In 2020, the pandemic triggered the new era of cyberattacks, making them stand as the fifth top-rated risk. In 2022, cyberattacks are still on exponential growth with a fear of IoT attacks to become double by 2025. Moreover, the Global Risk Report of 2020 by the World Economic Forum states that the rate of cyberattack detection in the U.S. is as low as 0.05%.

All these concerning statistics are even troublesome for newly incorporated businesses that don't have the resources, knowledge, and team to set up effective cybersecurity measures. But it is not an excuse to keep cybersecurity a side hassle. You have to make it a priority and this blog will help you with it. Here we will talk about some of the key steps that can help you in beginning your cybersecurity protection journey.

Cybersecurity – Brief Overview

Cybersecurity is an amalgam of practices, processes, and technologies that are designed to protect computers, networks, servers, electronic systems, programs, and all other devices from malicious cyberattacks. It is meant to minimize the risk of becoming the victim of any form of cyberattack and get it detected before any severe damage.

5 Basic Steps Towards Effective Cybersecurity

With every passing year, cyberattacks are becoming a lot more sophisticated and advanced. Therefore, it is crucial for your newly incorporated business to begin practicing a few of the key cybersecurity protection measures. Here are the 5 basic steps in this perspective:

1. 1.      Risk Assessment

The first step you should take is to assess the cyber risks associated with your business. You should start with what kind of data you are storing, what are the relevant cyber threats, what are their likely chances of happening, and lastly what are the best-recommended protection measures. Since cybersecurity topic is well-discussed on the internet, so you can easily conduct the risk assessment with the help of online resources.

1. 2.      Security Software & Firewall

Once you are aware of the potential cyber risks associated with your business, then you should start with the baseline of cybersecurity, i.e., security software and firewall. Pick the antivirus software that is reputed for protecting your system from the threats you are most concerned about. For the firewall, look for the attacks it will protect you from and the level of flexibility and visibility it offers.

1. 3.      Strong Password Policy & Updated and Patched OS

After setting up a baseline with security software and firewall, you should focus on some of the main loopholes that let attackers easily penetrate the system. One such loophole is the weak password. For example, "123456" is known as the world's most popular password. So, you should set up a strong password policy in your company and instruct employees to set strong passwords and change them frequently.

Other than the strong password policy, another favorite spot of attackers is unpatched or non-updated operating systems. Therefore, you should ensure that all the systems within your company get updated and patched regularly.

1. 4.      Access Control

Not every employee should have access to all the sensitive data of the company. You should set up a proper access control system where only authorized personnel can access sensitive data and all their activities can be tracked. There are many access control management solutions available today that you can use instantly.

1. 5.      Managed IT Services

Managed IT services are about outsourcing your IT or cybersecurity needs to a trustworthy IT services provider. Since you have just incorporated a company and you are tight on resources and experience, the best way is to opt for a cost-friendly managed IT service. These services have the skilled team, advanced technologies, and up-to-date knowledge to help you set up effective cybersecurity infrastructure, network monitoring plan, servers management, etc. So, if you struggle to set up trustworthy cybersecurity measures on your own, you can opt for managed IT services.

Conclusion

Cybersecurity measures are designed to reduce the chances of becoming a victim of cyberattacks, but such measures never guarantee complete protection. Therefore, it is important that you keep yourself up-to-date with cybersecurity news and ensure cybersecurity training of employees or even go for cybersecurity certification. This way, you as a team will become more educated around cybersecurity and can then set up a more effective cyber defense system.

Contact CARE IT for measures to find out which IT security measures should you implement!