With Cybercrime on the rise, chances are you know someone who has been affected by a cyber-attack. From hacked social media profiles to phishing emails, cybercriminals are targeting anyone that has an online presence, even your business, regardless of the size.
Don’t let cybercriminals wreck the business you’ve built.
Cybercriminals are constantly on the lookout for a quick payout or valuable information they can use to target not only you but your customers and suppliers. Lax cybersecurity can have a big impact on your company:
- Customer Impact: A cybercriminal gains access to the account where you store your customer contact information. The hacker contacts each customer pretending to be you, tricking many of them into paying outstanding balances directly to the hacker’s bank account.
- Supplier Impact: A cybercriminal pretends to be one of your suppliers by sending you a fraudulent invoice with fake banking details. You don’t notice that instead of joe@supplier.com, the reply email address is joe@supp1ier.com, and you pay the invoice. You may not only be out the money sent to the hacker, but you may still owe the supplier outstanding balances.
- Business Impact: You click on a social media post advertising a free computer security scan. The link takes you to a page where you enter personal information like your name, email address, etc., and then click a link to install the scanning software. A cybercriminal embedded that software with ransomware. Once installed, they can control your computer and access all your employees’, customers’, and suppliers’ confidential information.
What can you do?
Here are some tips to help you protect your business from cybercriminals:
- Always be committed to security and train your employees to do the same.
- Practice good password basics. Use strong passwords and routinely reset them. Never share your passwords with anyone.
- Control access to data and devices. Only allow employees to access what they really need to do their jobs.
- Protect your devices. Use antivirus/antimalware software, with regular security scans. Keep your software and operating system up to date. Be careful of what you plug in, like USBs.
- Protect your network. Keep your WIFI secure or hidden. Encrypt your information. Require a password to connect; and provide passwords to only those that you trust. Enable a guest connection for visitors. Secure your router, so only you can access it and change settings.
- Backup your data regularly. Keep a good backup copy of your data stored in a different location than your live data, like on an external device or secure cloud archive.
- Watch for phishing. Be cautious of unsolicited or unexpected emails, especially if they contain urgent requests or links. Hover over links to see where they point before clicking. When in doubt, don’t click. Pick up the phone and call the supposed sender to confirm if the message is legit.
- Monitor your account activity. Make it part of your routine to check your account history and activity. If you notice suspicious activity, report it immediately.
- Add an extra layer of security by enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to prevent cybercriminals from accessing accounts such as email, even if the password has been hacked.
- Prepare for the unexpected. Take time to develop an incident response plan to ensure your team can quickly handle any unexpected security incidents.
For more information on how to protect your business, check out these tips from the FTC:
https://www.fcc.gov/general/cybersecurity-small-business
For more information on cybersecurity best practices, visit:
https://www.lennoxpros.com/news/business-cyber-security-tips