Improve Your Small Business Cyber Security with These 5 Tips

When you start organizing your new business you need to think of everything that may cause any concern so you can address it in advance. This is pretty standard regardless of the type of business or service you provide. One of the most important things you need to cover is security. Your client's need to know that their information s safe with you in order to trust you with their business.

Here are 5 tips on how you can improve your small business cyber security:

Control your admin access: Research has shown that unmanaged administrator privileges are some of the biggest IT security threats to an organization. Yet many small businesses still don't take the time to set up the proper access limitations for non-admin employees, especially when those workers are using their own devices.

Gupta recommended enforcing time-window and location-based fencing for controlling access to sensitive information.

Layer your security: Keeping a close eye on your data is important, but don't waste precious resources on high-level security for everything. James Bindseil, CEO of file-transfer software company Globalscape, advised taking a layered approach to security.It's important to apply the appropriate level of security to the right population, but don't forget about any of them, since hackers are most likely to go in through weak areas, Bindseil said.

Ask about cyberinsurance: In the last several years, cyberinsurance policies have become an increasingly popular option for small businesses looking to protect credit card information, customer names and addresses, and other sensitive data stored in online systems. Cyber-risks aren't typically covered under general liability insurance, so it's important to find out what types of coverage are available to you.

Secure personal devices, but don't over-monitor: Allowing employees to use personal devices for work means you'll need some kind of monitoring system in place to protect any company data they're accessing. But being too strict and overbearing with your policies won't sit well with employees, who may feel that their privacy is being invaded.

If a data breach does occur and a personal device needs to be investigated, Francis recommended handling the situation very delicately. Get your HR and legal teams involved to ensure that the employee's private data isn't compromised in the process.

Have a process in place: The proper security software and tools will certainly guard against data breaches, but technology alone isn't necessarily the answer to your cybersecurity issues.

Francis agreed, noting that all security policies should be agreed upon, clearly written out and shared company-wide before employees begin using their own devices.