With network security being more important than ever for businesses of all types and trades, it’s important that you make it a priority. Thankfully, there are certain simple ways you can pull this off, even if you’re not a technology expert. Here are some of the network security basics that will cover a lot of ground for your business.
Just about all accounts you create will have a username and password, but even more often than not these days, you’ll see a requirement for a secondary factor of authentication. This is where the idea of multi-factor authentication comes in; you need another way to authenticate your identity, otherwise access cannot be granted.
This proof of authentication can come in a couple of forms, aside from the initial password. For example, you might use a different device to log in, or you might use a biometric of some sort like a face scan or voice print. Adding a secondary requirement like this can make it more difficult for a hacker to access an account unless they have acquired not just your credentials, but a physical device or a part of the user. The security added in this way is dramatic for only adding one small step for the user.
It’s critical that you keep close watch on access control, only granting users access to specific data if their position demands it. There is no reason to provide unneeded access to important data; all this does is create more opportunities for potential data breaches. If you limit access to only those who need it, you are effectively halting data breaches before they can even occur.
Encryption can scramble your business’ data so that it can only be read by someone with the decryption key. This makes data theft much less valuable for hackers, as they will not be able to get anything valuable out of the exchange if you are using encryption. We recommend that you always use encryption when you can, and use it while data is stored and while it’s moving.
Another way to protect your business is to section off your network so that only your business’ employees have access to the network, while guests can still get on and access the Internet. Instead of having everyone use the same network, you can set up a guest network that keeps your business’ resources both safe and exclusive to your workers, saving bandwidth while preserving privacy.
Not sure how to get started with the above security measures? First Column IT can help you put this information into practice. To learn more, call us today at (571) 470-5594.
