Neglecting cybersecurity for your WordPress website is one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a business owner. According to CNBC, cyberattacks cost companies an average of $200,000, which is enough to shut down most small businesses within a few months. While 43% of online attacks target small businesses, only 14% are prepared to defend themselves. Prospective entrepreneurs need to prioritize cybersecurity!
Not only will cybersecurity help you avoid costly attacks, but it can also help build trust with your customers and ensure you get paid by your clients. At WP Earn Online, we know that getting clients to pay on time isn’t always easy. Protecting your client’s personal data will ensure they feel safe making payments to your company.
It’s clear that you need a strong cybersecurity plan. But where do you start? Here are four cybersecurity best practices to keep in mind as you get your business off the ground.
Establish a Data Recovery Plan
One of the first things you should do is establish a recovery plan that will get your business back up and running in the event of an attack. A good recovery plan will help to minimize downtime and lost profits. If your WordPress site gets attacked and your data is destroyed, locked, or stolen, you should be able to restore your data and quickly get back to business as usual.
An effective data recovery plan has a few important elements. For example, you must identify which applications and data sets you will need to recover first so you can prioritize your recovery efforts. You should also identify who will be involved in recovery, whether this is an IT employee or an external cybersecurity company.
Educate Your Employees
Your employees make up one of your first lines of defense against cyberattacks. Often, it’s an employee clicking a link in a suspicious email or creating a weak password that gives hackers access to sensitive business data. Make sure your employees know how to avoid cyber threats and do their part to protect your business. Regular employee cybersecurity training should include a variety of important topics:
- Best practices for creating strong passwords.
- How to spot social engineering and phishing attempts.
- Your business social media policy.
- The safe use of mobile devices for business purposes.
- Safe internet browsing rules and limits on unauthorized software.
Secure Your Wireless Connection
TechRadar explains that Wi-Fi access points can provide hackers with a convenient way into your business, even from outside your building. Secure your wireless connection with strong encryption to prevent unauthorized parties from reading data traveling over your network. On top of this, make sure your Wi-Fi password is long and random so it cannot be easily cracked by a hacker. You may also want to provide a separate network for guests visiting your business. This will ensure that people on your guest network cannot access data on your internal network (or inadvertently infect your network with viruses).
Stay On Top of Regular Security Patches and Updates
Keeping all of your business software up to date—not just your cybersecurity software—is incredibly important for cybersecurity. Software updates often include patches that repair newly discovered security holes that could make your data vulnerable to hackers. Establishing a patch management system can help you stay on top of new patch releases and ensure all of your business software is up to date. Patch management tools make it easy to automate updates on all of your business devices remotely.
If you’re thinking about launching a business of your own and using tools like WordPress, cybersecurity should be your top priority. Secure your business with a strong cybersecurity and recovery plan right out of the gate and you’ll be able to rest easy knowing your valuable business assets are safe.
With expertise in building, maintaining, and customizing WordPress and other websites, WP Earn Online gives you tips, hints, and clear instructions to use WordPress, all to make money online. Reach out for more info today!
This is a special guest article by Katie Conroy. You can find Katie at Advice Mine where she provides provide accurate, helpful information you can trust using personal experiences, training, education, and research. Check them out!
Katie Conroy