Cyber Security Tips for Online Events

Hosting an online event has innumerable benefits to your business. Apart from being a fraction of the budget used to host a physical event, you also get to commune with other stakeholders while social distancing. Plus, it has the potential to do wonders for your business in terms of building brand awareness and lead generation activities.

While it has its benefits, hosting an online event exposes your business to internet threats and cyber security risks. In the previous post, we covered tips and tricks you can use to host a virtual event for your small business. In this guide, we will go through security measures to protect yourself and visitors from cyber attacks.

The best part is most of these security precautions are easy to implement to safeguard your event from hackers.

1. Stay abreast of online event risks. The first step to mitigating online event security threats is to be aware of any existing vulnerabilities. Do not wait for a security breach to start being proactive about best web practices. A better approach to any security threats is to be both proactive and defensive. Being aware of security threats will ensure you are in a position to mitigate risk when it emerges.
2. Limit access to the online event. Controlling who can gain access to the event should be a top priority to avoid providing entry to hackers and online trolls, whose sole purpose is to disrupt your event. You can implement strict event registration policies, ask attendees to provide authentication and avoid sharing the link in public channels if it is an invite-only event.
3. Implement a code of conduct. After you have locked your online event from unauthorized access, now you have to ensure your visitors follow a code of conduct. While maintaining acceptable behavior is clear, you also need to have rules in place for consequences of breach of conduct. You can include the set of rules on your event website and ensure all attendees are aware of it to create a positive and safe environment for everyone.
4. Follow best password practices. Enforce good password practices to keep your online event safe and secure. You can use a secure password manager to store all passwords. Include numbers, symbols, uppercase, and lowercase letters. Avoid using personal information such as birthdays, pet names, etc. You can also implement two-factor authentication, a security feature that adds a second step to the login process. Ensuring the digital safety of your attendees is crucial to protect their data and prevent you from being liable for security breaches.
5. Use a secure platform. While budget is important when choosing a platform for your online event, you should also consider safety. Look out for existing security features such as;

• Whether it allows you to control who accesses the event and locking against intruders
• It complies with major data protection regulations like the GDPR.
• Uses a secure platform for processing payments
• Built-in functionality to prevent phishing, spam, data mining, etc

Keeping your online event secure should be a priority for your business. With hackers being more resourceful than ever when carrying out an attack, you need to stay vigilant and on top of your game. It’s crucial to take these additional steps to secure your online event. Fortunately, you can use these safety measures to protect your online event and set it up for success.