9 Cyber Hygiene Best Practices for Small Business Owners

When was the last time you gave your digital habits a check-up? Just like personal hygiene helps keep you healthy, cyber hygiene protects your small business from viruses, scams, and cyberattacks.

By following cyber hygiene best practices and developing consistent habits, you can help to reduce the risk of costly incidents like cyberattacks and data breaches.  

But what are cyber hygiene best practices, and where should small business owners start?

In this BizCover blog, we’ll take you through the basics of cyber hygiene and share an easy-to-follow checklist to help keep your business safe, secure and, most importantly, one step ahead of cyber threats.

What is cyber hygiene and why is it important?

Think of cyber hygiene like personal hygiene. Just like brushing your teeth or washing your hands helps prevent illness and the spread of germs, basic cyber hygiene practices help prevent digital problems like viruses, data breaches and other cyber threats. 

Cyber hygiene definition

Cyber hygiene refers to the everyday practices and precautions you take to keep your computers, devices, software and data safe. It includes things like using strong passwords, regularly updating software and backing up your files. It also includes being up to date with the latest cyber threats and scams so that you can more easily identify cyber risks, like suspicious emails with dodgy links.  

Essentially, cyber hygiene is all about forming healthy digital habits. Just like you wouldn’t skip brushing your teeth for a week, you shouldn’t skip routine updates or ignore warning signs in your digital environment.  

On their own, these actions seem small. But when you put them together, they play an important role in keeping your business safe from cyber threats.  

Cyber hygiene vs. cybersecurity

Cyber hygiene and cybersecurity are not quite the same thing, but they do work hand in hand.

Cybersecurity is the broader system of tools, technologies, and strategies designed to protect networks, devices and data from cyberattacks. This includes things like firewalls, encryption and antivirus software.

Cyber hygiene, on the other hand, is about the daily routines and good habits that support your overall cybersecurity. This is the “user” side of cyber protection – that is, what you and your employees can do each day to reduce risks and keep things running smoothly.

Why small businesses can’t ignore cyber hygiene

Cybercrime is not just something that big corporations need to worry about. It’s an increasingly serious problem for small business, too. Small businesses often make easy targets for cybercriminals simply because they lack the same cybersecurity measures as larger businesses with bigger budgets and a dedicated team of professionals on hand.

A single cyber incident can have serious consequences for a small business. The most recent data from the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) confirms that a single cyber incident will cost a small business, on average, $49,600. This is up 8% from the previous year.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) also warns that reported cyberattacks have reached their highest number in 3.5 years.

However, practicing good cyber hygiene is one way that small businesses can help to protect themselves from many common cyber threats.

To understand just what is at risk, here are some of the things that could happen when basic cyber hygiene is ignored.

Data breaches

A data breach could result in customer or employee information being stolen. Cybercriminals go after personally identifiable information because it can be used to commit acts of fraud or identity theft. If a data breach occurs, you may face legal action and financial penalties.

Financial losses

On top of financial penalties and legal action, poor cyber hygiene may have other financial impacts for small businesses. Cyber scams, like fake invoice emails or phishing attacks, can trick you or your staff into sending money to the wrong place.

Business downtime

A virus or ransomware attack can lock you out of your own systems, costing you time and money while you try to recover. You could also potentially lose all of your customer data and business information, which could take hours, days or weeks to recover – if it is recovered at all.

Reputational damage

A data breach can cause more than financial losses. Customers may also lose trust in your business, and may think twice about dealing with you if they believe their data isn’t safe in your hands.

The cyber hygiene best practices checklist for small businesses

Now that you understand what cyber hygiene is and why it matters, it’s time to put it into practice. Below is a simple, step-by-step checklist designed specifically for small business owners to help maintain good cyber hygiene.

1. Use strong, unique passwords

One of the easiest ways to protect your business is by using strong, unique passwords for every account. Using the same password for everything is like having one key that unlocks your house, car and office. If that key gets stolen, everything is compromised.

If you’re worried about having trouble remembering different passwords, then consider using a password manager that can generate and store complex passwords.

2. Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA)

Multi-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security for your devices and accounts. MFA involves a minimum of two steps for a person to access their account or device. For example, after entering your password, you are then sent a text, app notification or email with a code you also need to enter. MFA is a simple yet effective way to protect information.

3. Keep software and systems up to date

Do you often ignore or put off software updates? The thing is, those updates often include patches that are designed to mend any possible security gaps. Cybersecurity is something that is constantly involving, and hackers are always finding new ways to cheat the system. This is why software and systems updates are so important, as they are designed to combat the latest cyber threats.

You can even set updates to automatically install if you don’t want to manually do them.

4. Back up your data regularly

Accidents happen. Devices break, files get corrupted, lost or deleted, or a ransomware attack could lock you out of your account. However, be regularly backing up your data and files, you have a safety net in place if something goes wrong.

Use automatic cloud backup services and keep a copy stored off-site (like on a portable hard drive). That way, if disaster strikes, you can get your data back quickly.

5. Use antivirus and firewall protection

Antivirus software helps detect and remove harmful software, while firewalls block unauthorised access to your network.

Many devices actually come with built-in protection. Make sure these are turned on and up to date. Of course, there are also many reputable third-party cybersecurity solutions for extra peace of mind.

6. Educate your staff

Good cyber hygiene is a team effort. Providing basic training to all staff on how to identify and respond to cyber threats can help to keep everyone safe.

The latest annual Data Breach Investigation Report from Verizon shows that misdelivery (49%), misconfiguration (30%) and publishing errors (9%) were the top three miscellaneous errors that led to a data breach.

Misdelivery generally refers to electronic data, but it can also be paper documents. Misconfiguration most frequently refers to databases and other similar platforms that are uploaded online without the proper controls. The most common types of information erroneously shared are personal details (such as name, date of birth, phone number, etc), internal communications, bank details, sensitive personal details (which could include passport details or a home address) and medical data.

As stated in the report: “Nobody wants to admit that their employees may be their weakest link in the security chain, but the fact remains that human error is an enduring cause of data breach events.”

7. Limit access to sensitive data

The more people who have access to critical systems or information, the greater the risk. Only give access to staff who truly need it to do their job. Review permissions regularly and always remember to remove access when someone leaves the business.

8. Secure wi-fi networks

Unsecured wi-fi is like leaving the front door wide open for hackers. To help improve your cyber hygiene, make sure that you:

• Change your router’s default name and password.
• Use strong encryption protocols.
• Hide your network (SSID) if you don’t need it available
• Always use separate “guest” and “business” networks.

9. Monitor your system for suspicious activity

Even with the best cyber hygiene habits in place, things can still go wrong. That’s why it’s important to keep an eye out for anything unusual happening on your systems, such as:

• Login attempts from unknown locations.
• Unanticipated new software installed without approval.
• Slower-than-usual system performance.
• Unexpected pop-ups or error messages.
• Files randomly disappearing or being renamed.

You don’t need to monitor everything manually, either. There are plenty of software tools that can help you monitor for suspicious activity and can be set up to run automatic scans and flag strange activity.

A little effort goes a long way

As you can see, basic cyber hygiene doesn’t have to be complicated and it can go a long way towards preventing cyberattacks and data breaches. Regular attention can help to protect your business, your customers and your peace of mind.

To further protect your business, consider purchasing Cyber Liability insurance. Cyber Liability insurance is designed to help protect you from claims and support your profitability in the event of a cyber breach or attack. Costs associated with defending a cyber claim are also covered. Some of the risks that Cyber Liability insurance can assist with are are unintended loss or release of customer personal information, cyber crime, cyber extortion and ransomware, and business interruption due to a cyber event. Some policy options also give you the option to add cover for Social Engineering, Phishing or Cyber Fraud.

Compare insurance quotes online in minutes today with BizCover.

This information is general only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It should not be relied upon as advice. As with any insurance, cover will be subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions contained in the policy wording or Product Disclosure Statement (available on our website). Please consider whether the advice is suitable for you before proceeding with any purchase. Target Market Determination document is also available (as applicable).

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