You probably know many of the basic rules for online safety that we’ve all heard over the last two decades: don’t click suspicious links, don’t share passwords with people you don’t know, back up your data, and keep a secure internet connection.
But with the lightning-speed progression of the internet’s dominance in the way we do business, and the numerous standards of doing business online that shifted during the pandemic, it can be difficult to keep up with the new security issues that have arisen in kind.
RNIT, as a respected managed service provider (MSP) for top-tier IT organizations worldwide, has almost seen it all where online safety is concerned. Here are the top up-to-date 5 steps our team can give you for how to keep your business safe online.
1: Prepare and implement a robust data backup and recovery plan.
Protect your business from crucial data loss with a full, well-documented, and tested data backup and recovery strategy in place.
Your business likely has crucial data about internal processes, finances and transactions, leads, business strategy, sensitive customer and/or employee information. If there’s a data breach, the impact could be far-reaching and difficult to simply clean up. If you lose data with no backup, chances are it’s gone forever. If sensitive customer information like passwords and addresses are exposed, it could be a major hit to your business’s reputation and public trustworthiness.
Operational failure in this regard could likely be catastrophic to your business; so you need a service provider who will be able to recommend a solid data strategy and help implement it securely.
2: Dynamic monitoring.
If your business’s IT system isn’t regularly monitored, you might miss crucial vulnerabilities in terms of cybersecurity and privacy. You also need to be aware of issues like your site being down, your storage filling up, your equipment failing, or even the simple task of updating your antivirus software as soon as they happen.
The dynamic, round-the-clock system monitoring that an MSP IT service provider can perform is unmatched. So is the peace of mind.
See how RNIT’s exemplary managed IT support stacks up.
3: Protect your inboxes and texts.
The majority of attacks happen through email (phishing) or more recently through text messages (smishing). Many attacks disguised with official-sounding language, logos, signatures and links. Ransomware attacks are most frequently let in accidentally by well-intentioned employees who think they’re helping with an urgent (i.e., a package “wasn’t delivered,” or a social media account is “at risk” of being shut down). Some characteristics to look for:
- Spelling and grammatical errors. It may sound silly, but this can usually be a sure sign that something is off in this “urgent” and “official” correspondence. Abbreviations like “pls” instead of “please,” misplaced punctuation, or capitalization errors can all add up to a picture of the sender’s questionable title and place of authority.
- An email address that doesn’t match the sender’s association claims (i.e., representing the IRS, but the address is something like IRSmail.com versus IRS.gov).
- Links that redirect you some place other than what the email or text claims. Hold your mouse over the link to see where it’s actually taking you. Or over text, copy the link address and see if it matches the actual claimed source’s website.
- Immediate, uninitiated requests for personal information such as credit card numbers, home addresses, SSNs, etc.
A knowledgeable MSP service like RNIT can help secure your business’s inboxes, and help prepare you for common attacks.
4: Educate yourself and your employees about securing your business online.
Adequate, regular employee training in online security is vital. All it takes is awareness to avoid a mess. We recommend creating a culture of online awareness in your business. Consider hosting regular workshops to keep your employees up-to-date on best practices and recent online security threats, or sending a helpful article about online security to your folks every now and then.
Awareness is key ensuring you take an active role in keeping your business secure online. And it starts from the inside.
5: Think you know the basics of cybersecurity? Take them seriously.
Many security breaches come from being complacent in the basics of cybersecurity. Again: awareness is key to keep your business secure online. These efforts include, but are certainly not limited to:
- Strong passwords
- Two-factor authentication
- Updated antivirus software
- Regular patches
- Working only with highly-trained experts in IT, and using only high quality-security systems (as recommended by your IT service).
How RNIT is ready to assist your businesses – now, and into the future
We’d love for you to reach out for a first-time consultation so we can get to know your company’s specific needs and goals and how our team can best fulfill these. Find us online or give us a call at 949-236-7700.