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Small Business Network Security: Getting Your Employees On Board

Small Business Network Security: Getting Your Employees On Board

<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">It is easy to think your small business is safe from the types of threats faced by larger companies&comma; but this is not really true&period; While your data may not be the most sought after&comma; people will happily steal it nonetheless&period; In fact&comma; small businesses are high on the target list for many hackers because fewer security measures mean easier access&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Shoring up your defenses is a multi-pronged strategy&comma; and one of the most crucial elements is educating your employees about network security best practices&period; While a lot of it may seem like common sense&comma; it may not be top-of-mind&semi; they may not realize why certain activities are so problematic&comma; and the myriad consequences that can result&period; No matter the firewalls or how great your virus protection software is&comma; we can’t block every threat&comma; and in many ways&comma; your employees are the front line of defense&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><strong>Know Training Has to Be Ongoing<&sol;strong><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Hackers are pretty clever&comma; and are always on the lookout to exploit loopholes&semi; their schemes are increasingly sophisticated&period; So&comma; to get the most leverage out of teaching your employees how to keep information safe&comma; this education must be ongoing&period; Send out those reminders to change passwords every few months&period; Let them know about any new schemes that are making their way around the information highway&period; You can get a daily security tip from the SANS institute&comma; and send it out to your employees&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><img class&equals;"aligncenter size-Correct wp-image-13302" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;medusamagazine&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2014&sol;11&sol;Small-Business-Network-Security-Getting-Your-Employees-On-Board-600x400&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Small Business Network Security&colon; Getting Your Employees On Board" width&equals;"600" height&equals;"400" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><strong>Let Them Know Where to Get Help<&sol;strong><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Make sure your employees know where to find the support they need&comma; should they encounter a situation they are not sure to handle&comma; or if they have any questions&period; Give them the names and contact information of your in-house support staff&comma; or the support personnel of your third party service provider&period; It is also important that you let them know what should be done—or not done—while waiting on support&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3><strong>Write Very Clear Guidelines and an Acceptable Use Policy<&sol;strong><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">There is no better way to help get your employees on board than clearly outlining what they can and cannot do online&comma; how to respond to security incidents and how to best protect the network&period; Thoroughly writing out guidelines and an internet use policy is crucial&period; Make it very clear what sorts of websites are to be avoided&semi; educate employees on what constitutes suspicious email files&comma; when they receive information that may be part of a phishing scam or what actions may expose the computer to a virus&period; Make it easy for them to know what to do and not to do by getting it all down in an easily accessible document&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><strong>Make Things Easy<&sol;strong><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Make things as easy as possible for your employees to comply with various security measures&period; Include automatic prompts in applications to change the password at whatever interval you prefer&period; Have anti-virus and other programs automatically update when it won’t interfere with your employees trying to get their work done&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">These are just a few tips to get you started&period; As you can see&comma; improving security through employee education is not actually all that difficult&comma; it just requires you to actually start implementing such measures&comma; and making a commitment to training&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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