As of September 2020, an estimated 18 percent of the workforce is now working remotely full-time, according to Review42. In addition to that, more than half of all businesses offer telecommuting in some capacity. The digital space is likely where much of our business will be conducted from here on out. Hence, keeping your company’s network security is a must. Here are the top 3 essentials to keep your business network safe and secure.

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Get Strong Data Encryption

Encryption is your main means of protecting against data compromisation. For those who don’t know, encryption is encoding data into a cipher. Anyone who wants to access the data will need to decrypt it with the proper clearances. Encryption is the first thing keeping your data confidential in case it falls into the wrong hands. You can encrypt your data in two ways with End-to-End Encryption and Advanced Encryption Standard.

End-to-end Encryption secures data on both the sender and receiver side with strong encryption that protects well against hacking. Advanced Encryption Standard, on the other hand, uses a randomly generated key to unlock each package of data received. End-to-end encryption is enough for emails and regular online communication. AES was purpose-built for sending more important data, such as compressed folders full of confidential plans and schematics.

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Invest In Proper Data Cabling

Encryption can be so strong as to seem ironclad. Still, there are numerous ways to break it with enough patience and expertise. That’s why one of your best assurances against data breaches is to not let them onto computers with sensitive data in the first place. If hackers gain access to even one of the computers on your network, they can eventually find their way to the unit where all your important data is stored. That is where data cabling comes in.

With proper, security-focused data cabling, you can detect intruders as soon as they get into your local area network, and promptly kick them out. Besides security, data cabling is also excellent at improving network efficiency. For companies whose business hinges on internet connectivity, network inefficiencies can severely hamper revenue and growth. The importance of this grows substantially the more departments and branches an enterprise has.

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Don’t Forget The Basics

Several factors that some may forget to do is to look back at the basics. Your anti-malware, anti-virus, and firewall are your first line of defense against malicious activity on your network. Make sure that these programs are up-to-date on all company devices. You should also look into options that let you remotely wipe all data from compromised devices in the worst-case scenario.

Another basic thing to employ is two-factor authentication, also known as 2FA. This is an extra layer of security that any company would be remiss not to apply. It supplements the usual username and password credentials with a PIN or security question. This way, even if a user’s credentials get stolen, the hacker will still have to answer a personalized question or guess the PIN.

In today’s work landscape, network security is paramount. However, as long as you remember to employ the essentials, your business will be ready against anyone attempting a data breach.