It can be hard to pay attention to the rapidly evolving world of internet threats & ways to protect yourself.

Ever since dial up internet users have had to keep up with anti-virus software, scans, and firewalls. Countless hours spent on McAfee or Norton only lead to more data than we know what to do with! As a small business owner, people continue to try and sell you on the latest and greatest defense for the internet connected landscape. So how you know what is worth its salt and which is a monthly money pit?

In today’s expansive digital environment, there are a few reasons its good to identify whether you need to get certified in cyber security in the first place. Having a good policy can help your internet presence, customers, and business prospects.

1. Many aspects of cybersecurity best practices are actually habits or methods of operation rather than things that need to be purchased. These ‘habits’ or simplified operating procedures actually help you operate business in a more secure way that keeps your environment secure.
2. Depending on the level of security you are looking for, it is possible that many web based applications and systems that are already in use throughout your business are already providing significant levels of safety. This is where an audit of your policies and procedures can be helpful in knowing where your business already has strengths without cybersecurity certifications.
3. Working with the government and other larger entities often require standards of security both in operation & in threat detection. Having a standard policy for this area will soon be a market entry requirement and getting ahead of the competition means knowing how your website and technology are secure.

Prevention is always better than cure for medicine and cybersecurity. It’s not only big players being targeted these days. As a primarily front-facing technical content and development agency it has been a slow and deliberate transformation at Content Champion to begin including cybersecurity into the day to day. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be hard work, and you don’t have to be a programming genius to make strides in cybersecurity. Depending on what your goals are, cybersecurity certification also may not be necessary. While we do have several awesome paid cyber security training experts to recommend, for smaller businesses or DIY weekend warriors, getting a good understanding of how to audit where you stand and developing plan can be done with a bit of elbow grease & applying yourself. With a solid audit you may realize that you don’t actually need to get certified in cyber security. Leave Geeksquad for the next guy, you got this!