Cybersecurity and Protecting Your Data

London Business Hub is providing cybersecurity advice and information to help businesses and the self-employed work safely. Here, we provide advice and tips on protecting your data.

Data backups

Backing up your data is a crucial business continuity and cybersecurity step. Backups allow you to restore data from an earlier point in time when the backup was made. Important reasons for backing up your data include:

• To prevent data loss, such as data that is accidentally deleted. 
• Your device is stolen, lost or broken.
• Record-keeping. 
• A virus corrupts your data.
• To copy existing files onto a new device.

Backups can usually be set up so they take place automatically, and should be stored in a separate, safe location. This could be on cloud storage or on removable media, such as an external hard drive or memory card.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) provides guidance on backing up your data.

This short video from the Metropolitan Police Service also provides an introduction to backing up data:

Multi-factor authentication 

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) helps make your online accounts more secure and protects them from unauthorised access. When signing into accounts that use MFA, you will usually be asked to enter your password and input an extra layer of security that only you can access.

Types of MFA include:

• A one-time passcode sent to your phone or an authenticator app.
• Biometrics, such as fingerprint or facial recognition.
• Key cards.
• ID cards.

The NCSC has published guidance on MFA.

This short video from the Metropolitan Police Service also provides an overview of MFA:

Removable media

Removable media, such as USB drives, external hard drives and optical discs, present an opportunity for cybercriminals to infect networks with malware or steal data. Therefore, it is important to take steps to restrict and secure the use of external devices.

The NCSC has published guidance on how to use removable media safely.