Tip of the week: Here Are Four Tools to Secure Your Business

Business security is a common issue for many small organizations with limited budgets, but it doesn’t have to be an issue. We’re here to help you master the seemingly endless threats and security problems that major vulnerabilities present to the small business environment, and it all starts out by understanding how even basic security solutions protect your organization.

We’ll discuss some of the most important security methods available for small businesses, beginning with preventative tactics like those found in a Unified Threat Management (UTM) tool. By effectively using a firewall, antivirus, spam protection, and content filter, you can minimize the damage done by cyber threats and prevent them entirely.

Firewalls
Imagine having a bouncer set at the point of entry for your organization’s network infrastructure. This bouncer turns away any harmful traffic that could potentially harbor threats or security issues. They also manage to keep any potential threats on the network from escaping to another part of your infrastructure, allowing for isolation and destruction without too much trouble. This is what a firewall does for your organization. While most PCs will come installed with a consumer-grade firewall, you don’t want to rely on this for your business’ infrastructure. It’s better to invest in an enterprise-grade firewall that can handle the heavy threats.

Antivirus
If a firewall is capable of keeping threats out of your infrastructure, the antivirus is designed to eliminate any potential issues that sneak past your defenses. An antivirus will scan for any suspicious activity on your network and identify possible malware, viruses, or worse on your infrastructure. It can then proceed to quarantine the threat or eradicate it entirely.

Spam Protection
How many messages do you get in your inbox that are either wasteful or threatening? If you don’t use any type of spam protection, this nuisance will continue to plague your organization and pose a threat to its integrity. Not only is spam a waste of time, but threats often find that it’s the preferred method of transportation from one system to the next. It’s easy to hide downloads of malicious files in email attachments or embedded links/images. A spam protection solution keeps these messages from reaching your email inbox in the first place, eliminating much of the threat it poses.

Content Filtering
Do you have problem employees who can’t seem to keep themselves away from social media websites while at work? One of the best ways to remedy this problem is by implementing a content filter, which can control access to specific sites for individual users. This solution is more commonly used to keep users off of sites that are detected to have viruses or malware associated with them, but why not try to get a little extra productivity out of your workers?

A UTM is a great solution that your business can certainly use to secure it from external and internal threats. To learn more, reach out to Washington Works at 301-571-5040.