According to research from Security Week, compromised security breaches nearly doubled last year in the first 8 months alone, compared to 2014, with 121,199,741 external attacks.

Hacking is becoming an increasingly prevalent and worrying threat for all businesses. You only have to turn on a tv or read a newspaper to find almost daily reports of high profile businesses and institutions being targetted.

Data breaches aren’t just a pain in the neck, they’re serious threats to profits and reputation. Analysis by IBM found that the average breach in 2015 cost companies $3.79 million.

Unfortunately,  there’s no longer any guarantee your data is secure. Attacks are now a daily threat and companies need to ensure they take all precautions to protect against it.

1. Assess Your Risks

First things, first: it’s imperative you do a full security audit.

Work out what your important data is, where it’s held and who has access to it. Then work with a security professional to ascertain what the biggest threats are and where your potential security danger areas.

2. Educate Staff About Phishing And Malware

Ensure employees are aware of the biggest potential risks are and the different types of attacks they should expect, from phishing to malware. The more vigilant your staff is, the less likely an attack will succeed.

3. Have A Security Policy

To help support your education efforts, make sure you have a clear security policy in place that covers things like forbidding taking data offsite, the use of personal devices and accounts at work, etc..

4. Perform Regular Backups

Ensure all your data is regularly backed up offsite.

You might not be able to avoid an attack, but in the event of a successful hack disrupting and destroying your files, backups will help you get back up and running as quickly as possible.

5. Use Encryption

Encrypting your most valuable data will help ensure that even if it does get into the wrong hands it might not necessarily be accessible, or at worst will take longer to access.

6. Employ Multi-Layered Security

It’s no longer enough to just have good up to date security software installed. To really protect your data you need to have several layers of security. Employee monitoring software is an excellent additional security tool.

This type of software can be remotely installed onto all of your company computers, tablets and smartphones where it can monitor exactly what applications and websites are being used.

In addition, the program can alert managers if designated files, containing important data, are accessed or copied.

The two-step security system can ensure that your employees aren’t visiting any sites or using any apps that might compromise your computers or network, as well as alert you to any unauthorized access to your sensitive data.

Over To You

Now that we’ve gone over some of our tips, we’d like to know yours.

Let us know how you have been protecting your data in the comments section below.