5 Security Policies Your Small Business Should Implement

You may think that cybercriminals are less likely to attack your company because you operate a small business. But, unfortunately, that “not much to steal” mindset is entirely incorrect.

According to a study analyzing cybersecurity threats in America, 43% of cyberattacks target small businesses, and 60% of those who fall victim to a cyberattack go out of business within six months. Fortunately, you can mitigate the risks and vulnerabilities to your business by implementing strong security policies.

These policies set internal security standards, ensuring that everyone on your team is on the same page regarding the handling, usage, and storage of business-critical data. Your policy should also create an incident response plan to reduce the impact of a breach and protect your company’s network. Here are five security policies your small business should implement today.

Password Creation and Management Policy

In today’s digital world, it is essential that all employee devices accessing the company network be password protected. A password creation and management policy will guide employees to create, change, and safeguard secure passwords. The policy should also include training on why it is so important to use a strong password. This policy can include requirements such as:

Passwords must be a certain minimum length and include a combination of uppercase, lowercase, numeric and special characters

• Passwords cannot be reused and must be changed at regular intervals (60 – 90 days)
• Failure to comply with the password policy will result in a denial of account access and other penalties imposed by your IT department

Email Security Policy

Email communication is an essential part of every business. However, if your email isn’t secured and managed correctly, it can become vulnerable to a cyberattack. It is easy for an employee who receives multiple emails a day to get distracted or tricked into opening dangerous links embedded within messages.

Educating employees on phishing and malware can help increase the security of your small business’s email channels. Other protective measures include email encryption, along with spam filters and antivirus software that screen out potential threats before they can reach unsuspecting users.

System Update Policy

A system update policy will provide employees with a process for when and how security patches and updates should be completed. These updates are designed to prevent hackers from finding and exploiting vulnerabilities in your software.

When a business fails to implement system updates in a timely manner, they expose themselves to known and easily preventable threats. In addition to security fixes, system updates can also include new or enhanced features, or better compatibility with different devices or applications. They can also improve the stability of your software, and remove outdated features. System updates can be easily managed by a Managed Service Provider (MSP) like GTS through Remote Monitoring and Management. 

Data Retention/Backup Policy

Even if you take precautions and have implemented strong security policies, it is still possible that your data can be breached. Having a data retention and backup policy in place will allow you to recover assets after an attack quickly.

This policy should specify the types of data your business must retain and for how long. In addition, it should state how and where the data will be stored and destroyed when it is no longer needed. A data retention and backup policy is essential to businesses that store sensitive information and can help organize data to be used later. Businesses should reference regulatory standards for their data retention requirements.

Incident Response Policy

Having an incident response policy is the best way you can defend your organization from suffering the effects of a data breach. Whenever a data breach occurs, the company must take immediate action to rectify the situation, assess the amount of data that was compromised, and then perform an analysis to understand how the attack was executed and how to prevent similar attacks in the future.

Your business’s security is crucial to its success. At GTS, we offer remote monitoring and management services that keep your business’s security running smoothly. We can also take a look at your current programs and policies to ensure your security is the best that it can be. To learn more about our monitoring and training services, call us at (904) 606-6011 or email info@helpgts.com.