Five tops tips to keep your business secure in 2024

We always like to think of every new year as an opportunity to consider our online safety. Whether that’s individually or as businesses, staying safe online is important all year round of course, but in this time of resolutions and new starts it’s good to have that annual reminder.

With that in mind, here are five top tips to help keep your business secure in 2024.

1. Trust shouldn’t be assumed

There’s an old saying that ‘trust should be earned not given’, and nowhere is that truer than in online security.

46% of UK businesses experienced a cyber-attack in 2023, with an average cost of more than £3000, and many of those successful attacks were preventable.

That’s why our first tip is to be careful about who or what you trust.

You’ve no doubt heard plenty about phishing emails over the years and can cite examples of ‘wealthy individuals’ needing your help to quickly move vast sums of money (for a healthy commission to you of course). But today’s phishing scams are much more subtle and convincing than that.

You might receive an email claiming to be from a bank for example that claims your password needs to be changed (and providing a helpful ‘link’ to follow in the process). There are of course many other examples, but the point is, nowadays it can be helpful to adopt a default position of scepticism. In other words, don’t trust something until you’re absolutely satisfied that it’s legit.

If you’re not sure the email is coming from someone you trust, don’t assume that it is. In that bank email example above, rather than clicking on a link in the email, you could instead log into your online banking separately (using a web address you know is correct) to make a password change, or even contact your bank yourself to check.

We could go on about phishing emails, what to look out for, and what to do if you think you’ve been scammed. But the UK Government has already provided much of that helpful information here. We recommend that you bookmark this link so you can regularly use it as a handy referral guide.

2. Passwords are still important

You’ve no doubt heard about the security benefits of services like Single Sign-On or Two-Factor Authentication, but you shouldn’t let that distract you from the fact that passwords are still important.

As ever, all the usual advice about not reusing passwords on multiple accounts, the value of password managers, and the importance of strong, memorable master passwords still applies. It’s easy for your people to get complacent about their passwords, and without proper attention slipping into habits like sharing passwords, storing them in vulnerable locations, and forgetting proper strong password protocols can easily happen.

We’ll again point you to the government advice on this issue. They provide several pages of useful tips here.

3. Passwords aren’t everything

We did mention single sign-on and two-factor authentication above, and it’s important to remember that features like these can help you to further bolster your online security.

Whether it’s making things easier for your people – so they don’t have so many passwords to juggle and remember – or giving an extra layer of protection, wherever such features are available we would recommend using them.

It may be slightly inconvenient to set some of these things up, but the extra protection they provide can be invaluable.

4. Ignorance isn’t bliss

In the case of business security, the more your people know, the better. As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to ensure that your people are aware of the threats and risks, and to make sure they’re properly prepared to respond. Whether that’s through training sessions, centralised documents and cheat sheets, or just having regular chats, whatever works for you, awareness is one of the most powerful weapons in your cyber security defence.

Forewarned is forearmed, so they say, and in this case knowledge really is power.

5. Help is at hand

By getting the basics right, you can give your online security a significant boost. But cyber criminals are persistent. They are dedicated to their craft, and they won’t stop until they get results. And because of that, sometimes you can do everything right and still fall victim. There are certain types of attack that can only be protected against through professional help.

At Zen, we offer a host of services to help you prevent and mitigate against professional cyber-attacks. If you’re interested in giving your cyber-security a real boost in 2024, you should check them out.