Cybersecurity – knowledge is power

With measures such as GDPR and other new data legislation coming into place over the next few years, having a good cybersecurity strategy in place is key to any SME’s success going into the future.

The adage ‘knowledge is power’ is truer today than ever before and having a well-researched set of data on potential or current customers has never been more important for your success, however, proliferation of data accessible through hacking is becoming a bigger threat than ever before.

Data breaches such as Yahoos 2013 data theft which resulted in the hacking of billions of customers’ data, intellectual theft of business-critical information and the loss of operation time are some of the threats that business face when you don’t have a good Data security policy.

Getting to grips with this is a challenge, especially for SMEs’ who have limited resources to commit, is a hard task but one that is well worth doing.

Here are 3 things you could do to start you off:

1. Ensure your team’s hard drives are encrypted. As well as being one of the largest sources of previous leaks, encrypting your hard drives gives you the peace of mind that if you lose or get your laptop stolen then all of your valuable business data is kept safe

2. Make sure all your passwords for all of your systems are strong

3. Speak to your IT system providers about their security options and policy

Having a broad approach to your cybersecurity will pay dividends for your business as it grows, ensuring that you have a cybersecurity policy in place gives you protection from current and future cyber hazards whilst setting up a base to improve upon as your business grows.

For more in-depth information on cybersecurity, check out this article from the National Cyber Security Centre.