许多企业家有一个神话，即网络犯罪分子和黑客不会针对小企业。这就是为什么他们没有采取关键步骤来确保他们的业务安全。这个错误对许多初创公司来说代价高昂。现实与这个神话相去甚远。与大型企业相比，网络犯罪分子更关注小企业。这是因为小型企业缺乏许多必要的安全措施。在本文中，我们将讨论可以保护小型企业免受网络攻击的最佳网络安全实践。
什么是网络攻击？
网络攻击(cyber attack)是企图未经授权访问计算机系统和网络。此类攻击旨在破坏、破坏、禁用或控制计算机系统以及窃取、删除或操纵机密数据。进行网络攻击的人被称为网络犯罪分子。网络犯罪分子可以从任何地方发起网络攻击，并有多种攻击策略。
为什么会发生网络攻击？
网络攻击的主要目的是造成损害。但是，网络犯罪分子还有其他目标，包括：
1] 经济收益
经济利益是网络攻击的最常见原因之一。黑客或网络犯罪分子旨在窃取人们的机密数据，包括信用卡号码、网上银行密码等。一些网络犯罪分子将恶意软件或病毒注入计算机系统并阻止授权用户的访问。然后他们要求特定数额的钱来解锁计算机系统或删除恶意软件或病毒。其他网络犯罪分子旨在收集有价值的公司数据，例如专有信息。
2] 破坏与报复
有时，经济利益并不是网络犯罪分子的动机。他们要么破坏组织的声誉，要么进行报复。此类攻击通常针对政府(Government)机构或非营利组织。如果你在互联网上搜索，你会得到很多这类网络攻击的例子。
为什么网络犯罪分子以小企业(Small Businesses)为目标？
增加对小型企业的网络攻击的原因有很多。由于缺乏资源，小型企业或初创公司更容易成为网络犯罪分子的目标。我们在这里列出了小型企业更容易受到网络攻击的一些原因。
1]缺乏IT部门
如果您想在您的组织中建立一个单独的 IT 单元，您需要聘请顶级 IT 专业人员，因为他们在处理各种网络攻击方面拥有多年的经验。此外，他们知道保护组织免受此类攻击的最佳方法。聘请顶级专业人士需要良好的资金。但是初创公司的资源有限，因此无法在其组织中建立 IT 部门。
2]缺乏安全性
更少(Less)的安全性意味着黑客或网络犯罪分子的更多机会。许多小型企业没有足够的资金来投资于网络安全，例如为所有员工的计算机系统安装防病毒软件。但是，安全软件的成本远低于数据泄露的成本。防病毒程序为您的系统增加了额外的安全层。因此(Hence)，缺少防病毒程序很容易破解计算机系统。
小型企业(Small Business)的最佳网络安全实践(Best Cybersecurity Practices)是什么？
如何保护您的小型企业免受网络犯罪分子的侵害？有什么解决办法吗？就在这里。我们在这里分享最佳网络安全实践，帮助您保护您的企业免受网络犯罪分子和黑客的侵害。
1]使用防火墙
防火墙是保护您的计算机系统免受恶意攻击的主要防御措施之一。Windows 10 带有防火墙保护功能。如果您想访问它们的所有功能，您可能已经看到某些软件要求您禁用防火墙或将它们列入系统防火墙的白名单。此类软件可能包含系统防火墙阻止的恶意软件或病毒。因此(Hence)，始终建议仅从受信任的网站下载软件。您应该在所有员工的计算机系统上安装防火墙。如果您的员工在家工作，请确保他们没有禁用系统上的防火墙。如果他们没有防火墙，请为他们提供带有防火墙支持的良好防病毒程序。
2] 教育所有员工
如果您的员工了解所有类型的网络攻击以及将风险降至最低的策略，您的企业将不太容易受到此类攻击。您可以向他们提供一些他们在上网时应注意的安全提示，例如：
- HTTPS 网站与 HTTP 网站有何不同(How HTTPS website differs from the HTTP one)？
- 网站上的绿色挂锁图标是什么意思？
- 什么是网站 cookie，它们如何影响用户的数据？
- 启用和禁用 cookie(enabling and disabling cookies)的好处和后果是什么？
- 隐私浏览真的安全(Is Private browsing really safe)吗？
- 什么是 – 密码喷射攻击(Password Spray Attacks) | 蛮力攻击(Brute Force Attacks) | 生活在土地攻击(Living Off The Land attacks) | 冲浪攻击(Surfing Attacks) | 凭据填充攻击 | 领域前沿(Domain Fronting) | 冷启动攻击(Cold Boot Attacks)。
3]投资(Invest)于良好的安全技术(Security Technology)
防病毒程序是所有企业的必备品，尤其是小型企业。防病毒(Antivirus)软件是抵御病毒、恶意软件和其他类型网络威胁的最佳方法之一。这是一种简单的网络安全实践，您可以在您的业务中实施。在您组织的所有计算机系统上安装防病毒软件。(Install)通常(Generally)，如果您访问恶意网站，病毒和恶意软件就会进入您的系统。防病毒(Antivirus)软件会阻止所有此类恶意网站并防止恶意攻击的风险。
4] 仅使用受信任的 Web 浏览器
切勿在您的计算机系统上安装任何第三方网络浏览器。Firefox、Chrome、Edge和Safari是最受信任的网络浏览器之一。这些网络浏览器带有反网络钓鱼和反恶意软件技术，可保护您免受网络攻击。当用户访问任何有害网站时，这些网络浏览器会在屏幕上显示警告消息。这让用户知道访问特定网站不安全。
5]保护您的Wi-Fi网络
保护Wi-Fi网络是小型企业的另一种最佳网络安全实践。由于Wi-Fi涉及无线数据传输，因此附近的任何人都可以尝试访问您的网络。因此，请始终为您的Wi-Fi(Wi-Fi)网络设置一个强密码。如果您将其隐藏或加密，它将更加有益。要隐藏您的Wi-Fi网络，您必须在 Wi-Fi 路由器上启用 SSID 广播。此保护提示可以帮助您组织的机密数据免遭泄露。
