Secure Your Business
Protect your business, your employees and your customers with easy and effective safety habits and policies.
You Can Protect Your Business from Online Threats
Your business is digitally connected—to employees, vendors and customers. Your systems store sensitive information. This information and personal data could be at risk from online threats. No business is too small to be a target for online crime.
Thousands of small and medium businesses (SMBs) have been harmed by ransomware attacks, with small businesses three times more likely to be targeted by cybercriminals than larger companies. The total cost of cybercrimes to small businesses reached $2.4 billion in 2021.
CISA recommends four simple steps you can take to make your business MUCH SAFER from online dangers. Secure your business...Secure Our World.
Four Easy Ways to Protect Your Business
Online criminals are always looking for easy targets. Businesses that don’t take basic precautions are at risk. Take the following four steps to make it harder for malicious actors to access your data or trick an employee into allowing access to your systems.
Teach Employees to Avoid Phishing
Phishing happens when criminals trick employees into opening malicious attachments or sharing personal info. Implement training to teach employees how to identify and report suspicious activity.
Require Strong Passwords
This is one of the easiest ways to protect your business from criminals who might otherwise access your accounts by guessing or using automated hacking programs.
Require Multifactor Authentication
Use more than a password when signing into accounts—such as a texted code, authenticator app or biometrics—to make them much safer than a password alone! MFA protects accounts by requiring additional authentication to prevent access by others.
Update Business Software
Defects in software, routers, VPNs and apps can give criminals an opening to your accounts. Software manufacturers publish patches, but you must install them to be protected! Don’t use outdated software. Keep business software up to date.
Ask Your Technology Providers if their Products are Secure By Design!
Today, many technology providers put the burden of staying cyber safe on the customers. We need to do two things. First, we need to create a Secure by Design movement whereby customers demand better security from their technology providers.
Second, in the meantime we need to take defensive action through steps such as increasing employees’ awareness of phishing attempts and cyber threats.
Related Content
Secure Our World
Simple ways to protect yourself, your family and your business from online threats.
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month
Download the free Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2024 toolkit!
CISA’s Cyber Hygiene Services
Critical infrastructure and other organizations can enroll in CISA’s free services to protect their business from cyberattacks.
Cyber Guidance for Small Businesses
Read our advice and get an action plan for your leadership team to implement—before a hacker attempts to steal your info or compromise accounts.