The USA economy is expected to boom after this pandemic. Most industries were already booming before this pandemic. There are hundreds of new startups opening every day. Thus, US businesses are expected to grow in the future.

Cybercrime is also increasing with time. More and more cybercriminals are targeting small businesses. These cybercrimes can be very costly. According to a report from IBM, you might lose over $3.86 million due to a data breach. These figures might sound very scary to you. However, you can protect your data and resources by using proper security strategies. Best cybersecurity practices will help you in protecting your employees and businesses. In this article, we are going to talk about the best cybersecurity practices.

Application whitelisting

Shadow IT is becoming a big problem for companies. According to a report from the CSA, companies only know about 38% of the applications that they are using. Thus, you should use application whitelisting. This will ensure that only pre-approved software applications can run on your systems. All other applications will be stopped by your security programs.

You can application management tools for accomplishing application whitelisting. These tools will ensure that your employees can only use authorized applications.

Multi-factor authentication

MFA is very important for modern businesses. Most employees have a habit of using weak passwords. If your employees are using weak passwords, the attackers can hack their accounts. They can use simple brute force attacks for hacking into your employee account. You can protect their accounts by using multi-factor authentication. It will ensure that your employee accounts are protected. You can add more security by adding elements like PIN and OTP. Many companies are also using fingerprint scans and software certifications.

Train your employees

Most data breaches occur because employees don’t know about cybersecurity threats. They don’t know about basic threats like keyloggers and phishing emails. Attackers can use phishing attacks for targeting your employees. They might download malicious attachments on their computer. This computer will infect all the other computers that are in your network. Thus, your entire network will get compromised.

You can avoid this by training your employees. Make sure that your employees know about basic cybersecurity practices. You should implement a semi-annual security training plan. Your employees should know about all the basic cybersecurity threats. This will ensure that attackers can’t target your employees. Also, make sure that your employees are accountable for their actions.

Update your software

You should ensure that all your software is up-to-date. Most companies forget about updating their software. Almost every software vendor will release security patches for their products. These security patches will ensure that attackers can’t use known vulnerabilities. If you are not updating your tools, then attackers can use already known vulnerabilities. They don’t even need a zero-day exploit for attacking your business. If your software is up-to-date, then attackers can’t use known vulnerabilities.

Penetration Testing

VAPT is very important for your business. It will help your business in securing all the POF that are present in your network.

There are various vulnerability scanners available in the market. Your security team can use these tools for identifying vulnerabilities in your network. However, you need good security professionals for testing these vulnerabilities. If you don’t have access to a security professional, then you should consider working with an MSSP. Experienced MSSPs like Bleuwire can help you in performing penetration tests. They will make sure that you know about all the vulnerabilities that are present in your network. Your partner can also help you in fixing these vulnerabilities.

Data backups

You should regularly backup your entire data. This will protect your business from ransomware attacks and data corruption. There are various modern data protection tools available in the market. These tools can take an incremental backup of your data. Thus, you will never lose your progress and data.

Create cybersecurity policies

You should work on creating your own set of instructions and rules. Your employees can refer to your cybersecurity policies for understanding what is allowed. This cybersecurity policy will depend on your business type. However, you should include policies like authentication and BYOD policy. You should also monitor social media usage. If you are confused about your cybersecurity policy, then you can also work with an MSSP. Experienced MSSPs like Bleuwire can help you in creating a straightforward and concise policy.

Protect your devices and network

Make sure that you are implementing a strong password policy. Your employees should always use strong passwords. Also, make sure that your employee’s password expires after every 90 days. You should deploy the best VPN for protecting your network. A firewall can help you in protecting your network. These security technologies will help you in protecting your network from attackers. You should implement MFA for protecting your employee’s accounts. Also, network monitoring is very important for modern businesses. It will ensure that you can detect intruders. This can help you in stopping a data breach.

Conclusion

You can use these tips for creating a strong cybersecurity policy. Protocols can help you in guarding your business against threat intrusion. You should also give importance to training. Make sure that your employees know about how to avoid phishing emails. Also, you should consider using an MDM tool. If you don’t have access to an in-house IT security team, then you should consider working with an MSSP. Experienced MSSPs like Bleuwire can help you in protecting your business from intruders. They will make sure that all your resources and data are protected from attackers. If you need more information regarding IT services, then you can contact Bleuwire.

Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™ services and solutions in how we can help your business.