Anyone with an online business and an IT department needs to know how to protect themselves from cyberattacks. Discover seven effective strategies to protect your business from cyberattacks.

Managing all aspects of your business yourself is convenient, but not easy. You’re your own marketer, sales rep, relationship manager and IT support all in one. This is especially important when problems start to arise.

Why cybersecurity is important for small businesses

Earning customer loyalty and trust is an important factor in growing your business. As a sole proprietor, you are responsible for keeping all of the files, materials and contracts that come into your possession while you work. In addition, your work documents are probably almost entirely online and on computer.

What happens if someone unauthorized accesses it or you are subjected to a cyberattack?

There are many cybersecurity threats that can ruin your life: viruses, malware, blackmail software attacks, phishing attacks.
“It will never happen to us, we’re too small a company!”

The conventional wisdom is that only large companies are of interest to hackers, but small businesses are targeted more often than you think. According to Verizon’s 2021 Data Breach Report, 56% of cyberattacks target small business organizations.

When you think about it, that’s not surprising. Large businesses tend to have the resources and means to invest in high-quality cybersecurity solutions and strategies. They likely have employees dedicated to detecting DDOS attacks, malware, phishing attacks and the like. But if you have a small company, there is usually only one person responsible for all that. But if you are a self-employed person, you have to deal with these things. That’s why you need to implement cybersecurity strategies to protect your business and customer data.

What is a cybersecurity strategy?

Cybersecurity strategies are steps you can take to protect your business assets and minimize cyber risks. They can range from simple actions, such as periodic password changes, to regular backups of work materials.

In fact, one does not preclude the other, as every small business needs a different approach to cyber strategy. Nevertheless, sole proprietors should pay attention to the following cybersecurity strategies.

Install regular updates

Simple but effective. It’s easy to overlook this aspect when developing cybersecurity strategies, but it’s more important than most people think.

Most hackers and cybercriminals take advantage of this opportunity. They exploit web vulnerabilities, of which there are many. To combat this, install only reliable software with strong security features. Your software provider should release regular updates to protect their customers from cyberattacks. All you have to do is install these updates.

Don’t put off installing software and hardware updates because you don’t want to reboot your computer. Instead, make checking for them part of your workflow. Start with a weekly reminder to do this. If you have employees, institute rules for installing updates. When everyone complies with cybersecurity measures, the likelihood of breaches is greatly reduced.

Check your Wi-Fi settings

No matter how robust the software is installed on your computer, if you use the Internet for work, you need to take care of network security.

First of all, change your default router name to avoid attracting the attention of potential hackers. A wireless network identifier (SSID) such as “Axz3de” may seem difficult to recognize, but all routers from the same manufacturer use the same identifier by default. This means that if attackers were able to access one of them, they can access all the others as well.

Then set a unique, strong password. The password should be changed every 3 months, so if it’s fall and you haven’t changed it since summer, it’s probably time to change it.

Turn on network encryption, such as WPA2. This feature is usually disabled by default, but you can enable it in your router’s security settings.

Prevent your network name from being displayed to outsiders. This can also be done in your router’s wireless network settings.

Install firmware updates regularly to keep your router software up to date.

We recommend using two-factor authentication (2FA) to verify users when they enter your network.

In addition to those listed above, there are other ways to further protect your network.

Use VPNs and firewalls if necessary

Firewalls have been around since the advent of the Internet, and for good reason: they’re effective. Installing a firewall to control network traffic helps protect your computer and prevent data leaks. Unwanted incoming network traffic and malware are blocked automatically, and most of the time you won’t even know the firewall is doing its job.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a new tool in the small business arsenal. A VPN is used to create a secure, encrypted connection to the Internet. This is very useful if you work remotely, as it provides secure communication between team members. However, not every small business needs a VPN. If you work remotely but share files that aren’t private, you probably don’t need this technology.

Secure your cloud data

There are a variety of different types of cloud services:

• Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), such as Amazon Web Services (AWS);
• Platform as a Service (PaaS), such as Microsoft Azure;
• Software as a Service (SaaS), e.g., Dropbox.

Using cloud services of any type helps make workflows more flexible and adaptive. However, you need to make sure that all necessary measures are in place to protect your data.

For example, hackers hacked into an important customer’s email. In that case, they could have accessed all of the files and folders you worked on together, including personal client data.

Fortunately, you’ve set up password protection for all files and folders shared. By changing passwords quickly, you will prevent the hacker from continuing the attack.
Set permissions for shared documents

Secure cloud storage is the perfect way to keep your materials safe and easily accessible. The best platforms also have built-in tools to share files and folders securely. This means that when you send a new set of promotional materials to a happy client, you don’t have to worry about the files getting into the wrong hands.

In Dropbox, you can set file permissions to restrict or control access to any files, folders, and content. This means that you can share files with anyone and set access for them to edit or view only. You can track file access and changes in real time, allowing you to more effectively control the content delivery process.

The user submits a file with “view only” permission, which requires a password to access.

As an added layer of security, Dropbox can also password protect any files or folders that are accessed. So even if an attacker gets hold of a link to the content you’ve shared, they won’t be able to view it.

Check password security

Checking password security is one of the most important cybersecurity strategies.

Frequently used passwords like “Password123” or “123456789” pose a huge risk to your business. If you are self-employed, you have no one to ask for a quick password change if a hacker breaks into your account.

Even if you’ve taken care to make sure your login information is secure, there’s still the possibility that your password could be compromised. According to a 2019 Ponemon Institutute study, 47% of SMBs were attacked with hacked employee passwords.

You can purchase a password manager to protect your credentials. Dropbox Passwords allows you to create and store passwords in the cloud. They can be accessed directly from a browser if needed. The Dropbox Passwords feature also includes a built-in tool to track password leaks. If your data is at risk, we’ll notify you immediately to give you time to reset your passwords.

Set up backups and backup backups

Keeping your business growing and running smoothly will always be your top priority. However, the day-to-day hustle and bustle can cause some worries to fall by the wayside.

Administrative tasks such as backing up files and folders play an important role in the cybersecurity of your business. As a sole proprietor, you are personally responsible for keeping your work files and assets safe.

You can manually copy files to an external hard drive, but there is always the possibility that they will be corrupted. Besides, you hardly want to carry around some device “just in case”. Backing up your files with Dropbox Backup is much more reliable. This way you can back up and restore files from any device at any time.
The user selects a file in Dropbox to restore.

But what if something happens to the work computer on which your entire business rests? What if it gets stolen or you spill coffee on it? Such a turn of events is the worst nightmare for any entrepreneur.

With Dropbox Backup, you will never have to worry about that again. With the ability to restore all of your computer’s data, you can pick up where you left off.
No need to go it alone when it comes to cybersecurity

Cyberattacks happen, and self-employed businesses have to deal with them. These situations are frustrating, but thoughtful cybersecurity strategies can help protect your business. Fortunately, implementing them is easier than it looks.

For starters, we recommend choosing a reliable cloud storage service and setting up regular backups to keep your work documents and business safe with Dropbox. Security is at the core of our vision. Your business deserves that level of security, too.