As companies become increasingly reliant on digital platforms and more employees work remotely, here’s how you can protect your business in 2023
In the digital age, businesses face a near constant threat to their cybersecurity. Here’s the software that can help to protect your business.
The best for small businesses
Best for micro-businesses, Norton Small Business will protect up to 20 computers, tablets and smartphones against viruses and risky files that can compromise your company’s data. In the unfortunate event that a device is lost or stolen, it can be reported and blocked to prevent external access to company sensitive information. Users can be remotely added to (or removed from) a subscription, making it easy to onboard new employees who may be working remotely, or away from other team members. From £69.99/year for five devices. norton.com
The best for high risk businesses
For more comprehensive cyberdefence, look to Bitdefender Gravity Zone Business Security. This consistently awarded software blocks viruses and malware, including ransomware, spyware and phishing links that steal data. It continuously monitors processes on every device that accesses the company network, using machine learning and global data to identify threats and new vulnerabilities. It’ll also flag operating system and application misconfigurations. Additional email protection, disk encryption and management of software patching can also be added. From £216.30/year for 10 devices, with free trial. bitdefender.com
The best easy for employee use
Effective security tools also need to be easy for employees to use. Intuitive password manager Dashlane Business not only generates unique, complex passwords, encrypting these so only owners can access them, it allows employees to securely share logins between teams, and supports higher-security single sign-on (SSO) to multiple corporate apps. A centralised console flags any breached passwords in workforce devices and analyses security weak spots, while admins can set policies such as the use of two-factor authentication. £6.70/seat/ month. dashlane.com/business
The best comprehensive software
Virtual private network (VPN) software is crucial to any cyber defence. It encrypts online traffic, protecting important corporate data and allows remote workers to connect securely to company servers. NordLayer offers excellent controls for internal networks too. Admins can adjust access permissions for different teams to limit any risk to sensitive information, while regular activity reports will flag potential breaches of company security policy. The software can be configured to require two-factor or biometric authentication to login to the company network, for that extra level of security.
From £68/year for NordLayer Basic. nordlayer.com
The best for remote working
Using a virtual desktop platform such as Amazon Workspaces means IT admins can manage the platforms remote-working employees use, reducing the risk of vulnerabilities in external networks. As data is saved on Amazon servers, information accessed via lost or stolen devices can be more easily protected, too. This flexible solution offers hourly pricing based on the required desktops, processing power and storage, helping limit costs according to how many staff are working remotely. Price calculator available. aws.amazon.com/workspaces
The best for data protection
IDrive Team offers cloud storage and backup tool for computers, tablets, and smartphones, as well as data saved at cloud services such as Microsoft 365. Scheduled backups, real-time file syncing and the ability to backup to external drives (which can be posted free three times a year) help establish a robust contingency against data breaches for the businesses who need it most. An option to save up to 30 versions of important files offers an extra fail-safe in case of a ransomware attack, while industry-standard encryption is compliant with health data requirements, among others. From £60 for 5TB for five computers/users. idrive.com
