ways to damage or cripple online businesses. To protect your business, employees and customers, you can use the following suggestions for improving your online security.

Reliable Providers

Although there are countless online security firms offering protection services, not every firm is reputable. If you notice a company advertising outrageously low prices for their services, it’s best to disregard them and only research providers with a clean track record and high customer approval rating. Check out each IT company’s website for details about its services and testimonials from customers. Look for companies that offer a range of services and provide several layers of security for your network and computers. A trusted online security provider like the IT company in Kansas City, Kansas is your best line of defense against cybercriminals.

Updating Software

Although you may get annoyed by the number of updates you have to complete every week, the process is necessary for protecting your system from attacks. Updates not only improve glitches and software issues, but they update the security protocols. Outdated software is a favorite target of hackers, and you risk an imminent attack if you fail to update the devices and apps at your office. To make things easier, you can set all your devices and apps to update at scheduled times. You can schedule updates to occur at lunchtime or after hours so that they won’t interfere with work. You can also minimize the risk of an attack by removing old programs and accounts that your company no longer uses.

Password Protection

Fraudulent claims concerning e-commerce transactions have significantly increased in the last five years, and you should improve your online verification methods to avoid revenue losses and possible consumer lawsuits. Develop a multi-factor authentication system that uses two or more identification methods to verify a customer’s identity. For passwords on your site, security experts recommend using a ten-to-fifteen-digit password with a combination of upper and lower-case letters, numbers and symbols. With a robust online identification system, your company can minimize the likelihood of fraudulent claims.

Data Back-Up

The sensitive data contained in your company’s hard drives can become inaccessible after a devastating cyberattack. By backing up your information in a cloud, you can view the data from any location and restore your system if an attack occurs. Cloud computing allows authorized personnel to work remotely with full access to company files, but you should only use an experienced cloud provider with robust security.

Virus Protection

Although hackers commonly use malware and ransomware to steal information, criminals continue to develop new methods to bypass security and infiltrate online accounts. Phishing, man-in-the-middle, cross-site scripting and eavesdropping attacks are only a few techniques hackers use to get information from your system. To guard against continually evolving threats, you can upgrade your current security program to a premium plan that includes frequent security updates and safeguards against the latest criminal attacks. One option that guards your IP address against being recognized by cybercriminals is a virtual private network (VPN). When your staff browses the web, your IP address will be hidden and replaced with an address from another location.

Monitoring Employees

Making online security improvements will minimize your chances of a cyberattack, but you can’t achieve 100% protection even with secure devices and software. Unfortunately, your employees can weaken your security by visiting unprotected sites. A website without a secure rating can contain malware, and you should enforce strict rules concerning appropriate online research. Most web browsers allow you to limit which sites your employees can view. You can block access to unauthorized content, and you can use password protection to limit which employees have access to your cloud.

Although security measures for online businesses aren’t foolproof, you can use the previous tips to improve your security and minimize the probability of a cyberattack.

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