No one knows what the future holds, but there’s no harm in aiming to keep your Vancouver business as well-defended as possible from cyberthreats. Making and keeping these cybersecurity New Year’s resolutions for 2022 are a great start to achieving that goal:
Back up your data regularly
Data such as product, vendor, and customer information are crucial — losing them can paralyze your company’s operations and lead to costly downtime. You need to back up these data so they don’t get lost because of natural or man-made calamities, cyberattacks, and human or technical errors. In case of such incidents, all you need to do is boot your data backups and you can resume your operations.
Now it’s possible that you’re backing up your data, but not frequently enough. According to research, only 15% of businesses back up their files multiple times a day, while just 26% do so daily. Keep in mind that disruptions can occur anytime, so it’s important that you create copies of your files as often as possible to keep your backups up to date. What’s more, make sure to observe the 3-2-1 backup rule to further reduce your risk of losing data.
Avoid risky password habits
Passwordless authentication has been a thing for some time now, but odds are that you’ll still be using passwords to protect your online accounts in 2022. Additionally, chances are that some people in your organization are still practicing poor password habits.
Encourage your colleagues to follow password best practices, which include:
- Using long, complex, and unpredictable passwords that contain letters, numbers, and special characters
- Assigning a unique password for each of their online accounts
- Changing their passwords regularly
- Never writing down their passwords in notebooks, on memo pads, or in unencrypted documents that unauthorized individuals can easily find
Understandably, memorizing multiple unique passwords can be very taxing. Password managers like Dashlane and LastPass are a great workaround. These apps allow you to register your login details and automatically input those details when you log in to your online accounts. All your passwords are stored in an encrypted digital vault that you can access through a single master password — the only password you have to memorize.
Watch what you post on social media
Just because everyone seems to be sharing their lives on social media doesn’t mean you should do too. Cybercriminals can gather a lot of information about you and your company from just your posts.
For example, that Facebook memory of last year’s birthday cake tells them when your birthday is. Or that conversation between you and your colleagues on Instagram can tell them how you communicate with your coworkers. Even if you don’t use personal details for your password or security questions, such information can still be useful to criminals looking to steal your identity for email scams or social engineering. For your and your company’s security, avoid sharing personal posts and be mindful of the people you connect with on social media.
Be religious about software updates
Even the most reliable programs and digital tools can have yet-undiscovered vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit to attack users. A responsible manufacturer will release patches to address their product’s security flaws as soon as the existence of these is revealed. For your part, always install any updates once these become available to reduce your risk of falling victim to cyberattacks.
Declutter
Too much of something is bad, even if that something happens to be business tech. As you face the new year, investigate all the technologies being used in your company. These can include digital services, subscriptions, and equipment, among others. Determine which ones are crucial and so should be kept, and which ones are redundant or obsolete that you can do away with.
Decluttering your tech offers several advantages. First, it helps you save money by cutting costs on hardware, software, and services you’re no longer using. Second, having just the necessary tools keeps your operations focused and your team productive. And finally, decluttering reduces the number of tech that cybercriminals can use to infiltrate your network.
If you’re having trouble meeting your cybersecurity and tech goals, you can always turn to experts for assistance. Our IT specialists at Quicktech are always glad and ready to help your company overcome any cybersecurity challenges that may come your way. For instance, our free eBook can tell you the best ways to back up your data — download it today.