The start of the COVID-19 pandemic launched an interesting and challenging period for businesses of all kinds. While traditional brick-and-mortar businesses faced closures and lockdowns, as well as less foot traffic, online businesses were also affected and online business models asked to change. As a result, our collective need to protect online assets became self-evident.
An increase in cyber attacks, supply chain disruptions, and shipping delays is our new normal. Cyberattacks have plagued online and brick-and-mortar businesses in nearly every industry.
Coping with these many challenges means developing new tactics and preparing for new threats. If you’re ready to protect your online business in 2022, keep reading for a few tips.
1. Adjust for the risks of remote work.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, offices emptied quickly. Untold numbers of businesses made the decision to allow their employees to work remotely from home, often full-time. Since that time, 74 percent of businesses that suffered cyberattacks in the past two years attribute the success of those attacks to vulnerabilities exposed as a result of the switch to remote work.
Remote work comes with some unique challenges. Employees are working outside of the office, often on personal equipment. This means that computers may lack cybersecurity tools or be behind on important updates. Additionally, employees may become lax in their security measures because they are outside of the office.
To protect your business in 2022, it’s essential to adjust for the unique risks that come with having employees work remotely. Issuing company-owned equipment or mandating updates can help. Educating your employees on safe browsing and web use is another smart move during these challenging times.
2. Invest in better cybersecurity tools.
Another great way to protect your online business, remote employees, and even your vendors and clients is to invest in better cybersecurity tools. For instance, investing in continuous offensive security keeps your business safe since the system performs continuous expert-driven testing and uncovers potential threats. Even if you and your employees are up to date on the best web practices, investing in protection services means getting round-the-clock help monitoring for attacks and stopping them before they can strike.
With the Norton LifeLock 360 package, you and your employees can get real-time threat protection, a secure VPN, password manager, identity theft protection, and more. Arming your employees and your business with these tools can provide peace of mind that you’re ready to prevent cyberattacks.
3. Educate your team on email safety.
Employees working remotely aren’t the only threat to your online business’ safety.
Email phishing schemes and scams have become even more prevalent in recent years — as well as more tricky. Cybercriminals have now mastered the ability to make these e-mails look legit. They now look just like they were sent from a trusted coworker or friend.
Educating your employees on the best practices for e-mail safety can help prevent a major internal breach. For example, some tips to pass on to your team include never opening e-mails from a source they can’t verify, never sending sensitive information by e-mail, and being cautious about using open public Wi-Fi to check work e-mails.
4. Update your software.
Doesn’t matter if it’s your smartphone, work laptop, or personal tablet. Notifications letting you know that an update is available are easy to ignore. Unfortunately, doing so could actually put the security of these devices at risk.
Updates come in many shapes and sizes. Similarly, most include at least a few patches for security vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities came to light after the last update. Failure to run these updates in a timely manner could leave your work and personal devices at greater risk of a breach.
Protecting Your Online Business in 2022
In conclusion, protecting your online business in 2022 comes with some unique challenges.
From dealing with an increasing number of cyberattacks to adjusting for the unique challenges of a remote work environment, these tips can help you ensure your business, your employees, and your customers are safe, and that sensitive information is protected.
