As the use of technology is increasing in today’s times, the risk of cybersecurity is also increasing. Loosely secured IT systems and infrastructure, interconnected IoT devices, and phishing emails are more prone to cyber-attacks. While large corporations have all the required resources to invest in their cybersecurity efforts, smaller businesses often struggle with different challenges to secure their digital assets on a low budget. And probably this is why smaller organizations are more vulnerable to different kinds of cyber threats. In this article, we will talk about different budget-friendly ways that can help enhance an organization’s cybersecurity and how cybersecurity certifications can help with that.
1. Raising Cybersecurity Awareness
This is the first and foremost thing to do in any organization, making their employees cybersecurity aware. An informed and vigilant workforce can help save the organization from incurring huge losses due to cyber-attacks. Therefore, it becomes the responsibility of the organization to train its employee about recognizing different types of common phishing tactics, creating strong passwords, and adopting best practices for the online security of their professional accounts.
Organizations must regularly conduct cybersecurity awareness programs to keep everyone updated about the latest threats and prevention strategies.
2. Implementing a strong password policy
Weak passwords are a common target among malicious actors and are a great starting point to breach an organization’s security. So, having a strong password policy is one of the simple yet highly effective measures to maintain cybersecurity within the organization. It must be mandatory for employees to create complex passwords consisting of a combination of letters, special characters, numbers, and different cases.
These passwords should also be changed frequently and more often to discourage the reuse of passwords across multiple accounts. Another way to ensure the security of accounts is by enabling 2-factor authentication. Several online services provide 2FA at no extra cost and it gives an extra layer of security.
3. Keep systems and softwares updated
Outdated operating systems and software are easy targets for cyber-criminals. The importance of regularly updating all softwares cannot be ignored when you are looking to enhance cybersecurity in budget. This method includes updating antivirus programs, and patching vulnerabilities to protect against known threats.
Organizations must check automatic updates are enabled whenever possible to ensure all the systems are operating at the latest and most secure versions.
4. Take advantage of free or open-source security tools
There are several free and open-source cybersecurity tools available in the market that organizations can take advantage of. These tools are good enough to provide robust protection against different kinds of cyber threats and also help strengthen security measures without giving additional load to the budget. There are free tools like antivirus software, firewalls, intrusion systems, password management tools, etc. Since the open-source solutions have a strong community of developers, it ensures that continuous updates are available in a timely manner. ClamAV and Snort are popular free antivirus protection and intrusion detection software respectively.
5. Secure organization’s Wi-Fi networks
For small businesses, Wi-Fi is the gateway to the digital world. While they can access the world through Wi-Fi, it is also possible that cyber-attackers can access your systems and digital infrastructure through the same gateway. So, it is necessary to make it stronger and protected. Organizations must ensure their networks are secured with strong encryption such as WPA3. The default usernames and passwords of the routers should be changed and regularly updated.
Creating a separate guest network is recommended to prevent users from accessing the organization’s critical business systems.
6. Regular Back ups
Often after a cyber-attack has happened, a huge amount is invested in recovering important data. These data losses can prove to be devastating for small businesses, particularly if the organization becomes a victim of ransomware attacks.
To prevent such cases, regularly backing up important data is recommended. Organizations can take the help of cloud storage solutions like Google Drive or Dropbox that offer cost-effective backup solutions. Moreover, automated backup processes can make the entire backing up process even more convenient and hassle-free. These solutions also assist in the quick recovery and restoration of important business data.
Invest in Cybersecurity certifications
If organizations have skilled and certified cybersecurity professionals, then they can easily implement all these basic cybersecurity strategies and operations and ensure the safety of their organizations. They must therefore invest in top cybersecurity certification programs for their employees and prepare a cybersecure workforce.
These cybersecurity certification programs will empower them with the fundamental cybersecurity skills and concepts about how to make their organizations secure as well as how to respond promptly in case any cyber-attack happens.
Conclusion
Following these simple yet effective steps can help organizations ensure safety with a minimum budget. As organizations grow, they can gradually invest in different types of cybersecurity tools and ensure the maximum safety of their digital assets and infrastructure. Hiring IT professionals with cybersecurity certifications will also be an added advantage as they will be able to perform basic cybersecurity operations for small corporations.
