A widely held misconception that many small business owners believe is that hackers and malicious online intruders are only out for big corporations or companies – but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Security for small business websites are getting increasingly more important year by year.
The reality is, small businesses are low hanging fruit for online attackers.
Small businesses still possess a wealth of confidential information – whether it’s contact information, financial details, other personal logins, and among other things. But owners of small businesses tend to lack the resources and knowledge to protect their online business websites, which can put them in extremely compromising and difficult situations later on.
To learn about how to set up the best environment for small business websites that are well-equipped to fend off the most common and avoidable online threats, follow this checklist we’ve created below!
Catalyst Computers are your Sydney based IT experts who can provide high quality small business computer support.
The first item in our checklist is making sure you have an SSL certificate for your small business website. Having an SSL certificate is considered a given nowadays, especially because search engines like Google penalise sites without one or give off security warning signs to website visitors before entering sites without SSL certificates.
SSL certificates serve as a way for data to be transferred to and from servers securely without anyone looking in. So, whenever you enter your admin login details to access your small business website, an SSL certificate ensures no hackers or malicious intruders are able to see those types of sensitive information. Same goes for when website visitors may enter their credit card details for an online purchase or even contact information when submitting a form.
2. Set Up a Firewall
Firewalls are one of the most common ways to protect your IT network from being compromised by cyber attacks. It provides a barrier that makes it more difficult and less appealing for hackers to target your small business website.
Having a firewall set up is now more important than ever especially as remote workforces are on the rise. Having a firewall installed for all of your employees’ work devices should be among the first things to do for better online protection.
At Catalyst Computers we have successfully removed even the most severe virus and spyware infections without the need to format your computer. Everything on your computer will remain the same, just the viruses and spyware will be gone!
3. Back Up Data
It goes without saying that backing up your website’s data is a must. Carrying out frequent backups and double checking that they’ve been correctly done will ensure your business can bounce back even from unexpected situations like cybersecurity attacks or other issues. Backups take only a matter of a few minutes but can save you hours in the long run if you ever have to restore your website due to an unforeseen situation.
4. Multi-factor Authentication
Multi-factor authentication provides another buffer to deter hackers from entering your website and accessing confidential information in your small business. Setting up multi-factor authentication applies even more if you have your employees working on different devices or at home.
Multi-factor authentication can come in many forms like questions requiring knowledge from the user or possession of a certain device. Such examples include answering a security question or typing in a security code sent to a registered business device.
With an additional security measure like multi-factor authentication put in place, you’ll be much more secure and better equipped to avoid security threats later on.
You can rely only on the small business IT support experts to install the very best online protection for your business at Catalyst Computers.
5. Training Employees
Keeping threats outside of your business is one thing, but protecting it within the inside is also just as important.
It’s important to train and educate your employees about small business website security, including how to set up strong passwords, how to identify suspicious files or emails, how to securely back up and protect devices, among many other things.
If you simply aren’t aware of what your business and employees need to do for optimal security, you can always get assistance from the leading IT security service providers at Catalyst Computers. Our team is here to help inform you about what to avoid for best cybersecurity protection and how to prevent reinfection in the future.
Hire IT Security Specialists
When you’re running a business, you’ll often feel like even 24 hours in a day simply isn’t enough time. We understand you want to be focusing on what matters most in building your business, not hours and days on website security and other technical IT matters.
That’s why we recommend you hire our team of IT security specialists at Catalyst Computers. From small business IT support to virus and spyware removal, we provide a range of leading IT services to safely protect and secure your small business’ website data from all types of online threats.
For more information on how your business can be enhanced through innovative security solutions at Catalyst Computers, get in touch with us today. Call us or fill out a contact form and we’ll be in touch very soon.
