Things are constantly changing in the world of the internet, and security issues are becoming increasingly more concerning. However, cyber-attacks and security breaches don’t just happen to large corporations. Small businesses, groups and charities have to protect their IT systems, too.
Despite their serious nature, and potentially catastrophic consequences, there are some simple steps you can take to ensure that your business remains protected online. Here are some practical steps you can take today to improve your online and data security.
Make Sure Your Website Receives Regular Maintenance and Updates
Website maintenance involves updating your CMS (whether that’s WordPress or any other CMS) and any plugins you have, on a regular basis. If this is not kept up to date, your website could suddenly experience significant problems.
There is also the chance that an unmaintained website could also be hacked, which means malware is added and can destroy your search engine optimisation – potentially for a long time. Ensuring that your website is regularly checked and maintained by an expert is an easy way to avoid this.
We now recommend that all website hosting clients sign up for our monthly website maintenance package. This maintenance package is crucial for the health and upkeep of your website.
Find out more here.
Use Two-Factor Authentication
From social media networks to Google, Amazon and cloud storage services such as Dropbox and SharePoint – almost all major online services which utilise account logins now offer two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication (or 2FA, for short) allows you to link your account to a personal device, requiring a verification code from that device when you attempt to log in.
Two-factor authentication means that, even if a potential hacker knows your account email and/or password, without the partnered device (typically a phone or tablet) they will not be able to access your account. Ensuring that all your business-related accounts and services use 2FA adds an extra layer of security which will mitigate almost all attempts to access your accounts.
If you don’t want everything tied to a personal device then use a device that you have purchased for business use. Also, remember to transfer all your 2FA logins to a different device if you are getting rid of the current one, as losing or throwing away the device before doing so could make it very difficult to gain access to your accounts at a future time.
If you’re not already doing so, we would also recommend that you also use two-factor authentication for all of your personal accounts and devices as well as your business-related ones.
Clean Up Your Digital Footprint
There’s an old (but not that old) adage that ‘nothing is ever truly gone from the internet’; however it’s always a good idea to review the information about yourself or your business that is widely available online.
You might have an old social media profile which contains more personal information than you would now like to share, or perhaps there is a directory which contains now-defunct email addresses for your business. Keeping your digital footprint clean will help close potential vulnerabilities for any security breaches.
Consider Changing Your Email to a Cloud-Based Solution
Cloud email gives you access to your emails and email tools over the internet. In addition to providing you with the tools you need to receive, send, and store emails, the vendor also provides the necessary security, technology, and maintenance.
Most email hosting solution providers make security their number one priority. With the most modern tools available, a team of security experts and far-reaching protocols in place to protect their clients, you’re likely to be far better protected with a cloud-based email hosting service than you would be if you had to rely on a member of staff keeping your email server up to date.
For example, if your server becomes infected with a virus or dies outright, recovering lost data can be difficult. Sometimes it’s impossible to recover. An email cloud-based solution has redundancy built-in, which means you can recover your messages, contacts and any data stored within your email system quickly and easily.
We recommend Microsoft Office 365 and can help you in the transition. Please note that, as of 31st March 2023, iMarketing will no longer be supporting webmail-based email.
Keep Your Devices Updated at All Times
Not only will keeping your devices, whether they are PC, Mac or iOS/Android devices, updated regularly ensure that they are performing optimally – developers frequently deploy important security updates and patches which will help keep your devices safe.
We understand that, more often than not, it never quite seems like the right time for a potentially long-winded update session at the beginning or end of the working day – but it’s important to make regular time for these updates for the maintenance and security of your devices.
Ensure You Have Quality Antivirus and Malware Protection Software
The best protection against malware and security breaches will always be preventative action to make sure it doesn’t happen in the first place but, once it’s on your computer or laptop, malware can steal your data, encrypt it so you can’t access it, or even erase it completely. For these reasons it’s important that you always use antivirus software and keep it up to date to protect your data and devices.
This type of software works by detecting, quarantining and/or deleting malicious code to stop malware damaging your device. Modern antivirus products update themselves automatically to provide protection against the latest types of malware.
While devices now often come with their own antivirus built into the operating system, such as Windows Defender, there are also third-party options such as McAfee, Norton, Avast and more. If you would like to use third-party software, it would be best to carry out some research of your own to see which solution best fits your needs.
Online Security with iMarketing
If you would like to know more about any of iMarketing’s services – and not just internet security tips – follow this link and fill in the online form. You can also call us on 01473 598899. Meetings can be arranged via Zoom or by appointment.
