When it comes to looking after your business tech, you may be at a bit of a loss. Not only are most of us pretty under qualified when it comes to staying safe online on such a large scale, but the technology we use in businesses is just not the same as having a personal broadband connection.
The network is a lot bigger, you are storing masses of data, and one slip up from an employee could mean that a private piece of information is out there in the hands of somebody who just shouldn’t have it. If you want to ensure that you’re looking after your business tech, follow these simple tips.
Invest in the latest software
As a business, your data is more likely to be at risk of being hacked if you have old computers, and old software to go with them. Not only are more advanced pieces of software better protected from the threats posed by hackers and fraudsters (it is only natural that this is the case, as a lot of advancements in security have taken place over the last few years) but they will be more efficient, too, and you’ll save a lot of time and money as a business owner. Say goodbye to your old software if you want to prioritize the safety of your business tech, and you want to utilize all of the time and money that you have available to you as a boss.
Figure out what data you’ll be sharing
Your clients, and your potential clients, will be sharing their data with you every single day, and you will be responsible for keeping this safe. However, do you know what information you are sharing with people about yourself and your company, and have you taken the time to educate yourself on these things? Take a look into what your IP address says about you and your company (such as your location, and other information) and see whether you come out of the other side of your research thinking, ‘I want to hide my IP address.’ You’ll be shocked by which parts of your data people can see, so educate yourself on the risks.
Outsource your IT
If you’re not exactly the best when it comes to technology, you could benefit from outsourcing your IT to a company who know what they are doing, and can look after your business tech for you. There is no point in taking the risk here if you don’t think that you would do a great job at this, as you could leave your network at risk, so look into the options for outsourcing. There are many benefits to this, and they are not limited to the fact that you won’t have to pay somebody a full-time wage to sort out your IT, and you’ll find out about all of the latest ways to protect your network from people in an external company, so it’s worthwhile trying this out.
Talk to your employees about the risks
No matter what security practices you have in place, your team are only going to know about the risks that are present if you tell them about what they are. If you’re worried about suspicious email links, ensure that your team know how to spot the telltale signs before it is too late to protect your systems. They will be on guard if you make an effort to alert them about these things, so have regular meetings about online security. You may think that nothing can get past the protection for your network, but the reality could be quite different, so don’t take the risk of keeping vital information about your tech security to yourself.
Get business antivirus
If you own a business, there is nothing more important when it comes to keeping your tech safe than making sure that you purchase business antivirus software, rather than the antivirus out there that is made for individual consumers. Business protection is a lot more advanced, and will be tailored to your network, so that the risks to your company are reduced strategically. You have so many documents (and so much data) that you are trying to keep safe, and if you’re not on top of your business antivirus protection, you could lose everything. This can really ruin your business, so don’t take this risk, and get the right software.
Send out a reminder for password changing
Every few months, you should be sending out a reminder to your staff about changing the passwords to their computers, and to all of the accounts that they use (particularly emails). Reminding people to change their passwords can really protect your business from hackers, and although it will take people five minutes, you’ll be glad that you ensured that everybody took the steps required to protect themselves on the office computers. Sure, it seems like something that wouldn’t really help that much, but emails are the prime targets for these sorts of hackers and attacks, so ensuring that they are difficult for people to access is key to business tech safety.
So, if you want to look after your business tech, there are many things that you can do, from investing in the latest software, to talking to your employees about the risks that they may face. None of these methods are perfect, and you could still be at risk of the general threats that you will encounter on the internet, but your network will be a lot more difficult to hack as a result of these things, and you’ll be glad that you sorted them all out. Whatever you decide to do, ensure that you look after your business tech, and don’t underestimate the importance of doing so. It could be catastrophic if you lose important data and documents as a result!
Good luck getting your business tech protected, so that you can carry on with the things that really matter, without having to worry about hackers and other threats that the internet brings with it.
