Small business owners who aren’t sure where to start securing their sensitive data and applications can now download a guide designed to help them jumpstart the process. Created by the National Institute of Standards and Technology in collaboration with the Small Business Administration, Small Business Information Security: The Fundamentals outlines six basic steps:
| 1. | Manage cybersecurity risk by determining which information is most important to the business and therefore essential to protect. |
| 2. | Train staff with a short, convenient seminar on identifying phishing attacks and other suspicious email and reporting them to the company owner. |
| 3. | Stay up to date by installing updates and patches as soon as they come out. |
| 4. | Run regular data backups — far more often than monthly — and consider storing them offsite. |
| 5. | Look into cyber insurance, but have a cybersecurity program already in place, because your rates and coverage will depend on your existing cybersecurity posture. |
| 6. | Work with IT pros (like Xantrion) to set up and manage your computer network, because professional expertise costs far less than a breach that could destroy your business. |
Download the guide and read it — it’s 54 pages. Or give us a call, we’ve read the guide and can help you implement its suggestions.
