Cyber security: Top tips and tricks

It’s a typical working day for business owners all over the world – catching up via video from your home-office computer, updating spreadsheets on your laptop, checking presentations on your tablet, and replying to emails on your smartphone. And whilst the many benefits of having such accessible technology are obvious, it is important to remember that every computer, laptop, tablet and smartphone is at risk of a cyber attack at any given time.

Now multiply this risk by the number of employees you have who are each logging on and accessing customer data and exchanging sensitive business information, and it’s clear why cyber security needs to be a top priority for every organisation. Because just one wrong click could lead to a virus or cyber attack that could have a devastating effect on your business.

Thankfully, there are things you can do to enhance your cyber security and protect your business. Read on as the IT experts at incovo share their top tips and tricks…

1. Educate your team: If your business involves any kind of online technology, cyber security should form part of every new recruit’s induction. Remember, cyber threats are constantly evolving, so never assume employees are up to date with the latest best practices – instead make it your priority to train them up and provide regular refresher sessions to remind them of the importance of online safety.

2. Update your software and hardware: Make sure you update to the latest version of any software. Not only will this update features and fix bugs, it will also help to protect you against cyber threats. If your hardware is too old to support the latest update, it’s time for an upgrade.

3. Implement mature cyber security solutions: Having the correct cyber solutions in place is essential in this modern threat landscape. It will minimise your risk of an attack, protect your devices, help to prevent data from being stolen, encrypted or deleted, and it is also a necessity for cyber insurance.

4. Never open a suspicious email: Even if it looks like a legitimate email from a well-known brand, it always pays to look a little closer. Check the sender address, then check the content itself – poor spelling and grammar are often a giveaway. Finally, if the email asks you to open an attachment or link, don’t!

5. Use a password manager: It’s hard work remembering a different password for every online account, so use a password manager to securely store and manage your passwords.

6. Enable two-factor authentication: For an extra layer of protection, opt for two-factor authentication via Authenticator apps as standard practice to verify access.

7. Check if the website is secure: When spending time on any website, click the padlock icon in the address bar to check if the SSL certificate is valid. This is especially important if you are submitting any data or completing an online transaction.

8. Back up important data: Make a habit of regularly backing up your data to ensure all is not lost should the worst happen and you fall victim to a cyber attack. Backing up to the cloud is the safest and most resilient way to do this.

Why choose incovo?
Here at incovo, we make it our business to ensure your organisation stays one step ahead of ever-more sophisticated cyber threats.

As a Sophos Managed Security Services Provider with Silver Sophos Partner status, we take a professional approach to all we do. Our IT team consists of six highly qualified IT technicians, three of which are fully certified Sophos Consultants, and each one has valuable experience in monitoring devices and systems, responding to threats, and averting crises.

We offer a full range of managed cyber security services and our proactive support will ensure your infrastructure is always up to date. We provide comprehensive cyber awareness training and can tailor sessions to suit your organisation.

And now, thanks to our new communication platform of choice, Syncro, there’s an even easier way to keep in touch with the incovo IT team.

Discover more
For more cyber security advice tailored specifically to your organisation, call 0345 450 8400 or email presales@incovo.com to arrange a chat with one of our IT experts.