The risk of a cyber attack on a business represents one of the greatest security threats an organization might face. The National Small Business Association released a study suggesting that the average impact of a cyber attack on a small business amounts to almost $9,000, with nearly half of all businesses reporting they have been on the end of a hacking attempt or cyber attack. The good news is that a business can minimize its risk by putting several safeguards in place.

Know Your Digital Providers

Unless your company specializes in generating Internet servers for other people, you likely have little input in the creation of your digital platforms. Your company is at the most risk from the very digital platforms that allow you to make sales and connect with customers. Vikas Bhatia, founder of Kalki Consulting, recommended in an interview with Forbes magazine that companies ask their digital providers questions about what level of safeguards are in place. For a basic company page that runs on a platform like WordPress, there may be nothing at all protecting your sensitive information from a malware or Trojan attack.

Backup Plans

Having a Plan B in the business world lets you safeguard against risk. What happens, however, when both your Plan A and Plan B are on the same hardware? Cyber attacks do not necessarily happen from hundreds or thousands of miles away. An Asis Foundation study on computer theft estimates that the loss of proprietary data on a lost or stolen computer can cost a business nearly $700,000 per incident. This massive damage can be mitigated with extensive backup plans for all company documents. Never let an employee create any business document without backing it up on a cloud connection or an external piece of hardware.

Get Proactive Protection

Having an expert on your side when it comes to cyber attacks, hacking, phishing and identity theft can be a strong line of defense. Get information regarding identity theft protection from an identity monitoring firm that offers assistance with the threat of cyber attacks. Professional advice helps you take preventive measures that are proven to work, while identity theft protection services like LifeLock put safeguards in place against the creation of fraudulent credit cards or the unauthorized use of bank funds. These proactive service measures can stop ID theft before it happens, rather than having to clean up the damage after the fact.

Password Protection

Though many businesses are hardwired to change their passwords often, a steady schedule of changing passwords plays into the hands of hackers. Naked Security notes that a hacker or digital attack can capitalize on an expected password change, whether it is on the first day of the month or the end of a quarter. Instead of offering predictable changes, make password changes random—such as picking an employee’s birthday every three or four months, or a week prior to less popular holidays like Columbus Day.