Cyber Security Mistakes: Are You Making Them?
You might think that just because you’re a small business that you won’t be a target for cyber criminals but you’d be wrong. Any business that has an online presence or connection to the internet is at risk and in this article we take a look at some of the techniques you can use to secure your business from a cyber attack.
If a security issue occurs in your business, chances are that it won’t be someone breaking in through the door of your office or even smashing a window. No, instead, they’ll do it with a small piece of code that allows them to cut through your company firewall. That’s all it takes, and your company will be completely exposed.
A hacker could steal all of your customer data, and it could be months before you even realise that the break-in actually took place. That’s another problem: there is often no sign of a hack, there’s no broken glass on the floor, and there’s absolutely no CCTV footage to show who is responsible. With a threat like this, how can you possibly make sure that your company is still secure?
Don’t Take On The Problem Yourself
The first step to beating this issue is to realize that you are hopelessly outgunned. You might think that you are ready for a hack because you have read a little about the issue online. Perhaps you have even taken a course in online hacking. It won’t be enough. The frightening think about most hackers is that they aren’t trained at all. Instead, it comes naturally to them. They can break through your security without even thinking about it and to them, it really can be like counting to three.
That’s why rather than trusting your own expertise, you should make sure that you are investing in the services of a trained team. A company that offers IT services can make sure that your security is bulletproof by keeping a 24/7 check on your business systems. That way, there is absolutely no possibility that a hack could occur without you realizing it.
If you want to know how easy it is for a hack to break through your system, all you need to do ask your IT team to demonstrate mobile control. Within minutes, they will have complete control of your computer and will be able to access all your secure files. You’ll certainly be thankful that they are on your team!
Don’t Underestimate Your Importance
You might assume that if your business as small enough that it won’t be a target, but that’s not true. To a hacker, a smaller business simply means the inability to afford all the security that you might need. What does this mean? Well, basically, you’re going to need the same security in place as a business would that is ten times your size!
Don’t Forget The Little Things
If you regularly use public wi-fi or deal with sensitive data you may want to consider investing in some VPN Software which will encrypt your data making it less likely to fall into the wrong hands.
Finally, you do need to make sure that you are taking smaller steps to protect yourself. So, you might think that passwords and encryptions on files aren’t going to do much and you might be right. But leaving your password as 0000 or not putting any password on the files at all does make you a significantly easier target and you don’t want that.
We hope you take this advice and avoid some of the crucial mistakes business owners make when attempting to protect their company from a hack.