Tips For Protecting Your Start-Up

[This article was written by Dawn Castell.]

You have gotten your start-up business off the ground. And, the chances are that your attention is being pulled in several different directions at once. You dive into marketing strategies and ways of understanding consumer patterns so that you can satisfy all your clients. You have already practiced several things that you have read online or heard from friends on how to kick start your start-up. You need to perform several operational and managerial tasks to grow your start up business. Unfortunately, you are likely to forget the importance of safeguarding your start-up data amidst all the other functions. IT experts reveal that thousands of malware samples are discovered every day, and the statistics are expected to increase because businesses are using the cloud and other internet services more every day. That is why you need to protect your start-up data from any security threats, both offline and online.

Train Your Employees

Several start-ups have suffered from phishing attacks. They are attacks where a target is contacted by a thief who wants to steal valuable business information. Phishing attacks often happen in the form of emails where the hackers pretend to be real recipients. That is why you need to train your start-up employees on IT security. Coach your employees to avoid handing out sensitive information to an outsider that they don’t know. Also, let your employees know about spear phishing that targets senior-level executives who have access to confidential and valuable business information.

Beware of Malware

You should close the doors of your start-up to malware the same way that you wouldn’t leave your front door opened at night for fear of a criminal attack. You could be exposing your start-up to hackers when you don’t secure your computers. Malware is malicious programs that are designed to damage your network or PC without your consent or knowledge. You can protect your start-up from these malicious attacks by applying a firewall and cleaning up emails. The other effective way is the use of public cloud security to protect your networks and data.

Have a Plan

The other effective way of protecting your startup is to come up with a policy. You can start by searching for an online tool. You are likely to find several free online tools that will help you to design a plan based on the needs of the start-up. Select the sections that are most relevant to your business, then develop a plan that works for you, depending on the kind of data you handle or store. It would be wise to create a project together with your employees so that they can be part of it.

Tackle Social Media

You need to know that social media is not leaving any time soon. And, it can significantly help in marketing your brand and getting more customers. You can minimize social media before it tips you up by deciding who will speak on behalf of your start-up. You also need to choose the confidential information that should not be disclosed. You need to come up with social media guidelines that define the information that can be posted and who can post. Remember to be social, but smart on these platforms.

Two-Factor Authentication

You shouldn’t settle on having a password combination and a single username for your start-up business. You should go the extra mile by using two-factor authentication that tasks users with a secondary authentication sequence, such as inputting codes sent on a phone or confirming an email. You can use two-factor authentication for consumers and employees. However, you should incorporate this strategy with training employees because an employee can get a request to access an email and blindly click the lick, which allows a fraudster to obtain sensitive information.

Hopefully, these tricks will give you suggestions on how to protect your start-up as well as realizing the risks of cyber threats. Don’t let data breach deter your start-up from growing and succeeding. Don’t forget to liaise with a professional to assist you in protecting your start-up.