As companies get more digital in order to scale and grow their operation, a Business Continuity Plan is now imperative for success and survival.
Many organizations have been able to avoid the worst cybercrime problems by turning to cloud solutions. Having the ability to access your tools, applications and files from any location is part of the key to keeping an enterprise operating during an emergency.
The cloud erases boundaries and barriers, providing seamless access to its private members. Modern cloud providers typically handle cybersecurity to ensure as much business continuity as possible. But your business should still have its own cybersecurity oversight in some form. Certain industries such as healthcare must invest in robust technology to comply with government regulations.
Part of hacking has more to do with human communication and decision making than technology. You need to protect your digital assets from scammers who use email and other digital communications to trick employees into activating harmful malware through clicks.
Related Video: Listen to Jeremy—BACS CEO speak about taking technology to the next level.
Defense Against Dark Web Cybercriminals
Where do cybercriminals get hacking software? Often from the “dark web” where nefarious entities connect to buy and sell illegal items. They even trade long lists of hacked consumers with their credit card numbers and other personal information. But even companies that use robust multilayered cybersecurity have been breached by cybercriminals.
Establishing several cybersecurity protection layers around your digital assets is the key to shielding them from outsiders. Keep in mind no system yet has been proven to be hacker-proof. But hiring, partnering with or outsourcing to IT experts can help reduce the chance of downtime to near zero. You simply can’t predict events such as hackers showing off how they can disrupt whoever they choose.
How Business Continuity Impacts Success
The reason every enterprise must prioritize cybersecurity these days is to maintain business continuity. If a hacker takes down your private server or locks you out of your cloud accounts, it could mean business downtime for a matter of hours, days or long-term. You certainly don’t want to face multiple lawsuits because a cybercriminal was able to steal confidential information about your employees and customers.
Companies that ignore cybersecurity and lack insurance are at high risk of sudden financial collapse if they suffer a cyberattack. Phishing schemes and social engineering are common strategies for ransomware attackers. They establish a friendly relationship through email for several months then eventually try to trick the target victim into clicking a link that unleashes malware. It then freezes a computer or broader system until the victim pays a ransom fee in cryptocurrency.
Part of business success in the 2020s is defined by sustainability, which involves reducing waste. Cybercriminals create waste by destroying data, software and hardware. Building a strong defense against hackers is now a factor for success in the digital business world. Avoiding lawsuits and reputational damage due to cybercrime will help reach business goals faster.
Adopting Multilayered Cybersecurity
While no system provides absolute guarantees, you can reduce the odds of a breach by using these types of cybersecurity layers:
- Firewalls – Taking the form of both software and hardware, firewalls help detect and block suspicious activity on your network.
- Strong Passwords – Creating complex passwords that mix letters, numbers and special characters strengthens protection. A simple password facilitates easy access for cybercriminals to the account.
- Use Anti-Malware Software – Your IT specialist can provide anti-malware solutions to fight hackers.
- Multi-factor Authentication – Adding multiple steps after a password for a login helps block out network spies. The common approach is to answer a few security questions.
- Encryption – Using software algorithms that scramble passwords is one of the most effective solutions to disrupting the path of the hacker. Encryption is often used to protect email accounts.
- Server Segmentation – Dividing your server into segments is a strategy for limiting cyberattack damage. Gaining access to one segment does not lead to accessing other segments. It’s useful for serving multiple accounts.
- Virtualization – The use of virtual servers is common at modern data centers. It involves stacking multiple operating systems on one physical server. Each OS is independent from the others. It allows for easy data backup on multiple virtual servers at once.
- 24/7 Monitoring – Advanced cybersecurity applications used by data centers are capable of monitoring networks continuously for cybercrime. Suspicious activity triggers automated solutions such as sending real-time alerts to cybersecurity officials.
Setting a Strong Cybersecurity Policy
Another step toward achieving business continuity is to establish a strong cybersecurity policy, which may consist of several restrictions on network use. It’s common for businesses to restrict various types of downloads, especially from sites that violate copyright laws. With modern solutions you can blacklist certain websites that you consider off-limits as work material.
Implementing your cybersecurity policy should accompany giving instructions and training for your employees. Expecting people to read something once and then remember it is not always the safest approach to enforcing cybersecurity rules. Your employees need to become educated about cybersecurity and how to avoid email traps set by cybercriminals.
Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan
Backing up your critical data routinely keeps business continuity smooth. Many companies overlook the fact that employee errors such as accidentally overwriting files are common in the business world. In fact, employee errors are the most common reason for cybersecurity breaches. It’s usually the reason a ransomware attacker penetrates a system through email.
You can reduce the chances of attacks facilitated by employee errors by working with an IT team that handles making all your data backups. Part of their work involves testing files and applications as well. Keeping fresh backups of all your important files ensures someone can’t just quickly demolish your business. It prevents the problem of starting all over again from scratch due to data loss.
The strongest safety net to prepare against cybercrime is a Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan that defines what to do if your network is attacked. It lays out a clear set of procedures for specific employees and IT personnel to take. One of the most important reasons to develop this plan is once again, to maintain business continuity. Just because your city gets hit with a natural disaster doesn’t mean your business has to shut down.
These days it’s possible for a business to remain online in automation mode even if all the employees have to evacuate. With the use of cloud services, it’s possible to access all your important business files online. Your Disaster Recovery Plan establishes what happens when technical issues occur such as if your main server goes down. Now a backup server typically takes over, triggered automatically. Due to backup plans, downtime is now a matter of seconds instead of days or weeks.
Developing A Business Continuity Plan with BACS
Every business these days must develop a Business Continuity Plan. It could mean the difference between a slight disruption and a major setback. In the digital age cyber attacks are becoming more common. So businesses must assume more responsibility and take the most reliable steps to reducing the chances of cyberattacks.
Investing in strong cybersecurity will help you focus more on your core business. Contact us at BACS to learn more about how we can help your company improve productivity through technological solutions.
