9 Expert Tips to Protect Your Business From Hackers

Do you know how to protect your business from hackers? Cybercriminals don’t just send phishing attacks from suspicious email accounts or fake phone calls notifying users of suspicious activities on their credit cards. Computer attacks on businesses are often far more malicious and well thought-out. 

Even though a large proportion of cyber attacks target employees as a vulnerability, the reality is that there are many different types of cyber threats. And, unfortunately, contrary to Hollywood’s portrayal of the hacking world, you’ll need more than a quick combination of keystrokes to get away with it.

9 IT Security Tips to Protect Your Business

ited is your reference for protection against hacking and cyber attacks. We protect your organization from data breaches with our tailored IT solutions.

Discover our 9 expert tips for protecting your business against malicious software and other sophisticated hacking threats.

A hacker looking for a vulnerability to launch a hacking operation

1. Choosing the Right Cybersecurity Services

Choose your cybersecurity offering carefully. Do not hesitate to question your IT security service provider to ensure that your offer perfectly meets all your needs.

2. Tailored IT Security Solutions

Don’t make the mistake of entrusting your computer security to the built-in firewall or antivirus software on your system. These are far from sufficient to counter malicious programs and provide an adequate level of protection for your business. 

Your cybersecurity provider can guide you in choosing the ideal software and security measures for your business.

3. Have a Backup Plan

Don’t forget to backup your data regularly. In the event of a disaster, your backups are your last line of defence. With a backup service, you benefit from the fastest possible recovery to reduce overall delays and interruptions.

4. Cloud-Based Infrastructure

Cloud computing is one of the best ways to safeguard your data. While any company can install a virtual server, ited goes one step further and ensures that every step is fully optimized. Anticipate the unexpected and benefit from ited’s expertise in the migration and ongoing maintenance of cloud infrastructures.

5. Top Quality Network Equipment and Connections

With remote work’s ever-growing popularity, we’re talking about thousands of employees who need stable, fast, efficient and secure connectivity. In addition, we highly recommend disabling Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections on computers and phones when not in use. This way, hackers won’t be able to gain access to your computer networks and devices without your consent.

6. Continuous Program Updates

Make sure your security software, operating system and any device connected to the Internet are regularly updated. Several solutions allow you to automatically update your systems when updates are released.

7. Employee Awareness Training

As the saying goes, better safe than sorry! While security patches help, prevention is key to protecting your business from hackers. Prevention starts with a strategy to raise employee awareness. ited offers a wide range of software and tool training courses to maximize your team’s knowledge.

8. A Sound Security Culture

Alongside training, fostering a healthy security culture within the company is paramount. This means using cybersecurity best practices such as:

  • Multi-factor authentication
  • Setting strong, unique passwords and changing them regularly
  • Verification of email addresses and other measures when receiving emails with suspicious attachments and links
  • How to protect social media accounts
  • Setting permissions and access according to roles and needs

9. Outsourcing to a Company Specializing in IT Security and Cybersecurity

The risks of being hacked are quite anxiety-inducing, especially if you manage a large amount of sensitive data. By opting for professional IT management services, you can focus on what’s important: achieving your objectives.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Hacking

Define Hacking

Hacking is the act of endangering personal data, intellectual property, and networks of a computer operating system or account through unauthorized access. This act is directly associated with cybercriminals involved in illegal activities and data theft. 

The term hacking also refers to the corruption of various devices such as computers, online networks and mobile devices like smartphones and tablets in order to:

  • Cause significant damage to the company’s information systems
  • Steal user’s personal information
  • Disrupt or corrupt sensitive information or confidential documents

Although the digitalization of business brings its share of benefits, there’s a flip side to the coin: hacking and cyberattacks are a common and serious threat. With a 387% increase in the number of reported cybercrimes in Canada between 2014 and 2022, it’s clear that no one is safe from a threat from an industry now worth millions of dollars!

Who Is the Hacker?

The traditional stereotype of a hacker is that they are highly skilled in programming, coding and modifying computers. But beware! This biased vision no longer corresponds to the reality of our society.  

Today’s hackers are more sophisticated and continually sharpening their skills, employing cunning techniques and devious attacks that even cybersecurity software and computer security experts either fail to see coming or have difficulty countering.

The Different Forms of Hacking

  • Malware installed remotely on a computer and sending sensitive information to the pirate
  • Unauthorized access to various online accounts, such as bank accounts, social networks or email addresses
  • Denial-of-service attacks (DDoS, DoS)
  • USB keys attacks are less common but not nonexistent

The following methods are the most widely recognized, but new hacking techniques appear every year. To reduce the risks and attack surface, it’s essential to regularly update computer systems, security settings and programs and entrust security to an IT security and cybersecurity specialist like ited. 

3 Steps to Take After Being Hacked

Ideally, SMEs also submit the cyber incident to the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. We also recommend contacting a specialist IT security company to reduce the attack’s impact as soon as possible.

Entrust Your IT Security to ited for Total Protection

Let ited take charge of your IT security. We’ll assess your security posture, identify your vulnerabilities, and develop a protection plan tailored to your unique needs.