Launching a startup is a phase full of excitement, hard work, and diligent planning.
A security plan may not make the top of the to-do list, but with as many as 10,000 daily cyberattacks on small businesses in the UK, it’s worth making cybersecurity for startups a top priority. Some cybersecurity tips to put at the top of your to-do list are listed below.
Investing in cybersecurity won’t just give you peace of mind now, it will also save your business significant costs in the future, build trust with customers, protect your reputation and help you grow.
Here are six easy cybersecurity tips you can implement now to keep your startup evolving safely.
1. Install SSL cybersecurity for startups
An SSL, or Secure Sockets Later, is a type of cybersecurity that secures your internet connection and protects any information sent between your server and browser.
It limits the chances for anyone to modify your data and protects both you and your customers.
Knowing all your communications are safe doesn’t just bring peace of mind for your business, but can also increase your customer base. You’re more likely to bring in a wider audience when they know their data is secure.
READ MORE: Seven Tips For SMBs Adopting Encryption
2. Get strict on passwords
One of the most common mistakes people make when it comes to security is choosing a weak password that anyone can guess.
In fact, the most common password for the past seven years has still been that classic: ‘123456’.
One of the best cybersecurity tips is putting in place company rules that state all employees need to have strong passwords, or that they need to change them regularly such as on a monthly basis.
This way, you lower the risk of breaches.
3. Avoid capturing unnecessary data
The most important data you collect is your customers’ private information.
This data requires impenetrable security, and the more data you collect from customers, the more vulnerable they become to cybersecurity threats.
Collecting as much data as possible may seem like a good idea for building strong customer profiles, but superfluous information can do more harm than good.
Gather useful information, but avoid storing details like credit card numbers and personal identification data.
Eliminating this information from your system, and informing customers that it is not stored after a transaction, will put their minds at ease and keep your startup operating more securely.
4. Make data protection everyone’s job
As your startup grows and roles change, it can be easy for cybersecurity to drop off your team members’ job descriptions.
Avoid this by making security an ongoing part of everyone's role within your startup.
If each team member understands cybersecurity best practices and their role as protectors of the data they work with, they can act as the first line of defense for keeping customer information safe.
It means this significant responsibility doesn’t land on one person’s shoulders. Instead, security is understood to be a team effort, increasing the adoption of security software, tools, and protocols and ensuring everyone knows how to respond if threats arise.
5. Set up secure cloud storage
Cloud-based storage adds an extra level of security to your business, using things like multi-factor authentication.
With important data stored on the cloud, it means it can still be accessed even if a device is misplaced.
Of course, that’s not to say that all data should be stored on the cloud in perpetuity.
It’s ideal if you need regular access, but if files aren’t required as often anymore, make sure they are moved to physical servers, or see if your cloud provider offers high-security archiving.
6. Invest in cybersecurity for startups software
Make sure cybersecurity tools and software are built into your company budget from day one.
See this as a worthy investment, and don't cut corners, as you could end up paying more in the long term.
There are all sorts of software out there, like encryption tools that transform data into a code that can only be unlocked with a decryption key.
Building these solutions into your practices from the start will ensure company-wide adoption and ensure private information is always securely sealed. But remember to keep your software updated, as these updates fix bugs and glitches to stay secure and prevent breaches.
The first step toward security
Cybersecurity should be a top priority for any startup, as this initial investment could save you a world of costs and frustration later on.
If you need help planning cybersecurity for your startup, contact Sealit today. We are here to help with simple encryption solutions you can implement from day one.