How to Protect Your Company from Online Hacking Easily

How to protect your company from online hacking easily? Various online security measures should be implemented to prevent the risk to your business.

From Boots to Facebook, Apple to Thomas Cook, a laundry list of major companies has been affected by some form of online hacking in recent years. Whether you run a large corporation or own an SME, being the victim of an online attack can have devastating consequences. Being aware and vigilant is imperative in this modern digital world.

There are an estimated 5.548 million small businesses in the UK. A recent report by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) found that cybercrime costs those SMEs around £1,300 a year.

Around 54% of business have been the victim of cybercrime in the last 12 months. To help to keep you out of that number, here are some simple ways in which you can protect your company from online hacking.

Continuous education

With new phishing schemes popping up all the time, keeping your staff aware of the latest scams is imperative.

Part of the training should include highlighting what to look for in a scam. That includes things like unknown text messages and dubious-looking attachments in emails. You should also have someone within the business who monitors scams and sends out company-wide alerts.

Changing passwords

Regardless of whether you’ve been notified of a breach, it’s good practice to change passwords regularly. You should also have different passwords for different accounts. That way, if one account is hacked, you know that no other information can be stolen.

If you’re worried about forgetting your passwords (you should never have them written down!) you can invest in an online password manager.

Installing a VPN

With more and more people working from home, you should consider installing the best Chrome VPN. This will help to hide your IP when surfing the web and encrypt all your data to reduce the impact of any attacks.

VPNs are an essential tool for modern businesses and homeowners alike. They can prove invaluable if you have colleagues who often work away from the office.

Avoid public Wi-Fi

You should encourage all staff to avoid using public Wi-Fi. This is especially true if you regularly have client meetings outside of the office or allow remote working. Public Wi-Fi is notorious for its lack of security.

Where possible, toggle laptops and other devices to phones with data or invest in dongles that allow roaming in a safe and secure way.

Use multi-factor authentication

Multi-factor authentication can help to reduce hacking as it prevents criminals from logging in as you. It is one of the best ways to protect your online accounts. MFA works by asking you to confirm your identity/login credentials on a secondary app or device that you’ve set up. It uses a combination of passwords, biometrics and/or a physical security key.