No matter the size of your business, your employees will have a significant part to play in keeping your company tech resources safe and secure. Whether or not you have a background in IT, you can take an active role to promote security and train your staff to avoid unnecessary risks.

In addition to having a good IT policy in place, every workplace should institute the following basic ‘best practices’ to keep your computer networks safe. And if you have any questions about how to set good tech policies at your organization, or need help to set an effective overall IT strategy, get in touch with us at Oram Corporate Advisors.

1) All employees should be encouraged to set strong passwords and change them regularly. This sounds obvious, but it’s one of the most effective steps employees can take to protect company data.

2) Remind everyone regularly that they shouldn’t be opening suspicious links in emails, or downloading unsolicited attachments. Malware and viruses often come in spam email, or (maybe even worse) from the infected computer of a friend or colleague.

3) Employees should know to take care when using public Wi-Fi to work away from home. If your staff regularly takes work home with them, and / or submits reports or other files while traveling for business, your company could be at risk of lost or stolen data. Hackers often target wireless networks. Everyone using a public Internet connection should be cautious about which sites they visit, and what information they access and transmit.

4) Keep your computer and mobile devices up to date with the latest operating system patches, firewall protection and antivirus programs. Encourage your employees to update their personal devices, too, and report anything that seems suspicious to get it checked out.

5) Set good policies for use of company data at work and at home. You might also want to consider installing a filtering service.