Being connected is the lifeblood of any industry, but if you don’t secure your connections, it could also be your downfall. WiFi is an essential tool to keep your business competitive and efficient, and so are the means to secure your WiFi. An unsecured network will make your business vulnerable, so make sure you aren’t overlooking simple WiFi security measures.
Small Businesses are Vulnerable to Hackers
The internet of things reaches far and wide, which means there are many openings for hackers to access your data. You need to be aware of how you are connecting to the world, how you are sharing data, and how you are exposing yourself online. Small businesses are often the most vulnerable because they have limited resources for cybersecurity measures, as well as limited knowledge of what security measures are necessary.
Create strong passwords.
Passwords
It should go without saying at this point that you need to have strong passwords that are hard to decipher. One of the most forgotten passwords is for your router. One of the biggest security failures for small businesses is to not change the factory login information for your router. It’s basically like leaving the door open to hackers who can stop by anytime and steal your data.
Router Location
You know they say that accidents often happen close to home. The same is true for hacking. The physical location of your router should also be in a secure area so that no one can hit the reset button to get access.
Another glaring oversight is to forget to change the name of your network. A default network name will often give away the type of equipment you are using, giving hackers additional insight on how to access your network.
Updates
Don’t ignore update notifications.
Whether the updates are for the router or security software, forgetting to update – or putting it off – gives hackers more time to take advantage of glitches in old software and firmware. Many times, updates will improve on security as well as function, so you never want to ignore update notifications.
Limited Access
Break up your internet into VLANs to limit access. VLANs give you control over who can access specific data in the office (or out of the office), but you may also want to set up private and public WiFi access. Having a guest-access network will prevent guests and visitors from getting an all-access pass to your entire system and protect your data.
Talk to OnePointSync about how to protect your data with firewalls, anti-virus, and other cybersecurity tools.
