The Best Digital Security Tips for Protecting Your Business

As a business owner, you want to keep your organization secure. Most businesses focus on financial and physical security. However, digital security is just as important. It protects your data, your money, and your customers. With more and more online tools being made available to help businesses run, and more ways for those tools to be breached by hackers, digital security is becoming more important than ever. Thankfully, there are some quick tips for protecting your business with ease that anyone can use:

• Educate your employees
• Enforce strong passwords
• Don’t email links within your organization
• Update your systems
• Use a VPN
• Follow the law

Educate Your Employees on Digital Security

To borrow from an old metaphor, your digital security is only as strong as your weakest link. In business, your employees are your links. If the people who keep your organization running inadvertently give hackers access to it, it may be too late to protect yourself. Instead, get ahead of digital threats by educating every person who works with you. Train them to recognize scams such as phishing and to identify secure websites and downloads.

Enforce Strong Passwords

It’s a well-established fact that strong passwords prevent account breaches. However, knowing this and acting on it are two different things. Because shorter, memorable passwords are easier to use, they remain the preference of many. Unfortunately, in a business setting, this can damage your digital security. Instead of letting weak passwords reign, provide your employees with a secure password manager and implement a policy of using strong passwords. In addition, recommend using two-factor authentication for all accounts that offer it as an extra layer of security when protecting your business.

Don’t Email Links Within Your Organization

Email is one of the easiest ways of sharing files and links within a business. Unfortunately, hackers know this too. As a result, some online scammers target businesses by creating believable, legitimate-looking emails designed to convince employees to click links within the email. In many cases, these links contain malware or have the ability to steal sensitive information. One simple way of avoiding this problem is skipping email altogether, especially when sharing links and files. Many alternate messaging platforms, such as Slack, can help you stay connected and protected.

Update Your Systems

Sure, system updates are annoying. However, they’re crucial for good digital security. Outdated systems and softwares might have flaws in their security. Fortunately, these flaws are usually corrected with each update, to keep you and your business safe online. 

Use a VPN

A virtual private network, or VPN, is an excellent tool for protecting your business. They can be used in a few different ways. First, VPNs secure online browsing activity. They do this by anonymizing IP addresses and creating secure “tunnels” that prying eyes can’t see inside. If every employee with your business uses a VPN, your online business activities will be hidden from third-parties and encrypted. 

Second, VPNs allow employees to connect to work-related servers from remote locations. For example, if you have an employee working from home or abroad at an industry conference, they can securely access any important data on their work computer using a VPN. 

Follow the Law

There are laws in place all over the world governing the minimum policies and technological needs of businesses. Although many of these laws help protect consumers from unscrupulous businesses, they also protect businesses, albeit indirectly. In many cases, the success of a business depends on the trust of its clients. If a business can’t be trusted, it might not be in business for long. Although digital security laws might restrict what some businesses view as freedoms, they also help make businesses trustworthy, thus maintaining their client base.

If you need help protecting your business, check out HotBot VPN to protect your data and your employees.