4 Cybersecurity Considerations Every Start-Up Should Pay Attention To
If you’re running a start-up, you need to pay attention to cybersecurity to protect your business’s growth and development.
60% of small companies close down within 6 months of falling victim to a cybersecurity breach and are often targeted in such attacks under the assumption that their cybersecurity measures will be easier to overcome.
To think long-term and keep your business operational, you need cybersecurity. Keep reading to learn about the top four cybersecurity considerations every startup should consider.
Implement A Zero-Trust Architecture Strategy
A zero-trust architecture strategy significantly minimises your risk in a cybersecurity breach, mainly if your business is operating remotely.
Think of it this way. If your employee works from home on their network with their device, the information they access is at risk. Minimising the information they can access on their company account reduces their exposure should their network or account become breached and place employee and company data at risk.
The same goes for in-office work. You cannot trust every user simply based on the fact that they can access your network. Implementing a zero-trust architecture strategy can limit the amount of data exposed in a security breach.
In a zero-trust architecture, you only grant employees, visitors, and contractors permission to access the data they need to perform their daily duties. And you should implement strict authorisation and reauthorisation procedures for access to this information.
If an employee leaves their desk unmanned, the system should automatically close their applications, requiring re-authorisation for access. Using passwords in conjunction with biometrics can help to ensure that no accounts are breached using stolen passwords or access credentials.
Complete A Cybersecurity Audit
Cybersecurity audits should be performed regularly, as they help you to understand your risk in line with the current cybersecurity climate. Cybersecurity threats are constantly developing and evolving, and a cybersecurity audit through vulnerability assessments and or penetration testing allows you to stay up-to-date and adjust your strategy in line with these developments.
Your audit should be industry-specific to see which threats directly affect your business and determine how to ensure compliance with data protection laws despite such threats.
Invest In Automatic Updates
Software updates are essential to maintain adequate cybersecurity health. If your systems are operating with outdated software, this presents a vulnerability. If you don’t update your software regularly, cybercriminals could seize the opportunity and take advantage of the loopholes present in outdated software.
To ensure this doesn’t happen and mitigate the risk of poor oversight and human error, you can update all software automatically. Investing in cloud-based software for your business allows your software provider to perform over-the-air troubleshooting and updates, significantly improving efficiency and lowering risk.
With an on-premise system, your provider would need to send out an engineer in person to manage your system updates and perform system troubleshooting, which would be a much less efficient alternative.
Don’t Neglect Your Physical Security
Physical security is vital to your data privacy. Your office buildings contain server rooms and devices that hold sensitive data. You need to invest in physical security solutions. Here are some of the physical security tools:
- Access control – to protect your building and physical perimeter from intruders, you should invest in a keycard, fob, or mobile credential-operated entry system technologies, such as access control for gates. Traditional locks present the risk of lockpicking, and a more sophisticated solution is necessary to prevent a break-in. You should use layers of access control to implement role-based access permissions for areas like server rooms containing susceptible digital assets.
- Video surveillance – if there is a physical security breach, you need evidence for an insurance claim or investigation. You should install video surveillance to protect your server rooms and your building’s entrance.
- Lockdown and alarm systems – if a physical security breach occurs, you need to contain the intruder or perpetrator to prevent escalation. Lockdown and alarm systems are instrumental in detecting and managing security incidents at your office.
Summary
Small businesses and startups are highly vulnerable to cybersecurity breaches. To ensure your business isn’t wiped out by the impact of a data breach, you need to keep security top of mind. Consider which of the tools and strategies listed above will minimise your risk of a cybersecurity breach, and take steps to guard your business against a potentially devastating data breach.