Research conducted by Verizon Communications showed that one third of cases of disturbances, occurred in enterprises with fewer than 100 employees. The scale of these disturbances may not be compared with what is happening in enterprise-class companies, but the malware, botnets and Trojans may have a major impact if it occurs in small firms.
With other forms of evolving threats, small business people can take the following basic steps to reduce the risk of cyber threats.
Step 1: Treat Your Business Security, Business Like Like
For small companies that do not have IT staff, the answer to the needs of technology is sometimes visit the IT shop to look for hardware that is easy to install and run. Usually the choice will fall into the hardware for the home. This option would eliminate the hassle of installation, but also opens the door entry threats into corporate networks.
In terms of hardware selection, the user must move forward if the company has information that must be protected. Overall, the security features designed for home users, can not match or even approach the security features which are owned by the hardware that is destined for even the smallest companies. Even the hardware for the business class does not implement security as its main functions, such as a router, it can provide layered protection to secure your network.
Step 2: Protect the Perimeter Work Environment
The function of a firewall is to keep the gateway between the corporate network with the outside world. Therefore, firewall protection is clearly a necessity. Unfortunately today many small companies that do not pay much attention to the perimeter of the minimum in the work environment should be protected from cyber threats.
Actually, the firewall entry-level business class can provide basic safety features that are important, such as checking the data packets to verify any data that passes through the gates of the perimeter as well as protection from potential interference.
Firewalls can also serve as guardians of the list of visitors, with only allow data from domain clean to enter the office network. This feature will be very useful to protect the network from malware attacks originating site and the entry of malicious emails that pretend to originate from sources that are allowed.
Step 3: Stay Update
Those who create malware are smart people. Every new security technologies emerge and can hinder their efforts, then they will change tactics to feel successful.
As a simple example, let's look at the development of spam. Several years ago, junk e-mail is included major security problems of the business network, until the anti-spam vendor issued a solution. But whether the problem is over? Not really. Spammers become more creative, and again collided with the speed of the anti-spam vendors.
In essence, if the security company has issued use the latest version, then the company should evaluate it first and then apply it ideally. In this way, the company continually updating its security system.
Step 4: Researching
Harmful threats such as botnets which controls the computer and then unbeknownst to users sending spam, it is often difficult to track and not many leave a trail. Botnets best work without the user's knowledge, because the sign is just the speed of the processor runs a bit slower.
Responding to this threat, companies need more frequent monitoring logs, which are usually small companies do not run it. Consider the network traffic that occurs. Keep an eye on network traffic passing to the IP address where under normal conditions does not occur, for example the location of a country that never had a business. To deal with threats such as botnets, security systems provider vendors provide updates and patches to be applied in the company. But again, the company still must carefully examine the traffic network.
Step 5: Protect Yourself from Employee Self
The threat does not only come from the outside, but can also be sourced from the company's own employees. The threat comes from employees themselves could have been because the employee has a minimum knowledge of security so that inadvertently harm the office network, or it could be the employee intentionally misusing his authority.
One way is advised to give unfettered access to each employee into the company network in accordance with the authority and scope of their employment. In this way, it can reduce the risk employees will be doing other things outside the scope of its work through a computer where they work.
In addition, employees should be equipped with knowledge on how to secure work environment, as well as knowing what the risk is also a threat becomes real. By knowing the value that should be protected, then the employees will better understand why the application of workplace safety must be complied with
