Cybersecurity for Startups
We are living in a world of a startup boom. It is a period where most individuals are looking to make startups of their own and run them. However, it is not so easy to determine the success of a startup because there are so many challenges along the way, and one of them is cybersecurity. Nowadays, hackers are waiting for the right moment so that they can breach into a company or business and steal the data of that company or encrypt it so that the company is also not able to use it.
There have been several instances where we have seen hackers breaching the security of a huge organization and then blackmailing the organization for money. Since startups have relatively weak security as compared to large organizations, they are vulnerable to being a target of hackers. Hackers can easily breach the privacy of startups since they don’t have the proper resources to tackle the hackers and stop them from breaching into the company’s network.
A startup should take cybersecurity seriously and prevent its system and network from being accessed by a third party. This can be done in various ways as we have discussed below:
Take Cybersecurity Seriously
Right from the start, a startup should take security seriously. If a startup operates on cloud-based services or deals with technology-related stuff then it should pay even more attention to the security of its company, right from the very start. In the start, cybersecurity may seem like a thing that is valuable for huge companies and organizations, and having cybersecurity experts doesn’t seem right but as the startup grows, it will soon become a target for various hackers.
If cybersecurity is not taken seriously from the start then a startup can lose a huge sum of money and time, however, if cybersecurity professionals are present from the start then it can help the company to save a huge sum of time and money that can be invested elsewhere to grow the business. So, taking cybersecurity seriously, right from the start, in this age of technology is very important.
Keep All The Employees Informed
Startups should make another move and keep all the employees informed about security concerns. Employees that aren’t aware of cybersecurity attacks are the easiest targets of hackers and hackers will do anything to make such people fall victim to their traps. Therefore, it is very important to keep all the employees educated about such things as they are the backbone of a startup but if they aren’t aware of such cyber-attacks then they can become the weakest link of the chain.
Two-Way Verification
Employees of a startup can also fall victim to phishing attacks in which they can enter their username and password, which would eventually end up in the hackers’ pocket. This can be encountered by adopting a two-way verification system. A two-way verification system will ensure that every time your employees enter their username and password on the company’s system, they would have to enter an additional code to log in that will be sent to their email or mobile number.
Adopting a two-way verification system organization-wide will help in the elimination of potential threats and will keep your system secure. Although the default gateway address of the router such as 10.0.0.1 does not have this feature, it can be implemented on other pages where this feature is available.
Strong Internet Security
If you don’t have a secure internet connection then your system will always be vulnerable to hacking. No matter how many security protocols you put in place, if your internet connection is not secure then it can be the gateway through which your system can be hacked.
If your internet connection is secured then it eliminates the risk of getting malware on the network. You can secure the internet connection by installing antiviruses and firewalls on the default gateway of the web router i.e 192.168.254.254. This will prevent the installation and spread of random malware through the network.
Use Strong Passwords
Using strong passwords is also very important to keep the network safe. In a company, every employee owns a different system and every system has a different password. All the employees should be advised to use strong passwords for the system and network so that it is difficult for hackers to intrude into the network.
You can take this to the next level and assign the passwords by yourself or you can take the help of a password and use that for assigning the password. You can also make sure that employees don’t have administrator-level access to the system.
