Small businesses and side hustles make up a huge percentage of people’s income these days, especially with all the disruption and upheaval caused by the pandemic. Your side hustle is a small business, and it’s important to make sure you’re keeping your business information and documents safe and secure. Unfortunately, cybercrime has increased up to 300% since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, according to the FBI. To protect yourself, your business, and your customers, here’s how you can protect your side hustle from cyberattacks and ensure valuable data and resources are protected.
Set Up a Strong Cybersecurity System
Thanks to ongoing innovation and advancements in technology, it’s easier than ever to do business completely digitally. E-commerce has supported local and national economies during the pandemic, but it has also opened the doors for cyberattacks and other security issues. Building a strong digital platform that is secure, protected, and innovative makes it harder for criminals to hack the system and ensures everything in your business is protected all day every single day. There are various layers to building a strong security system, both technical and based on people management. The first steps would be to ensure that traffic is monitored to your business network and that web application and api protection measures are put in place to ensure that any malicious act is met with a proper line of defence.
Have a Business Lawyer
It’s estimated that 15 million lawsuits are filed each year in the United States, many of these related to businesses in some shape or form. Security hacks and breaches put customers’ information at risk and can open up a business to even more legal problems. This is especially true if it is revealed management intentionally ignored threats or failed to provide a secure platform for their business. Having legal counsel on call is important even when you’re a tiny business and it can help to protect your business in the long run.
Have a Disaster Recovery System
Issues will arise, despite all the best planning and preparations. Breeches happen, systems go down, data can be compromised, and systems can go haywire. A staggering 25% of businesses and organizations today never test their disaster recovery system, and almost as many do not even have such a system in place. Preparing and ensuring business plans are in place to handle critical events and emergencies is a key part of continued growth and success in these volatile times.
Properly Train Your Employees
As with any company plans and operational guidelines, you will want to make sure your team members are all on the same page. Onboarding is an important part of improving cybersecurity. When employees understand how systems work and can properly utilize the tools and systems before them, they can better maintain and monitor vital systems and data points. This will make it easier to note issues and concerning trends that can indicate possible breaches in security.
Communicate Effectively
Another key aspect of improving cybersecurity for your businesses relies on good lines of communication. On-demand access to data with cloud-based platforms and collaborative dashboards, along with push notifications and real-time data sharing options keeps everyone on the same page. This also makes it easier to communicate in an instant and across any distance in order to address potential threats and issues quickly and efficiently.
Make sure your business is ready, and you are as protected as you can be against cybercrime and other threats! Build a business plan that meets your current needs while also being adaptable and flexible to grow with changes in market trends and customer demands. Planning ahead for how you will face cyber threats and how you will respond to attacks when they occur will make it easier to adapt and grow and keep ahead of the competition. So, stop putting it off, and get the cybersecurity setup that is right for you today by contacting the local experts in your area!
