Modern businesses are embracing technology which gives them some incredible advantages. Many business owners can work remotely from anywhere in the world, hire team members all across the globe, and they can even run an entire business from one laptop. The technological advancements that the world has gone through have given business flexibility, which has been especially helpful during the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, as great as the modern world has been for business owners, it also comes with some serious challenges. The main issue that business owners are facing in modern society is cybercrime. Cyber Crime has risen exponentially ever since the internet has been created, but there was a sudden spike over the past three years. The Covid-19 pandemic caused a massive increase in remote working that led to more screen time. This means that there are more targets for hackers to take advantage of.
If you want to keep your business secure and protected, you need to make sure that you’re using the latest and greatest cybersecurity tools. If you’re unsure of which cybersecurity tools your device needs, we’re going to cover the top three essential cybersecurity tools for business owners below. Keep reading to get a better idea of what your business needs to stay safe in our modern society.
One of the biggest threats that devices such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets face today is malicious software. It’s also known as malware, and it’s software that has been designed with malicious intentions in mind.
While malware can manifest itself in several different ways such as viruses, spyware, and ransomware, there are hundreds of different types of malware out there on the internet. New types of malware are also being designed and brought out daily by crafty cybercriminals who are always looking to take advantage of unsuspecting victims.
Malware, no matter what type, is extremely dangerous and should always be taken seriously. However, it’s not always easy to notice malware on your device unless you have a special tool designed to detect it. Malware can be downloaded onto the victim’s device without their knowledge, and they might only notice their device acting up when it’s too late to prevent serious damage from being done.
The tool you can use to keep your devices secure is antivirus software. This software is designed with a library of known malware. The software will constantly scan your devices, and if it finds a match based on the information in its library, you will be notified and the malware can be removed from your device before it does any further damage.
If you’re running a business, it’s always a good idea to use premium antivirus software because it will allow each of your team members to install the software on their devices. Premium antivirus software also comes with additional features such as the ability to detect potential phishing scams in emails and links. This early warning sign can give you an advantage in preventing malware from being installed on your device in the first place.
Another important cybersecurity tool that you need to invest in is a premium virtual private network, also known as a VPN. The main purpose of a VPN is to encrypt the user’s internet connection which will prevent anyone else from seeing what you’re doing on your device while you’re using the internet.
This is especially important when you have team members traveling overseas. When someone uses an unsecured network such as the public WiFi hotspots at restaurants, and airports, there are a lot of risks involved for your business. Cybercriminals can listen in on devices using unsecured networks and intercept any data being sent between the devices and the internet. This allows hackers to steal login credentials, personal data, and even your credit card details.
VPNs will help your team members to remain secure especially when they’re traveling or working remotely from a public area. This is especially important when dealing with sensitive documents or business data.
VPNs also allow you to connect to secure global servers in other countries and cities around the world. In doing so, your real IP address will be hidden and your internet traffic will be routed through the VPN server. This will make it appear as if your device is accessing the internet from the server’s location.
For example, you can make it appear as if your device is located in the United States even if you’re physically in Australia. This allows you to unblock strict internet censorship laws, bypass geo-blocking restrictions, and hide your true location. This is especially important when your team is traveling abroad and might run into some geo-blocking or internet censorship that prevents them from getting their job done.
The key to keeping all of your accounts secure is having strong and unique passwords. When you’re running a business, this becomes even more of a challenge because you often need to share login credentials with your team.
Strong passwords are made of a random selection of numbers, letters, and symbols that do not relate to your business or any of your personal information. You also need to make sure that each of your accounts has a different password, otherwise, there is a chance that all of your accounts could be breached at the same time.
The problem is often remembering all of your strong and unique passwords, and sharing them with your team so that they can use the software that your business requires. All you need is a premium password manager.
Password managers are secure virtual vaults that you can use to store all of your login credentials. The only way to gain access to this virtual vault is by ng a randomly generated master key that only you have access to. Each team member that creates a new account with the password manager and gets permission from your business will have access to all of the login credentials they need. This allows your entire team to work together using all of the best premium software.