Keeping your business data secure is becoming more and more important as businesses advance in technology. As tech evolves, so do the various ways that it can be exploited, and regular business owners are just trying to keep up with all of these changes! But don’t fear –you’re IT department is here to fill in the gaps and make sure your company is up to date with the latest security changes and kept safe from the latest threats.

At minimum, there are 3 essentials that ALL businesses should have in place. These are the basic pillars that keep your data secure and hackers out of your network. There are many different vendors and products that provide these services, but the main concepts remain the same.

Firewalls

A firewall is a barrier that monitors internet traffic flowing in and out of your company network. The firewall is the guard that allows only approved traffic in watches what leaves as well and is your first line of defense against threats. A good firewall will alert your IT department if there is suspicious activity entering or leaving your network for them to act upon.

A Secure Password Manager

Password requirements have become complicated. The best password is longer than 7 characters, includes upper and lower case, a number, a special character, should not include words or dates that relate to you so they are not easily guessed, a passport or visa, and needs to be at least this tall to ride the ride. Not to mention all accounts should have different passwords. It’s become a headache to manage! But with a password manager, the headache goes away and you can feel assured that all your passwords are secure.

There are many different password management software out there. Contact us to find out what we recommend.

VPN (Virtual Private Network)

You may already be using a VPN if you were forced to remote work during the 2020 pandemic. This virtual private network has become a key functionality for many businesses since then, but why is it so important for security? By making your online browsing history completely private, VPN hides your employees activity from criminals who may be tracking them. This is critical for businesses with remote employees, salesmen on the go, contractors that connect to multiple wifis, or employees that connect to their local coffee shop wifi.

These are the 3 pillars to any company’s security. There are other recommendations that your IT team should be giving you, like Multi-Factor Authentication, Least Privilege, antivirus software, and more.

Do you know if your business is protected by these 3 key features, or are you needing an IT partner that is just as passionate about security as we are? Contact us for more information!