6]使用多因素识别
始终对员工的帐户使用多重身份验证。多因素识别为个人账户增加了额外的安全层，并保护数据不被泄露。启用多因素识别，即使知道您的密码，黑客也无法访问您的帐户。他们必须验证其他步骤。谷歌(Google)账户中的两步验证过程是多因素识别的一个例子。
7]不断更改密码
我们知道您的员工很难定期更改密码，但这是最佳安全实践之一。如果您定期更改密码，您将限制帐户泄露。此外，更改密码可防止对第三方应用程序和软件的持续访问。除此之外，没有人能猜出您的密码是什么。
8]定期备份所有数据
您已在本文上面读到网络犯罪分子旨在破坏组织的机密数据或锁定计算机系统并要求大量解锁。因此，您应该定期备份所有重要数据。如果您有备份，则不必担心您的数据会被黑客破坏。
网络犯罪每天都在增加。因此，您组织的每位员工都必须将网络安全实践放在首位。因为您是您的小企业的所有者，所以您应该随时了解网络犯罪和网络安全技术的最新趋势。
What are the Best Cybersecurity Practices for Small Business?
There is a myth among many entrepreneurs that cybercriminals and hackers do not target small busіnesses. That’s why theу do not take crucial steps to make their businesses secure. This mistаke costs high to many startups. The reality iѕ far away from this myth. Cybercriminals focus more on smаll businesses than larger ones. This is because small busіnesses lack many essential security mеasures. In thiѕ articlе, we will discuss the best cybersecurity practices that can protect small businesses from cyber attacks.
What is a Cyber Attack?
A cyber attack is an attempt to have unauthorized access to computer systems and networks. Such attacks aim to destroy, disrupt, disable, or control the computer systems and steal, delete, or manipulate confidential data. The person who carries out a cyberattack is referred to as a cybercriminal. Cybercriminals can launch a cyber-attack from anywhere and have several attack strategies.
Why do Cyber Attacks Happen?
The primary aim of cyber attacks is to cause damage. However, there are also other objectives of cybercriminals, including the following:
1] Financial Gain
Financial gain is one of the most common reasons for cyber attacks. Hackers or cybercriminals aim to steal the confidential data of people including credit card numbers, internet banking passwords, etc. Some cybercriminals inject malware or virus into computer systems and block the access of authorized users. Then they demand a particular amount of money to unlock the computer systems or remove the malware or virus. Other cybercriminals aim to gather valuable corporate data, like propriety information.
2] Disruption and Revenge
Sometimes financial gain is not the motive of the cybercriminals. They want to either disrupt the reputation of an organization or get revenge. Such attacks often target Government bodies or non-profit organizations. If you search on the internet, you will get many examples of such types of cyber attacks.
