It’s safe to say we live in extraordinary times that enable us to earn our living by having an online business.
More than ever before people now access the online environment and much of the product and service shopping experience is carried out digitally. However, as marvelous as it may be, the reverse is also true. From this point of view, we also live in times where most of our lives and identities are tied up to the online spectrum and are therefore more vulnerable.
To this end, cyberattacks are not the only thing that can damage or completely ruin a business. A lack of backup, poorly coded apps and even Google algorithm changes can also be destabilizing factors in your business’ path to prosperity.
In such a shaky environment, it’s essential to know what you can do, as an online business owner, to prevent these unpleasant scenarios from happening. Having said this, here are some best practices you can employ to keep your business safe when faced with the most common online threats:
Consider Switching to HTTPS
If you have an e-commerce shop, you already know that important customer information is exchanged via the website all the time: their credit card information, their personal data and so on. The best way to protect the kind of information your website receives is to encrypt all the pages of your online store by switching from “https://” instead of “http://”.
However, if you have your store on platforms such as Shopify and Bigcommerce, you will benefit from a default SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate that will prevent hackers from stealing your customers’ credit card and personal information.
By switching to HTTPS you also have the added bonus of getting a better reputation in the eyes of Google, which can positively affect the page ranking system by placing your business higher up in the search results. So this really is a win-win situation that benefits both your business and the customer.
Choose Your Password Wisely
That’s right, passwords still matter and the way you manage them are of paramount importance to not only yourself, but also to your online business. There are several rules of thumb regarding password protection that you should never forget.
The first one suggests that you use different passwords for different websites. As difficult as it may be to remember all of them, it’s wiser to go with different options than to go with variations of the same password. If one of the websites you log into gets hacked, be certain hackers will feed your password to a specialized software that can guess variations of that password and try them on different important websites until they hit the jackpot.
The second rule of thumb is that you regularly change your passwords, since the longer you exist in the digital environment with the same password, the higher the chances of cyberattacks actually happening. Try to change them as often as you remember and for every major website you interact with.
The third rule of thumb is to choose passwords that can not be guessable by people that know you well. It’s important for you to have a clear system that allows you to easily remember them whenever you need to. You can opt for passphrases that seem like a random combination of words from the outside, but that make perfect sense to you.
Regularly Update Your Software
This is one of the easiest ways to protect your online business from cyberattacks. As time passes, existent software becomes more and more accessible to hackers that are looking to understand how it works and how to hack it. This is why it’s best to opt for upgrades and enhancements for your software whenever you get the chance. An even better solution is to set all your software and websites to automatically update, so you don’t have an extra issue to remember to deal with.
Use Geo-Restrictions
Geo-Restrictions is a practice that is relatively freshly enforced throughout the world and that blocks access to a company’s online content based on the user’s geographical location. This practice is typically enforced because every country has different regulations regarding content broadcasting. Geo-Restrictions also play a greater role in protection against cyberattacks.
For example, casinos usually employ this practice for their online business. SkyCity Casino online employs geo-restrictions so that its content remains restricted to certain individuals and you can do the same for your online business, regardless of its nature.
Provide Your Employees With Best Practices
The most common communication method between companies nowadays is the humble email letter which is also the most susceptible to cyber infections. Email phishing is one of the most common and harmful ways in which you end up throwing all your online security out the window. This is why it’s best to take some time aside and provide your employees with some of the best practices they can follow when using the company’s email account to prevent any incidents from occurring.
Having said this, it’s crucial to advise them not to subscribe to various mailing lists with their business accounts and to never open unexpected attachments or links. Attachments should also be scanned before being opened, just to be on the safe side.
At the end of the day, as a business owner, it pays to take every possible preventive measure that can keep your online business safe from malware, data leaks and cyberattacks. By being mindful of the potential threats and how to minimize them through a combination of appropriate software and common-sense practices, your online business will continue to prosper.
