Having a business with an online presence can be a great thing for any kind of set up. Whether you’re selling a product, service or anything else, it can be the difference between people seeing you and not. But being online comes with a higher risk of hackers, so how exactly do you make sure your business data is safe?
Risk Factors
There are plenty of do’s and don’ts on the internet when it comes to keeping your stuff safe. Firstly, we want to know how hackers are getting in, in the first place. Let’s look at some things that could lower your protection and create a ‘weakness’ in your network.
Network security is a big one in making sure that someone can’t access all your stuff. At home, if your wifi isn’t password protected this could be an easy way of someone being able to take a look at not only your business data, but any data from any device that is connected. The other thing you will want to check is that your router can’t be changed in any way, unless the person doing the changing is on your property.
This goes the same for working in a place with public wifi too. For example cafes with internet access. You can’t be sure who’s also connected, looking for ways into your devices.
Spam emails and phishing is a big way that hackers can gain access to your details. Data like usernames and passwords, or even client information can be obtained easily if you aren’t sure what to look out for.
What is phishing?
Well similar to fishing, a hacker casts out a series of lines, usually via email or direct message, pretending to be someone that would usually be deemed as safe. Because they are portraying someone who doesn’t pose a threat, links of attachments are automatically trusted and clicked on. This then gains the hacker access to your data.
In a work environment these attacks can be used to bypass security, where the hacker can then pose as the hacked employee to gain access to the wider network. Attacks are also far more elaborate these days and can really look like the real deal.
Misinformed or untrained employees also pose a risk to your business. This can be a big weakness in your business, as your employees can act like your first line of defence. Having them know what to look out for could be the difference between being hacked and not.
Another major weakness in companies is password security. You’d be surprised at how many people use ‘password’ as their password. Avoiding combinations of personal references, dates and hobby related passwords can help to make it harder for hackers to gain access to your accounts too.
What’s at stake?
You might be sitting there thinking, “well this will never happen to me, it hasn’t happened yet”. But this is where you fall into the vulnerable category. Especially for businesses (of all sizes) there can be a significant financial implication to a cyber attack. You could be asked to pay a ransom to get your data back or you could have credit card or bank details stolen. Worse than financial implications, you could lose your client data. This could not only cause you hassle in telling them of the breach, it also damages your reputation and may actually lose you clients.
All sounds scary right? Well it doesn’t have to be, you just have to be aware and take the proper precautions. Luckily for you, we have put together an excellent FREE downloadable guide which provides a 5 step plan to combating cyber crime! You can download that here.
If you would like any further help, or think your online front door could use a couple of technology bouncers, book your call with us to see what we can do for you.
