5 Tips For Managing Cyber Security on a Budget

Every organisation has a unique set of operational requirements, and that's certainly true when it comes to budgeting. Many small or start-up businesses simply don’t have the funds that larger companies do and need to evaluate the best ways to keep their business cyber secure without draining resources.  

Hackers seeking to steal data or gain a profit used to target primarily larger corporations, however in recent years their focus has shifted to smaller businesses. Large corporations and government bodies have armies of cyber security and tight relationships with law enforcement, making them a difficult target. Smaller companies on the other hand have weaker defences and may not be able to respond in time making them a more appealing target. That being said, you can’t sit back and wait for an attack to happen, so how can small businesses improve cyber security without spending a lot of money?  

Here Are Some Suggestions: 

1. Offer Cyber Security Training: It is essential to understand certain basics and to train employees as well. People should know to avoid unsafe cyber practices, such as opening attachments or clicking on links in unexpected emails and using unsecured public WiFi networks to complete sensitive tasks. There are many cyber security training courses online aimed at educating employees and most of them are inexpensive or even free. However, don’t rely on training as means of defence from any cyber risk 
2. Encryption: Encrypt all sensitive data, if you are unsure about whether something is sensitive enough to warrant encryption be cautious and encrypt it. Many versions of Windows have built-in encryption and there are plenty of encryption tools available for free as well 
3. Security Software: All computing devices that contain sensitive information, or that will be attached to a network with other devices that do, should be equipped with security software. Spending money on security software will be inevitable; however, there are several options available on the market today that are very affordable. Do your research and find the best package, many inexpensive options include the essentials such as anti-virus, firewalls, anti-spam, and other beneficial technologies. 
4. Access Limitations: Roughly 22% of cyber breaches are due to an insider threat, whether malicious or accidental, so consider who needs access to what systems in order to do their job. When an employee leaves you should remove their access to company systems, they have no use for it and could potentially become a liability 
5. Back-Up Data: Keep backing up your data because if something were to go wrong you don’t want to be panicking about lost data. Keeping data backed up will allow you to restore data if it has been lost due to a cyber incident. If you aren’t sure whether you back up your data often enough, you probably don’t. Don’t keep backups attached to production networks, if malware were to get into the network it could corrupt the backups as well. Have offsite backups as well as onsite. Regularly check that the backups work, if they don’t it would be meaningless to keep data that can’t be restored 
6. Hire a Professional: Hiring a security professional to help design and implement your cyber security could greatly benefit a small business. The money spent for professional advice might pay for itself in terms of saving time and aggravation later on down the line. Cybercriminals leverage expertise, don’t be at a disadvantage to them. There is a likely chance that you will suffer a cyber attack of some sort, make sure you have the necessary defences in place 

There are, of course, far more ways to manage cyber security than the aforementioned techniques. However, these can provide a significant boost to security at relatively low costs and are a good starting point. It would be wise to keep in mind that no matter the investments made in cyber security, it can’t ensure that you will never suffer a data breach or any other form of cyber-compromise.  

What Can Securiwiser do for your Business? 

Securiwiser is an adept monitoring tool designed to ensure that your security posture remains at its highest. With twenty-four hours a day scanning, you can be sure that no unusual activity will go undetected. Should any anomalous behaviour be found anywhere within your network, website or devices you will be informed immediately and sent a report with the details of the scan. You will be told how to mitigate any potential threats or where to find help should the problem be one you can’t remedy alone. You will also get grades based on how each aspect of your security is performing, so you can focus your efforts on what needs work.