In 2014, the New York attorney general announced that almost 23 million private records of his fellow New Yorkers had been exposed in the previous eight years, due to numerous security breaches of personal data. Today every single business that works with people’s personal data is in danger of being hacked and digitally robbed. As technology steps rapidly forward, hackers and online thieves keep pace, so business owners have to make all the necessary precautions to secure their clients’ data.
Why hacking small businesses?
Hackers whose hobby or job is stealing data on the Internet like attacking small businesses, because they think that way they will easily obtain social security numbers, credit card numbers and e-mail addresses. Why, you might ask? To sell them to whomever who might be interested in that kind of information.
Another feature that attracts hackers to small businesses is a widespread sloppiness in their approach to data security, often caused by their budget restrictions. The worst outcome of such a situation is that small businesses lose their clients’ precious data and, consequently, their trust.
Increase password awareness
Have you every opened an email account, trying to sign in, to find out that a colleague of yours is already signed in? Employees sometimes forget to sign out, in the middle of office chaos. However, it can lead to serious personal and business data leak. It can be prevented through a string of briefings on email and password awareness. Posting notes on everybody’s computer with a big “log out” title on them might also help in making people more aware of the danger behind such tiny mistakes.
Antivirus and antimalware coalition
A serious business owner will either form a special IT team to take care of the computers and software solutions for the business or outsource a professional company to do that. Servers and local personal computers cannot be left unprotected. It is like offering the data to hackers on a silver platter. Choose some of these protection solutions to ensure that everything that is downloaded or transferred to your computer is scanned with the most powerful antivirus tools.
Cloud storage and encryption
Some employers already keep all of their data online. Some of you might consider such a decision crazy, but they save a high amount of money by using affordable packages for online storage. Thanks to a wide range of cloud providers that have emerged over the last few years, businesspeople get attractive cloud offers. But before you decide to put your previous business data into a stranger’s hand, check out their reviews and other people’s experiences. If you want to get a backup support, encryption and a huge amount of online space, start using affordable and quality services offered by pCloud.
Check on third parties
Even if your own business IT systems are properly saturated with all the necessary security measures, it is still possible to become a victim of data theft, by hiring third parties. So, before you decide to hire another business for hardware or software maintenance of your business equipment, do a thorough inspection of their previous work. Only the most praised third parties should be gained access to your business premises and devices. Never fall for marketing tricks, but rely solely on facts. The guidelines issued by the Canadian government on outsourcing can be helpful for small businesses, as well.
Prevention is always less expensive than healing, especially in business terms, since in this field major flaws are usually untreatable. Failing to meet security standards would be like approving your own death penalty. In a nutshell – use our advice, search for additional tips and increase the online security of your business.
Dan Radak is a web hosting security professional with ten years of experience. He is currently working with a number of companies in the field of online security, closely collaborating with a couple of e-commerce companies. He is also a coauthor on several technology websites and regular contributor to Technivorz.
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