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4 Ways to Increase Your Office’s IT Security

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4 Ways to Increase Your Office’s IT Security

There were more than 668 million attempted cyber security breaches (including successful hacks) on American computers in the first half of 2018 alone. The most highly-publicised of these attacks have been on the likes of Facebook, the US Government, and the recent Chinese microchip scandal which infiltrated the supply chain of many companies including Amazon and Apple. However, even more prosaic data breaches can have a catastrophic impact on businesses of any size, especially since there are some instances where your data could be accessed offline.

If your business is concerned about any potential risks to its IT security, here are four essential tips to keep your company’s data—and its reputation—secure.

Keep your data safe at all times

Whilst it is obvious to suggest that businesses need to protect their data during office hours, and have their servers secured outside of those times, this need for protection also extends to special circumstances. For example, if you are moving offices, make sure to hire an office relocation company who can offer a safe pair of hands for your IT equipment. This means finding a team who can not only take your server apart, but transport it safely and help reconfigure your network on arrival in a way that won’t leave you susceptible to a breach at your new physical location.

Train your staff, and have a comprehensive office IT policy

Having a far-reaching cybersecurity policy within your office is an extremely important step to keeping your IT infrastructure safe from any potential intrusion. This can encompass installing anti-virus software, and enforcing a password policy where each member of staff has a different, strong password for every account and device they use.

This policy should also encourage your team to change these passwords on a regular basis, in order to further discourage any unauthorised third-party sign-ins. If possible, you should also change your network-wide settings to prevent passwords from being auto-saved within web browsers, particularly on any company laptops.

Install a strong firewall

Of course, making sure that your staff take precaution with their own computer systems is pointless if the overall network has vulnerabilities. A firewall can keep out any cyber attacks, big or small, on your office’s local network, and can prevent malware from being installed through spam emails or documents. Malware can find its way onto your computer without you realising it, and infect your computer with viruses or steal personal information.

Even if your computer or web browser comes with its own firewall software, it may not be robust enough to catch the increasingly-advanced malware being used by hackers. For example, recent research has shown that 45% of malware reported in August 2018 came from email attachments with hacked Microsoft Office documents.

Keep your files backed up regularly

A recent industry study showed that losing data can have a ruinous impact on businesses, with 60% of companies who suffer a data loss going under within six months of it taking place. Consequently, storage has never been more important to the health of a business, no matter what sector you operate in, to ensure that all your valuable data is backed up in the event of a data breach, hardware breakdown or simple human error. Whether you choose to keep physical servers regularly updated, or opt to store your entire organisation’s information securely on the cloud, a backup policy is crucial if you want your data to stay safe.

I am the founder of Startup Today. I am the main writer and have put in many hours of work into creating this blog. If you want to find out more about me then lets get in contact.

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