Small business owners have a variety of worries they have to contend with each day. They may be concerned about whether or not an employee is performing to the best of his or her ability, if the right amount of consumers are going to show up in the store or if a manufacturer is going to follow through and deliver the product on time. However, one of their primary concerns should be focused on the apparatus that's usually right in front of them.

Most company leaders have an antivirus program present on their computer networks. While having some sort of protection is necessary, these owners don't have the luxury of using a simple at-home solution widely available at stores. To protect factors like guests on a network, accounting software, other workers and payment processing gateways, business administrators must use the best programs available.

But how can these owners know that their efforts are effective or that they're using best practices if they're not familiar with IT? There are a number of simple ways leaders can ensure that their systems are more secure against threats.

Teach employees about threats
Insider attacks are one of the biggest sources of cyber threats. This might include a seemingly wronged worker who has malicious intentions and wants to harm the infrastructure or a staff member who plays into the hands of a hacker unknowingly. According to Entrepreneur Magazine, to avoid the latter scenario, teaching employees best practices is the best defense.

Email, the news outlet noted, is one of the easiest ways to hack into a network. Because of the rise of phishing attacks - when criminals trick individuals into revealing key information needed to tap into the system - staff members need to recognize the threats that can be cataloged in their inbox. For instance, the magazine recommends informing workers about what to do with messages from suspicious sources, opening attachments and password use.

Encrypt crucial data
Sometimes, a good guard against hackers is for business owners to pretend they've already successfully entered the system. The leaders should ask themselves where the hackers could obtain the most information, how they could tap into these data sources and whether or not they could be caught before they were able to get in and get out.

One of the best protections small companies can have in place is encryptions on the data that would be most vulnerable. According to Small Business Computing, this can make financial, client and other information safe from harm even if a hacker is able to steal files.