Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Even before the pandemic, even the smallest businesses were becoming every bit as reliant on technology as much larger enterprises were ten years ago. However, while those bigger businesses might have had the funds to keep their tech safe – it’s not always the same story for smaller ones.
With remote working and hiring experts on the other side of the world now commonplace to help you with your projects, whether you like it or not, this flexibility also provides opportunities for those with malicious intent to do what could be an apocalyptic amount of damage.
As you so often find, where tech is part of the problem, tech can also help solve your problem. With that in mind, here are a couple of things that can help you and your business to stay safe in 2022.
Invest in a VPN
It’s simple and relatively cheap, but by using a VPN (Virtual Private Network), you will be protecting your internet connection and your privacy online. A VPN hides your location and your IP address from those wishing to see what you are doing.
This is not just for watching geo-locked content (although you can do that too), but it is extremely useful if you happen to be working away and reliant on hotel or coffee shop Wi-Fi which can be less than watertight. A VPN is not just for your laptop but can also be downloaded to your mobile phone, tablet, and iPad as well.
Firewall
You might not be fully aware of what a firewall is, but what it does is vitally important. Think of it like a security guard giving everything that arrives at your business (digitally at least) the once over before letting it in. There are a number of options available, depending on what you need specifically and how many users you’ll have. Looking at a somewhere like WatchGuard Online will give you a better idea of what is available and the prices involved.
While, like VPNs, they aren’t that expensive, the thing that you should perhaps weigh up is what the cost of not having one might be. The cost of a major cyberattack is enough to end most businesses, especially if they have no recovery plan in place or insurance to cover the loss. A breach might not just steal your data, but also that of your customers so that as well as a loss of revenue and customers in the short term, you potentially have a loss of reputation in the long term.
To wrap things up
There is plenty to like about remote and hybrid working, but with all of that convenience comes a downside. Cybercrime is on the rise and staying ahead of it, even if you have the smallest of businesses, is something you need to concentrate on. There are many things you can do, but having a firewall and getting hold of a VPN are two easy things to tick off of your list, and they can make everything you do a whole lot safer.
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