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Cybersecurity
In 2024, the success of the digital entrepreneur often hinges on the tools and software they use to get ahead. Whether you’re running a startup or acting as a solopreneur, you’ll be hamstrung in your efforts if you don’t consider the technology that you’ll build your core processes and systems upon.
The choice of technology you use is just part of the equation, too. Many entrepreneurs have been burnt by lacking cybersecurity measures within their existing tech stacks, so it’s something you need to consider, however small your business.
In this guide we’ll discuss the journey of the digital entrepreneur and how technology and cybersecurity play an increasingly important role in their success.
In recent years, it can feel as if technological progress has been accelerating at breakneck speed. The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the remote work culture it helped to forge is just one factor. The 4-day work week is another: entrepreneurs are looking for more ways to streamline their operations and efficiency within their businesses.
We now have myriad AI tools at our disposal, endless SaaS (software as a service) solutions to fill core gaps in our workflows, and dozens of communication tools.
The result is a wealth of choice, but also an increased risk that something could go wrong. If you’re relying on an entire suite of technological solutions to get you through the work week, your business is more open to cybersecurity threats.
In the latest State of Pentesting report from Pentera.io, the evidence is clear: 51% of organizations surveyed have been compromised by a cyberattack. If more than half of those surveyed report this as an issue, then it’s clearly a widespread problem for entrepreneurs.
With major publications like Forbes also reporting on cybersecurity as an unfortunate trend in 2024, there’s no question that you shouldn’t downplay its importance in your own business.
One of the most concerning trends is with AI. The rapid development of AI presents a unique challenge in identifying cybersecurity threats as it’s getting harder to tell what’s real with each new development. For example, deepfakes, whereby an AI projection appears to speak, act, and behave like a real person, are often hard to discern.
With that in mind, here are some cybersecurity measures you can take across the board to clamp down on the biggest threats and keep your data safe:
Train your employees: The best way to safeguard your business against these virtual threats is first to train your staff to spot the signs. That way, every phishing attempt or data breach can be quickly identified and reported and passed onto the IT department.
Invest in secure infrastructure: As is often said, the best form of defense is offense. The same applies to handling cybersecurity in your business, as it’s worth being proactive and investing in the right secure infrastructure from the start. It’s difficult to bounce back from being hit with a cyber attack, so equip your business with everything it needs to mitigate against vulnerabilities.
Protect your data: Data is one of the most valuable assets in your business. Whether it’s historical data pertaining to company performance or information on your client base, you need to protect it at all costs. Along with the right software and tools to safeguard your business from virtual threats, you’ll also want to bolster up your data protection measures with encryption and secure backups.
It’s clear that cybersecurity threats are growing by the year, and it’s not that there are necessarily more bad agents planning these attacks, but that the ways they target businesses are constantly changing.
To effectively protect your business’ data in the coming years, you must be proactive and be willing to stay a few steps ahead. For example, you might look to emerging technologies such as blockchain to handle secure transactions with high levels of encryption.
Plus, just as AI might be handing an unwanted advantage to those who seek to compromise your data, it also provides you with more opportunities to protect against such threats. Machine learning is developing to the point where businesses can use it to defend against cyber threats in real time with automatic detection.
With the right AI technology, you can parse a wealth of data to pick up on patterns and any anomalies which could indicate something is wrong. These automated systems also give you your business back, as you don’t have to spend so much time worrying about how to manually identify and prevent these threats.
Aside from improved technology, you can also look to your internal company policies surrounding cybersecurity. Many businesses have begun to adopt a Zero Trust security system whereby every individual seeking to access internal resources must first verify their identity.
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