Many businesses simply don’t believe data security is something that can grow their business. They view business growth as something completely separate from data security. However, it’s clear that having a data security strategy not only protects your business but such as a strategy can also help your business to grow. 

Remember that the weaker your data security, the higher the potential risk of experiencing a cyber-attack becomes. Without the proper security in place, your business could suffer these issues: 

1). Lost Data

When your business doesn’t have an effective data backup and disaster recovery method, then it’s possible cybercriminals could steal your business data. With a backup and disaster recovery plan in effect, your company’s data will be safe, even if the worst happens. 

2). Loss of Productivity

A cyber attack can lead to a major disruption of your business, loss of devices, software, and applications. This, in turn, will lead to a loss of productivity for employees, which can also limit growth. 

3). Damaged SEO

Did you know that Google checks websites for evidence of data breaches? It does! If Google finds evidence of a data breach that’s associated with your site, then they will blacklist your site. This leads to low ranking in the Google search engine, which then leads to lower site traffic. The result is your business growth could slow. 

4). Reduced Sales

If your site suffers a cyberattack and goes down, then it’s also possible to lose traffic as well as sales from customers. No one will be able to visit your site, make purchases, and more. This will lead to a loss in revenue. 

5). Damaged Reputation 

A cyberattack that takes down your site will also lead to a damaged reputation and loss of credibility. Site visitors and clients will no longer trust your site. Instead, they may change over to buying from your competitors. Not only that, but your revenue will fall when your customer base dwindles. 

6). Financial Losses

What happens if your company is hit with ransomware? Chances are very high the hackers will demand a hefty ransom in order to access your data and network. What’s more, if your site and network are not compliant, it’s possible you’ll also face large fines for failure to protect business and client data. 

These scenarios may sound like huge exaggerations. Unfortunately, these are true experiences from other companies that didn’t take data security seriously. The result was a loss of business growth, reputation, clients, and revenue. 

However, with the right cybersecurity strategy in place, you can avoid these kinds of security issues. To help you out, we’ve put together a list of top data security tools to keep your business safe. When put in place, these tools can see your company stay safe from cyberattacks and even grow over the next six months. 

Tools to Keep Your Business Safe & Encourage Growth

Here is our list of the five tools you can implement today to keep your company safe and encourage growth. 

Password Manager

Passwords are one of the weakest areas in most businesses. This comes down to human nature, which the cybercrooks are very familiar with. Most of us tend to be lazy when it comes to passwords. For instance, some employees may try to use one password for all of their accounts. These passwords are short and simple, which makes them easier for criminals to crack. 

However, with the business-wide requirement to use a password manager, you and your employees can have a better way to securely access and generate strong passwords. Many password managers allow you to choose the length (number of characters) and type of characters used in a password. Or the software will generate a unique, strong password for you. This way, it’s easy to come up with unique passwords for each account, and the software stores them securely. There’s no need to remember any password!

Cyber Security Awareness Training

Because humans are the largest security risk in a company, consider cybersecurity awareness training. The training teaches employees about cybersecurity risks, how to spot them, and how to avoid them. The course also teaches them how to deal with a cybersecurity issue if it happens. 

Cybersecurity awareness training has been shown effective in helping teach employees how to avoid a data breach and more. 

Device Protection & Encryption 

Remember your devices are the entryway that cybercriminals use to gain access to the company network. For this reason, antivirus software is essential to keep your business safe. Device encryption keys add another layer of protection for company devices. 

When devices are encrypted, criminals are unable to access the data on the device. This is also the case if the device is lost or stolen. In that case, the data can be wiped from the device, and criminals will not have a chance to access any sensitive data the device may contain. 

Email Security Software

Do you have an email security method in place? If not, you could be leaving your employees and business open to a major cyberattack. As many as 50% of daily emails may be spam. If employees receive large amounts of email each day, they have to spend a large part of the day slowly reviewing messages. They have to determine which are true messages and those that are spam. That’s a huge chunk of productivity each working day. 

To help take care of this email problem and restore productivity, consider the addition of email filtering software. An email filtering software has a detection rate for spam and malicious emails. This helps to lower the number of emails employees must deal with each day, which increases productivity. This software also increases the company’s security. 

Work with an Accredited IT Support Provider

If you need to rely on managed IT services, be sure to look for a provider that has the right security accreditations in place. An experienced and knowledgeable IT services support provider can have certifications such as Cyber Essentials, Cyber Essentials Plus, and ISO 27001. These indicate the company is able to provide the type and level of security your business needs. 

These are all methods you can start using today to keep your business secure. What’s more, these methods will also encourage business growth over the next six months. Why not give these methods a try and see what happens?