Our clients rely on us for first-rate physical security. That means protecting people as well as assets (like buildings, merchandise, and cash) from problems such as harassment, vandalism, or theft. In 2024, we have seen a swift uptick in the number of questions about staying safe online. So, we prepared some basic tips. These can help businesses get their feet wet in the quickly rising tide of cyber security.
Every organization should take defensive action against data breaches and ransomware attacks—even companies with small digital footprints. Intruders and thieves have brought their skills online in a major way. And these bad actors can damage your company’s financial health, its reputation, or the sensitive information entrusted to you. The baby steps toward securing data sound simple, sure. But they’re also highly effective and easy to implement.
Step one: assess and strengthen
We highly recommend conducting a formal threat assessment for all your information systems. Every electronic device used to conduct business has vulnerabilities as well as opportunities for adding layers of protection and integration. Think cash registers, laptops, servers, mobile phones, and alarm systems. Members of your in-house team may have some expertise in computing. But an outside view can raise unasked questions and identify gaps in coverage. Local firms in Victoria (like Westcom or MYRA) will be highly responsive and just as well prepared to answer entry-level questions or highly sophisticated ones.
With an outside perspective on vulnerabilities and solutions in hand, you can now add basic protections. Perhaps your assessment has identified a need for strong passwords, spam filters, and multi-factor authentications. Those baby steps will go a long way toward ensuring that only authorized users can take specific actions or access sensitive information. These measures do not always have to be complex, either.
Here’s a low-tech example of a protective layer implemented at Western Canada Security. We assign a dedicated phone number and mobile device to key decision makers. Those phones are used exclusively to verify banking transactions or validate digital access. Keeping authentication tasks separate from all other activities an employee might engage on their phones makes those devices very difficult to hijack for nefarious purposes. That system has worked very well for us. A trusted IT provider will have more advanced suggestions about how to leverage network options or cloud computing in a way that is tailored to your business.
Step two: train and retrain
Implementing digital systems will not work out well without buy-in from your entire team. Staff at all levels need to be trained in new processes, acceptable use of platforms, and expectations around their cyber hygiene. Cyber attacks break through our defenses when someone gets fooled by a seemingly credible but actually malicious phone call, email, link, or QR code. People need to know what to watch out for. Teach them that no red flag is too small. It’s better to treat an authentic message as suspicious than to start with trust and end up causing trouble. Help your staff err on the side of caution by giving them processes for vetting and verifying inbound calls or messages.
Ready for the good news? Small businesses are pretty unlikely to face finely crafted scams based on their unique operations (relatively speaking). The majority of scams targeting smaller organizations will be scattershot: sent out to a wide and varied audience. Basic spam filters will catch many of these attempts before anyone opens them. Conversely, large firms frequently receive scam messages that convincingly mimic the targeted victim’s branding, operations, and hierarchies. Those can be very tricky to fend off.
Even clumsy scams are sometimes taken for legitimate messages, leading to unauthorized access. This happens when well-trained staff drop their guard. Unwavering vigilance is essential for reliable protection. That mantra is familiar to our physical Security Officers. They know that when things go wrong, they usually do so quickly and in unexpected ways.
Step three: repeat
The first two steps combine to form a cyber-security cycle. Improved systems need new assessments, which leads to strengthened protection and re-training. Cyber crime is always evolving. Our security measures need to continually expand and shift accordingly. Western Canada Security is right alongside you as we all learn to crawl, walk, and run safely online.