Top Cybersecurity Tips for Fledgling Startups in 2020

The average cost of a data breach for companies is $3.92 million as per 2019 research reports from IBM and Ponemon Institute Research. This can result in an enormous financial loss for companies, especially for start-ups who may not be able to afford such enormous costs while still growing their business. Regardless of the size of your business, it is necessary to take the right precautions to boost cybersecurity measures within your enterprises. SSL encryption is regarded as the best security mechanism for increasing trust and confidence among website visitors.

When you think of SSL security, you can consider one of the authenticated SSL certificates like geotrust ssl that provides authentication for businesses and be used for delivering a high level of protection to websites. It includes malware scans useful in maintaining trust and integrity while providing a safe and secure browsing experience to website visitors.

Importance of cybersecurity for business owners

With an increasing number of data breaches, startups with a robust online presence, especially eCommerce companies, maybe the primary focus for hackers as they deal with valuable and sensitive information related to customers, including their personal and financial details. According to Cyber Security ventures, 60% of the small companies lose their business within six months of becoming victims of data breaches or cyber-attacks.

Startups have a lot of stakes since they are building trust with their new customers and growing their relationships among their network. On the other hand, data breaches can cause severe damage to your business reputation and may make it almost impossible to recover from financial setbacks. Keeping this in mind, startup owners must be able to have the security of their website on the top of their minds in the early stages itself.

Most of these startups are leading technology innovation and collecting vast amounts of data to provide their unique products and services to their customers. This has created greater interest among the hacker community for accessing such an enterprise’s valuable data and increased cybercrime activities. One such notable example is Uber happened in November 2016, where hackers tried to gain access to their cloud servers and downloaded huge files along with records of over 35 million users around the world.

Few ways startups can boost cybersecurity within their enterprises

Most startups may not have huge budgets like large established companies, but certainly, they can choose to have basic security protection to safeguard their website from hackers. Cybersecurity engineer offers security software subscription services at a nominal monthly fee which may be used by startups to evaluate the best offerings suitable to their business.

Here are a few simple and effective ways in which startups can enforce cybersecurity practices within their setup:

1. Use strong and secure passwords

It is recommended to use passwords that are difficult to guess by hackers and preferably use a single password across all the websites. Use a combination of capital letters, lower case letters, numbers, symbols, and special characters, wherever possible. You should change passwords frequently and use password manager tools to save the details of passwords.

2. Enable Two-Factor Authentication

Most hackers use brute force attacks while running the software to keep guessing the commonly used words and numbers. At the same time, two-factor authentication must be enabled for preventing unauthorized access to your website. Two-factor authentication is not limited to financial services only. It adds an extra level of security. Multi-factor authentication is required nowadays.

3. Use reliable data encryption methods

SSL certificates are a must for the security of every online business, no matter how big or small they may be. With perpetrators becoming smarter, it’s become a necessity to secure your websites against new kinds of cyber-attacks such as spear phishing and MiTM. You should purchase an SSL certificate for your website that helps to make secure communication between the web browser of your users and the website’s server by providing a robust method of data encryption.

4. Create strong security practices

Startups must emphasize robust security policies for their employees and ensure that they adhere strictly to such practices. Apart from network attacks, cybercriminals use various other tactics. It includes phone impersonation, along with online filtration, to access vital company data and information. It is crucial to boost physical security within your premises, restrict access to critical data, and use appropriate measures to prevent fraud.

5. Use security patches with updated software

Security holes and defects in the software may make your network systems vulnerable to cyber-attacks. This also includes your operating systems, third-party applications along developer tools. Startup owners must ensure that all the patches and security fixes that are released by vendors are installed to prevent the possibility of cyber-attacks.

6. Educate employees about cyber attacks

Startups need to create greater awareness among their employees about the possibilities of cyber-attacks on their systems and increase their preparedness for such unfortunate events. Most of these cyber activities are technical and may not be possible for non-technical employees to understand. Thus, training must be made an essential part of every enterprise, and they must be exposed to standard forms of cyber-attacks such as malware, man-in-the-middle attacks, phishing, etc.

7. Know what information and assets need protection

Every company has different assets such as business plans, strategies, human resources, and financial documents, source code information, which are valuable for the business. If you have stored personal data related to your customers, you need to safeguard them as they are sensitive. Maintaining a record of what information needs to be protected can help you decide on the next steps to take to secure your organization.

Conclusion

Startups with an online presence are as vulnerable to cyber-attacks as any other large enterprise. The best way to safeguard their digital assets and information is by minimizing the risks to their business. The key is to introduce cybersecurity strategies and policies within the organization and implement them strictly while ensuring that employees are aware of the cybersecurity threats and are prepared to deal with any eventuality.

Regular backups of data and data encryption are some of the primary methods which startups can employ to protect their valuable information against an increasing number of cybercrimes and other fraudulent activities.