Four Tips to Improve Startup Cybersecurity

For the average business, the expense of dealing with a successful cyberattack is quite high, running into millions of dollars. For a startup, the effects are usually worse. 

First, there’s the high cost of fixing the damage, something that may not be affordable by the startup which might likely not have started making a profit. Then there’s the factor of ruined credibility. Customers can still mentally handle a data breach of a company that has been existing for decades. On the other hand, a startup might not be afforded that luxury.

Buffing up your startup’s cybersecurity comes at a cost. However, in the long run, it’ll be beneficial to every stakeholder in the firm. Below, you’ll find four ways to improve your startup’s computer security level.

Four Ways to Boost your Firm’s Cybersecurity Level

• Implement Safe Password Policies

A lot of your employees will tend to use easy or overused passwords on their accounts for your online workplace. The truth is, if easy passwords like relative names or birthdays are used, it’ll be easy to decipher.

In this event, a hacker would be able to access company files if the account of a highly-ranked employee is hacked. You need to implement safe password policies in your startup like combining upper and lower case letters with symbols and numbers. 

Passwords should also be changed as frequently as once every 3 months. Your firm can employ a password management service to allow easy storage and creation of passwords.

We have recommended LastPass on more that one occasion as an excellent Password Management tool. Since our first mention Last Pass was acquired by LogMein in 2015.

• Provide Education to Prevent Phishing

Phishing is by far one of the leading ways hackers use to gain access to a company’s data. An employee’s account can get phished if the hacker successfully tricks the worker into giving up login credentials.

For instance, the employee could land on a fake website created to look like the company’s website through a bogus email. If the employee inputs the login details of the website, the hacker would have it and use it to gain entry to the account.

Workers need to understand that emails may not be what they seem like. Educate them on scrutinizing email sending addresses and URL addresses.

• Get a VPN Router

Although VPNs are popular in the tech space for bypassing geo-restrictions for entertainment purposes, they’re highly beneficial to startups. First, they allow full encryption of communications between ports. Also, they secure network communications on open systems.

For instance, a hacker that successfully breaks into your firm’s network would not be able to read your messages, provided a VPN router is installed to protect all the connected devices. An employee that also logs in to the company’s network while using hacked public Wi-Fi would not have the login credentials hijacked.

• Use Several Security Layers

Layering your security means using different tools like anti-malware, firewalls, a VPN, and updating your software. Hackers find it more difficult to gain access to a network with many security levels in practice, it is like starting your defense from up the playing field.

Conclusion

The effects of a hack on a startup can be disastrous. The firm may never recover from such a situation. Protecting your startup translates to strengthening its cybersecurity. You can do this by using a VPN router, enforcing safe password policies, and using quality cybersecurity tools.