Why do Cybercriminals Target Small Businesses?
There are many reasons for increasing cyber attacks on small businesses. Small businesses or startups are easier targets of cybercriminals because of the lack of resources. We are listing here some reasons why small businesses are more prone to cyber attacks.
1] Lack of IT Department
If you want to set up a separate IT cell in your organization, you need to hire top IT professionals because they have years of experience in handling various cyber attacks. Also, they know the best ways to protect an organization from such attacks. Hiring the top professionals requires good capital. But startups have limited resources due to which they fail to set up an IT department in their organization.
2] Lack of Security
Less security means more opportunities for hackers or cybercriminals. Many small businesses do not have enough capital to invest in cybersecurity like antivirus software for all their employees’ computer systems. However, the cost of security software is much less than the cost of a data breach. An antivirus program adds an extra layer of security to your system. Hence, the lack of an antivirus program makes it easy to hack a computer system.
What are the Best Cybersecurity Practices for Small Business?
How can you protect your small business from cybercriminals? Is there any solution? Yes, there is. We are sharing here the best cybersecurity practices that will help you protect your business from cybercriminals and hackers.
1] Use a Firewall
A firewall is one of the primary defense practices that protect your computer system from malicious attacks. Windows 10 comes with a firewall protection feature. You might have seen that some software asking you to disable your firewall or whitelist them in your system’s firewall if you want to access all their features. Such software may contain malware or virus that your system’s firewall is blocking. Hence, it is always advised to download software only from the trusted websites. You should have a firewall on all your employees’ computer systems. If your employees are working from home, make sure that they have not disabled the firewall on their systems. If they do not have a firewall, provide them with a good antivirus program that comes with firewall support.
2] Educate All your Employees
If your employees know about all types of cyber attacks and the strategies to minimize the risk, your business will become less prone to such attacks. You can provide them with some security tips that they should take care of while surfing on the internet, such as:
3] Invest in a Good Security Technology
An antivirus program is a must-have for all businesses, especially for the smaller ones. Antivirus software is one of the best defenses against viruses, malware, and other types of cyber threats. This is an easy cybersecurity practice that you can implement in your business. Install antivirus software on all the computer systems of your organization. Generally, viruses and malware enter your system if you visit malicious websites. Antivirus software blocks all such malicious websites and prevents the risk of malicious attack.
4] Use Only Trusted Web Browsers
Never install any third-party web browser on your computer systems. Firefox, Chrome, Edge, and Safari are among the most trusted web browsers. These web browsers come with anti-phishing and anti-malware technology that protects you from cyber attacks. When a user visits any harmful website, these web browsers display a warning message on the screen. This lets the user know that the particular website is not safe to visit.
5] Secure your Wi-Fi Networks
Securing the Wi-Fi networks is another best cybersecurity practice for small businesses. Because Wi-Fi involves the transmission of data over the air, anyone in proximity can try to access your network. Therefore, always set a strong password to your Wi-Fi network. It will be more beneficial if you make it hidden or encrypted. To hide your Wi-Fi network, you have to enable SSID broadcast on the Wi-Fi router. This protection tip can help your organization’s confidential data from being compromised.
6] Use Multi-factor Identification
Always use multi-factor authentication on your employees’ accounts. The multi-factor identification adds an additional security layer to a person’s account and protects the data from being leaked. Enabling multi-factor identification, hackers cannot access your account even if they know your password. They have to verify additional steps. The two-step verification process in Google accounts is an example of multi-factor identification.
7] Keep changing the Passwords
We know that your employees have pain in changing their passwords regularly, but it is among the best security practices. If you change your passwords regularly, you will limit the account breaches. Also, changing a password prevents constant access to third-party apps and software. Apart from that, no person can guess what your password be.
8] Backup all the Data Regularly
You have read above in this article that cybercriminals aim to destroy the confidential data of an organization or lock the computer systems and demand a high amount to unlock. Therefore, you should backup all your crucial data regularly. If you have a backup, you need not worry about your data being destroyed by a hacker.
Cybercrimes are increasing day-by-day. Therefore, every employee of your organization must give cybersecurity practices the primary importance. Because you are the owner of your small business, you should keep yourself updated on the latest trends in cybercrimes and cybersecurity technologies.
