Cybersecurity breaches affected more people last year than the previous year, and the number of incidents has not gone down. You need to ensure your company is doing everything it can to protect its data, its leads, and its clients. So how do you ensure you do everything right? Below we list some of the most common cybersecurity mistakes for startups. As you check the entries, think about your own company and whether you do these right, so that you can improve as you continue to do business.
1. Poor Password Protection
When you are starting up, you might not consider the fact you could come under attack at any time. You need to make sure your passwords are as secure from the start as they will be later on. After all, the last thing you want is to become a victim of data loss soon after you hit the ground running.
If you can, add two-factor authentication to the mix. This will allow you to have complete peace of mind and know people cannot access your data without proving who they are.
2. Lack of Training
Depending on who you work with, your employees might have a good knowledge of data security, or they might be novices. Humans are the weakest link in data protection.
You want to make sure your workers will not fall for scams or download programs that cause havoc with your systems. So institute regular training to avoid that possibility.
3. Neglect When Backing Up Data
Protecting startup data does not only mean making sure only the right people can access it. It is also about ensuring the data survives should something go wrong. Make regular backups, or even use a cloud solution as an affordable option to ensure you can roll back when you need to.
4. Not Updating Software
Keeping most software, especially security software, up-to-date is a time-consuming job. Still, it makes sure your systems will not fall victim to the latest issues.
You can often avoid this by investigating IT services for small business networks. By hiring a digital security team to take this on, you can offload a lot of the work and stress onto someone outside your business. They will often have the expertise and time to be able to ensure you remain secure from the get-go.
5. Not Planning for Problems
You need to define what you do in case of a major security breach so that you can respond appropriately. Make sure you know how to use the right tools for cybersecurity in your company, and who handles them. This way, if something happens it will be a bump in the road and not a cliff face you need to overcome.
Avoiding Cybersecurity Mistakes for Startups
By ensuring you do not encounter the above problems, you can often avoid the worst cybersecurity mistakes for startups. Still, if your business is still small, what else do you need to do moving forward?
We have several articles about the kind of expertise you will need as you start to expand. So, check out our blog and keep your business at the forefront of security as you grow.
