9 Cybersecurity Best Practices for Businesses in 2026

Key takeaways

• Implementing cybersecurity best practices helps businesses prepare for and mitigate cyberattacks that attempt to access, alter, or destroy sensitive information.

• The best practices for cybersecurity include the use of private networks, antivirus software, secure file-sharing solutions, and ongoing employee training and access management.

• Adopt strong, adaptive security policies and update them regularly as departments adopt new tools, technologies, and approaches to handling data.

Conducting regular cybersecurity audits helps your business determine if it is appropriately defending against risks. Discover nine cybersecurity best practices that you can apply at your workplace. 

Then, if you want to earn credentials for your cybersecurity education, consider learning from an industry leader through Google's Cybersecurity Professional Certificate. You'll receive in-demand AI training from Google experts and gain hands-on experience with threat identification and mitigation techniques using industry-standard tools like security incident and event management (SIEM), SQL, Python, and Linux.

Why do cyberattacks happen?

A cyberattack aims to access, change, or destroy sensitive information in a business or organization. Malicious actors may attempt to access systems with financial information, medical records, or other confidential data susceptible to theft or corruption. Cybersecurity expertise is increasingly in demand as hackers become more efficient through the use of AI and the number of devices grows.

Who is most susceptible to cyber threats?

Similar to how humans or animals are more exposed to danger when they are vulnerable, software programs, hardware, and business processes with weak or flawed systems are most susceptible to cyberattacks. A robust cybersecurity architecture includes tools such as antivirus software, private networks, and secure file-sharing solutions, and vigorous employee training and access management to protect against social engineering cyberattacks such as phishing.

Although public and private sectors share the same need to protect critical data, those working in government need extra layers of security. Government employees in the US and many other countries worldwide must pass a security clearance in order to qualify for certain jobs.

Everyone at an organization, from executives to IT staff to marketing teams, has a part to play in protecting themselves and the business from cybersecurity threats. Staying current in cybersecurity defense measures can help protect your organization from loss of reputation, resources, and revenue.

9 cybersecurity best practices

Conducting a cybersecurity audit on your business to assess your current situation may be helpful. What security measures are already in place? Are all employees aware of potential security risks and threats, and how to protect against them? Are all of the company’s networks and data protected with several layers of security?

The following nine cybersecurity tips can help mitigate system and network vulnerabilities that expose organizations to security breaches and ransomware attacks.

1. Implement a people-first cybersecurity strategy.

A people-centric cybersecurity strategy focuses on equipping employees with the education they need to be able to recognize potential threats. This can include recognizing suspicious activity, such as a sudden uptick in traffic to a specific web page. Or, avoid malicious software by avoiding suspicious links.

If your team is new to cybersecurity, check out and share this cybersecurity glossary and FAQ page. You can also consider enrolling in the following course offered by the University of Maryland, Cybersecurity for Everyone.

2. Strong, adaptive security policies.

Businesses need to continually update security policies as different departments and functions adopt new technology, tools, and ways of dealing with data. Employees then need to be trained to comply with each policy update. 

A best practice for enforcing security policies is zero-trust architecture, which is a strategic approach to cybersecurity that continuously validates at every stage of a digital interaction with data. Examples of this include multi-factor authentication and computer settings that require users to enter their password whenever they’re away for 10 minutes.

3. Install security updates and backup data. 

Most organizations accumulate huge amounts of data on customers and users. This requires businesses to be strategic about backing up their data and how the organizations manage those backups. IT professionals may also train employees to update their software whenever an upgraded version is available, which usually means the program has added new features, fixed bugs, or improved security.

4. Use strong passwords and multi-factor authentication.

Regular internet users might be familiar with password requirements such as using uppercase and lowercase letters, special characters, and numbers to create a strong password. Company systems and tools tend to have similar requirements. Some organizations might even provide complicated passwords to users to ensure maximum security. 

Another common practice these days is to use multi-factor authentication, where you’ll need to verify your identity on two different devices (usually your phone and computer) to decrease the likelihood of fraudulent activity.

5. Collaborate with the IT department to prevent attacks. 

Business leaders can benefit from working with their IT department and support staff to manage cyberattacks. They can also prevent these risks and threats from happening in the first place. What those preventative measures look like will vary depending on the organization’s size, industry, and other factors.

This might involve working with a cybersecurity consultant alongside your IT team to determine strategies like whether to use cloud technologies, which types of security measures to take, and how to best roll out a plan for employees and end users.

6. Conduct regular cybersecurity audits.

In addition to collaborating with the IT team, it is wise to conduct regular cybersecurity audits. A cybersecurity audit establishes criteria that organizations and employees can use to check that they are consistently defending against risks, especially as cybersecurity risks grow more sophisticated.

You want to conduct an audit at least once a year, though businesses dealing with personal information and big data can consider auditing twice a year at a minimum. Cybersecurity auditing helps businesses keep up with compliance and legal requirements. Auditors might encourage an organization to simplify and streamline its tools and processes, which contribute to greater defense against cyberattacks.

High-earning careers in preventing cyberattacks

If you’re interested in cybersecurity, take a look at these two roles. A security architect delivers an organization’s security strategy, manages security improvement projects and budgets, and performs regular threat analyses. The median total pay for a security architect is $232,000 [1]. Cybersecurity consultants evaluate security issues, assess risk, and implement solutions to defend against threats and attacks to computer systems and networks. They earn a median total pay of $157,000 [2]. These figures include base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation.

Read more: 10 Cybersecurity Jobs to Know: Entry-Level and Beyond

7. Control access to sensitive information.

In every organization, the IT team is responsible for managing who gets access to information, including controlling access to security passwords, highly classified information, and more. At times, only a handful of people can be entrusted with the company’s financial data and trade secrets. You want to grant the majority of your employees the fewest access rights possible, and sometimes give them access only upon request or during specific circumstances.

8. Monitor third-party users and applications.

Third-party users with access to your organization’s systems and applications can steal your data, whether intentionally or not. Either way, they can cause cybersecurity breaches. By monitoring user activity, restricting access to sensitive information, and providing one-time passwords, you can detect malicious activity and prevent breaches from occurring. 

9. Embrace IT training and education.

Finally, all of these cybersecurity best practices are meant for businesses to implement, but much of it relies on your employees making sure they’re creating strong passwords and upholding all security policies. You can provide cybersecurity and IT training when employees receive onboarding at the start of their journey with your organization.

Ongoing education, IT support, and security updates should be ingrained in their workflow to continue to ensure they take the necessary cybersecurity measures. Companies can raise awareness among employees by ensuring that they comply with cybersecurity practices, explaining why they’re important, and providing clear guidelines for what’s expected of them.

Sharpen your cybersecurity skills with more resources

Explore career paths, assess your skills, and connect with resume guidance while browsing our Career Resources Hub. And if you want to learn more about cybersecurity, check out these free resources:

• Watch on YouTube: How to Get Into Cybersecurity Without a Degree

• Bookmark for later: Cybersecurity Glossary: Essential Terms and Definitions

• Hear from an insider: Meet the IT Support Tech Advancing Toward a Cybersecurity Career

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