The digital marketing industry is one that will always be around, especially when you consider its effectiveness in bringing to bear the digital technology at our disposal to drive traffic and leads through a marketing funnel that eventually closes in a sale. It is an effective approach because of the sheer number of active users on the internet. This is a medium that reaches an audience far and wide and it creates so many opportunities to get the message out to your target audience, whether it’s through your website, through your social media content, or through other mass media means.
However, this is a double-edged sword in that while you’re able to reach an audience far and wide, it also leaves you vulnerable to attackers on the internet. I’m not referring to social media bashers, naysayers, and other harmless noise. I’m talking about hackers and scammers who could do real damage to your digital marketing campaign, or worse, to your business.
So, what are some principles that you need to stand by in order to avoid compromising your marketing campaign?
While most platforms have built-in security measures, you have to ensure that you can close any gaps in your security. You have to install antivirus and anti-malware software, as well as set-up a firewall in order to prevent hackers from exploiting these weaknesses. If you need more information on how to remove a virus, here it is.
Hackers will also use social engineering techniques to try and acquire login details from you and your co-workers. As such, it’s important for members of your team to undergo basic cybersecurity training, or at least a briefing, to help them identify and avoid phishing attempts.
The world of cybersecurity can be likened to an arms race where security agencies are constantly battling hackers. Hackers keep trying to find new methods to exploit systems and programs while security teams constantly try to patch these weaknesses up. Keeping your system up-to-date ensures that any weaknesses are patched up before they can be used to cause any harm to your project. So, make sure that you have the latest version of both your local resources and your cloud resources.
While the internet of things is often lauded as the next big leap in technology that’s going to allow our devices to create a more seamless experience for us, it also creates a bigger threat with more points of access into a secure network. Nobody would expect the office smart refrigerator to be used to unlawfully gain access to the company network.
Joking aside, the need for a robust cybersecurity plan cannot be overstated. If we badly need it now, we’re going to need it even more in the future. Remember that security, any kind of security, relies on the prevention of an attack. We cannot hope to be able to fend off attacks if we do not understand how cybersecurity works. With this in mind, it’s important for any digital marketer worth their salt to also take security measures into consideration.
