October brings football, the best of baseball, tailgates, lattes, sweaters, Halloween – but did you know that it’s also Cyber Security Awareness Month? Whether you’re a business owner or employee, it’s important to keep yourself educated on cyber security and how to take the necessary precautions to protect your data.

On October 1, the National Cyber Security Alliance held the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) Conference in Nashville. The event educated small business owners and employees on cyber security and included a panel of key influencers in the tech space. To check out videos of the speakers click here.

To help keep your small business protected, here are some fundamental online security tips to remember:

  • Ensure all business transactions are done over a secure network connection
  • Install network firewall and VPN for remote access
  • Make sure anti-virus software is up-to-date
  • Implement encryption on servers, desktops, laptops & removable media
  • Backup critical information and prepare a secure restoration procedure

For the visual learner, a video series was introduced at the 2014 AT&T Cyber Security Conference that includes some basic cyber security tips with the cartoon character, Murray. To view this video series, click here.

Join the conversation with @STOPTHINKCONNECT on social this Thursday at 3:00 p.m. CST to discuss how to keep your business safe online.

For mobile tips on how to keep your data secure, check out this related story or our 2014 AT&T-SBE Council Small Business Technology Poll media kit.