IT Security for Startups And SMEs

No one is exempt from the global pandemic that COVID-19 has caused, nor can escape looming global economic problems. This has led many individuals to start their own businesses or nurture their SMEs even further. That being said, it is vital to have IT security and IT management systems in place to protect businesses from looming and more prevalent attacks from hackers and cybercriminals in this highly digital world. Here are some ways you can protect yourself.

What is IT Security?

IT security, also known as information technology security, refers to the measures and practices implemented to protect digital information and systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. It encompasses various strategies, technologies, and processes aimed at safeguarding data, networks, devices, and infrastructure from potential threats, such as cyberattacks, data breaches, malware, viruses, and unauthorized access attempts. IT security involves implementing policies, controls, and technologies to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information and to minimize the risk of security incidents and vulnerabilities.

Backups for SMEs

Regular backups of data and documents are essential in protecting the crucial information that SMEs and startups hold, which albeit, could be the crux of the business altogether. Therefore, it is important to reiterate the point that backups are so inherent to any business nowadays, even the smaller ones. One effective backup software is Veeam: this is a company that develops backup, disaster recovery, and accurate data management competencies for both physical and virtual infrastructures. It is clear that regular and effective backups are more important now than ever before.

Protecting Intellectual Property

Many SMEs or startups leverage the fact that they have a specific competitive advantage. Therefore, it is important to safeguard this as hackers and cybercriminals can exploit this information if not securely stored and managed. It is important too, therefore, to engage in robust ELV & ICT Services that can help enable you to protect your patents, intellectual property, and any information that can make you lose your competitive advantage.

Email and Domain Security

A lot of SMEs and startups fail at noticing which email and domain are best suited for them and their needs. It is therefore important to consult if Office 365, G Suite, or other email domain software has the upper hand when it comes to your type of business.

Depending on this, you can decide whether or not you rely more heavily on custom domains, round-the-clock customer support, security features (for spam and phishing), storage capabilities, and file size limits.

Antivirus Protection

Being a new or SME business can leave you open for cyberattacks at any given time if you are not well equipped with an antivirus best suited for your business operations. Along with antivirus, you may need anti-spyware, anti-malware, extra encryptions, network monitoring, and disaster management all in one place depending on the nature of the business. It is therefore hard for some businesses to cope with smaller IT departments that find it difficult to keep an eye on all of the abovementioned technicalities.

Sometimes outsourcing can be an option where, as a startup or SME, you can cut IT operational costs while enhancing your ROI along with round-the-clock IT management and monitoring.

At Real Secure, we pride ourselves on helping startups and SMEs get on their feet and help them along the way in protecting their IT and software systems as well as anything that can make them lose their competitive advantage or effectiveness as a business.

To learn more about how your business can benefit from security and IT solutions, contact us today!

Learn more about our Cyber Security Services.