7 Tips for Preventing a Malware Attack: Business Edition
Is internet security for your company a growing concern? When 74% of companies in 2021 experienced malware threats, that isn’t surprising. Malware attacks are increasing, and that isn’t likely to stop anytime soon.
A malware attack is one of the most common forms of cyberattacks, so it pays to know how to defend your business. Below are seven tips that will help you protect your company from malware.
7 Tips for Preventing a Malware Attack: Business Edition
Keep Up-to-Date Malware Software
The biggest thing you can do to take cybersecurity seriously is to install anti-malware software on your computer. You need a way to scan the files that your employees download, and a malware scanner will help you do that.
It will monitor your computer and scan every file that writes on the hard drive. It will compare that file to a malware definition database to see if it matches any known malware. If it does, your malware program will quarantine the malware in a vault for you to check at a later date.
Of course, your malware scanner may get things wrong from time to time, so it’s essential to inspect the vault to make sure it isn’t getting rid of files that aren’t malware.
Run Regular Software Updates
Even though your business software might be secure when you first install it, that doesn’t mean that will always be the cause. Hackers discover new software vulnerabilities all the time. If someone finds a new attack vector and you don’t have the updated secure software, your business is at risk.
That’s why keeping your computer software updated is essential. You may not want to run updates automatically since it can cause issues with your existing setups, but you can’t put updates off for too long.
Set up a test computer that has your computer configuration. You can put software and operating system updates on this machine to test for issues. If you don’t encounter any problems, push the updates out to every computer in your organization.
Segment Your Business Network
Even if you do a great job securing your company computers, that doesn’t mean malware will never slip through the cracks. The question is, how exposed is your company network when this happens?
If you run everything on the same network where everyone has access to everything, every part of your business becomes exposed. That’s something you can avoid.
You can limit your exposure to malware by segmenting your company network. Create separate networks for your guests, employees, and critical business infrastructure. Doing this means that even if a device is compromised by malware, it won’t be able to access essential business infrastructure.
Backup Your Data
One of the biggest problems with malware attacks is that you lose access to your data. Whether you get ransomware that holds your files hostage or malware that deletes your data, you can’t afford to lose access to the information you use to run your business.
If you want to clean up malware attacks quickly, having a data backup is essential. If you have a severe infection, it’s often better to wipe out the infected computers and start from scratch. The problem is that you need to restore all the data that was there.
That’s where data backups come into play. A backup service will automatically make copies of your most important files. If you ever need to restore them, log into your backup portal and find the files you want to restore.
Encrypt Files
Just like malware can destroy your business files, it can also steal any data you have. If you store sensitive information, this is a severe problem.
If you want to limit the amount of information gained by hackers, encrypting everything is essential.
An encrypted file appears like gibberish to anybody who views it without an encryption key. If you want to decrypt the data, you need the encryption key.
Going this route will limit your exposure and make it, so only unimportant information gets stolen by hackers.
Train Your Team
The best network defenses aren’t worth much if your employees willingly download and use malware on your devices. Believe it or not, the biggest threat to your internet security is the people who work for you.
One of the best ways to combat this is to educate your team. They should know everything they should and shouldn’t do when using the internet on company computers.
You can do this in a few ways.
The first is to sign up for an online training program on internet safety. Have every person in your organization go through this training to learn how to stay safe.
You can also pay for an instructor to come to your office to train people in person. Hands-on training works better for some people, so it’s worth considering.
Get a Security Audit
It only takes one mistake for your internet security to fail. Unfortunately, now that companies use the internet more than ever, it’s easy to miss something critical with IT security.
That’s why getting an external audit from an IT company is essential. A security expert will audit your network configuration, point out any problems, and work with you to get your business network in working order.
On top of that, some providers will also offer retainer services to keep your security infrastructure up to date. There is a lot a security company can offer your business, so make sure you find out more and invest in what you need to stay safe.
Don’t Underestimate the Seriousness of a Malware Attack
You can’t take cybersecurity for business lightly in today’s world. You store a lot of data in your business, so you can’t afford to fall victim to a malware attack. Make sure you put the IT security tips above in practice to protect your business, employees, and customers.
Are you looking for more tips that will help you keep your company safe? Head back to the blog to read the latest posts in the business section.
