Is Your Business WiFi Network Secure?

More and more businesses rely on their internet connection to provide outstanding customer service and support the productivity levels of virtually every employee in their company. Not only is it important for everyone to have good access to the router, it’s also vital to ensure that only employees have access to corporate WiFi. Here are some tips for small businesses to properly secure their corporate WiFi router.

Place in a Secure Location

Many companies have customers, contractors, sales personnel, etc. walking in and out of their place of business throughout the work day. In order to keep the corporate router physically secure, it should be placed in an area that has restricted access. Only those employees who are trained in the use of the router should be given access to it.

Secure the Settings

When setting up a new router, don’t keep the default login information. Pick a different username and password and only provide those two pieces of information on a need to know basis. A password should be a strong password, meaning it should be at least 15 characters in length and consist of a mix of letters (upper and lower case), numbers, and special characters. It’s also a good idea to regularly change the password. Companies who deal with a significant amount of private customer information may want to change the password on a monthly basis. Others who deal with little private data may want to change their router password every 6 months or perhaps annually.

It’s also a good idea to change the default network name of the router. That way, hackers can’t determine simply by looking at the router name which router manufacturer (e.g., Netgear) and model they are attempting to hack.

Routers also have a WPS (WiFi Protected Setup) setting that is best disabled. This particular feature is designed to pair the router with a device at the press of a button. That’s great if the device is one that an employee is using for work-related tasks, but if an outsider is physically near enough to the router signal, they should not be allowed to pair their device with your router.

Updates

Lastly, keep your router up to date with all the manufacturer firmware updates, along with software updates for any network security your company uses as well. Technology companies often send out updates after they discover security issues, so staying abreast of updates means less chance for your company to fall victim to a security problem. 

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