The phrase “security breach” is enough to put fear in the heart of any small-business owner who works hard to protect their company’s critical information. Just expecting employees to be well-trained in how to be responsible with their mobile devices and business email can be a vital mistake. A recent article for Entrepreneur magazine provided a list of things small-business owners should teach their employees about tech security.
Public Wi-Fi is not always safe
Many employers give their staff an opportunity to work remotely, which can mean from a local coffee shop, the comfort of their living room or anywhere else with an internet connection. However, being outside the office means employees have to pay close attention to which networks they are connecting to.
Small-business owners who give their employees with the ability to work from anywhere should show their staff how to encrypt data emails, passwords or any other information transmitted across their devices. This will make it more difficult for cybercriminals to infiltrate private information.
Personal devices must be used responsibly
With the improved capabilities of mobile devices, an increasing amount of small-business owners are allowing their staff to use their personal smartphones for business purposes. While these opportunities can certainly improve productivity, it’s important for firm owners to create a bring your own device policy that is complete with instructions on acceptable use and security precautions employees must use.
A few ways small-business owners can ensure their personal devices don’t compromise critical information are to encapsulate and backup data, not allow corporate information to be stored locally and make sure devices can be remotely wiped if they become lost or stolen, according to Forbes.
Be wary of suspicious email
While many corporate email providers give their clients the opportunity to filter out spam mail and messages that may include viruses, there always seems to be things that slip through the cracks. Small-business owners need to warn their employees of these security threats and make sure they don’t open any attachments that seem foreign to them, no matter the sender.
Computer hackers will regularly use email as a way into a firm’s infrastructure, which is why all small-business owners should be sure to invest in protection by cyberliability insurance policies.
