Tips for keeping your business safe from cyber attacks

Georgia Tech Online Masters Cyber Security Review
Georgia Tech Online Masters Cyber Security Review

Few problems strike fear into the hearts and minds of business owners unless it is the prospect of a cyber-attack. This is because there is no real telling of how dire the situation is going to get. A cybercriminal can steal the sensitive data of you, your employees, and your clients – which can ruin the lives of anyone, and everyone involved, destroy the trust your team and customers have built in your business over time, and maybe even wipe out your entire organization. Of course, this is before even mentioning the subject of money – a cyber-attack can cost you a considerable amount of cash to bounce back from it.

So, the question on your lips is no doubt, “how can I protect my business from a cyber-attack?”. Well, there are several different ways to tackle the problem, which is why it is useful to take a look at the below tips, designed to help you approach the issue from all angles:

Use an API gateway

One way to tackle the cyber security issue is to use an API gateway.  API gateways act as a security layer between your clients and your backend services. They provide a centralized point for authentication, authorization, and access control, ensuring that only authorized and authenticated requests are forwarded to the underlying services. By enforcing security policies, such as rate limiting, throttling, and encryption, API gateways protect these backend systems from potential threats and mitigate the risk of data breaches. This enhanced security boosts the confidence and trust of your customers, safeguards any sensitive information, and helps your business to comply with the relevant industry regulations.

Additionally, API gateways help you with horizontal scaling by distributing traffic across multiple backend instances, ensuring high availability, load balancing, and fault tolerance. This scalability can allow your company to handle increased user traffic, improve response times, and deliver a seamless experience even during peak periods.

Educate yourself on what the risks are

When it comes to tackling cybercrime, one of the best ways to protect yourself and your organization is through awareness. It might not sound as powerful as firewalls or antivirus software (which you will certainly need), but you should also know exactly what these threats are and how they can penetrate your company.

Education is so important because, like all confidence tricksters, cyber hackers prey on your ignorance. They need you to believe what they tell you and have no idea how a cyber scam works. If you do, you will have a mental firewall that can protect you as much as a digital one.

Train your staff to deal with cyber threats

Similarly to your own education, you need to ensure that your employees all have a detailed understanding of what cyber threats are, how they work, and how they can help prevent them from penetrating the organization. Consider setting up training sessions where you teach your team how to set stronger passwords, how to spot phishing emails, and how to prevent the spread of a scam. This way, you can minimize the chance of insider threats and help keep your business safe from cyber threats.

Mark Funk
Mark Funk is an experienced information security specialist who works with enterprises to mature and improve their enterprise security programs. Previously, he worked as a security news reporter.