Cyber security best practices checklist can help you prevent attacks on your business

Now that you've put together a cyber game plan, much like a disaster recovery plan, you and your employees need to practice what is known as cyber hygiene (best practices in cybersecurity).

Data security and intellectual property protection concerns are not new, but threats evolve so quickly that your business cannot afford to ignore them. No one is immune to cybersecurity incidents such as phishing, malware, ransomware, or theft of intellectual property.

It is everyone's responsibility, not just that of your IT specialist.

Top 10 Best Cybersecurity Practices

1. Cybersecurity know-how: Educate and train all your employees, whatever their position, according to the needs of your business. Make the effort to certify employees, if you can. There are many free and affordable online training materials to help employees learn more about cybersecurity.
2. Back up all data periodically, not only to the cloud, but also to a local hard drive. Systematically test the reliability of your backup systems. Would you be able to recover the essential information that allows you to stay in business and stay one step ahead of your competitors?
3. Not all employees need access to your company data. Adopt a policy to determine who can access what information, such as financial information, client lists and intellectual property, and under what circumstances.
4. Consider cyber insurance to protect your business. It can cover elements such as legal representation costs and possible damages linked to a breach of network security, as well as expenses related to the restoration or recovery of data following a breach of security or a denial of service or ransomware attack.
5. Document your cybersecurity policies and be ready to share them with your customers, if asked. Customers will likely want to know how you handle confidential information, who has access to it, where the data is stored, and what would happen in the event of a data breach. Offer this information to your customers as evidence of good governance.
6. Plan for a mobile workforce. With more than half of the companies that currently allow employees to bring their personal communication equipment (BYOB), it is essential that you have a documented policy that focuses on best practices. With the growing popularity of wearable devices, such as smartwatches and wireless physical activity monitors, it is essential to integrate them into politics. Require employees to configure automatic security updates and that the company's password policy applies to all mobile devices that access your network.
7. Apply strong password practices. The vast majority of breaches of data protection are due to loss, theft or weak passwords. In today's world where you can bring your personal communication equipment, it is essential that all the devices of employees who access the company network are protected by a strong password, like X! G43fd54L1! 9p or MonChienAimeLesPantoufles2 ! Never use a corporate password for personal purposes, such as accessing Facebook, LinkedIn, or other social media accounts.
8. Data encryption means that it is almost impossible to reconstruct data without knowing the password. Microsoft and Apple have encryption features built into their operating systems. Activate this function!
9. Install malware and keep it up to date. Did you know that on average 30% of employees open phishing emails (an increasing Canadian statistic)? Since many phishing attacks involve installing malware on the employee's computer when clicking on a link, it is essential to install malware on all devices, including network servers. Phishing attacks often target small businesses due to a lack of employee training or outdated software.
10. For an additional level of protection, multi-factor authentication settings are easy to configure on most major networks and email messaging products. We recommend that you use the employee cell number as the second form of authentication, as it is unlikely that a thief will have both your account password and your employees' cell number. If you don't know what multi-factor authentication is, search Google or YouTube for videos on how to set up this type of authentication on all your email or other accounts.

Stay on top of the latest trends in cyberattacks

Whatever your preparation, an employee could commit a security error that could compromise your data.

Security is a moving target since cybercriminals are becoming more and more sophisticated and use advanced techniques every day.

As a business owner, you need to be up to date with the latest attack trends and the latest prevention techniques. It is essential that you and your employees make cyber hygiene a top priority.