Small businesses are extremely vulnerable to cyber attacks. Symantec’s latest Internet Security Threat Report discovered that over 40% of cyber attacks target small businesses, and about 60% of the affected companies lose their business within 6 months of the attack.
These numbers are rather alarming. What makes small businesses so attractive for hackers?
Small businesses tend to have a smaller budget and less manpower for cyber security measures. While large corporations can pay for the most expensive anti-malware software and even employ cyber security officials, small businesses don’t have this luxury.
Small businesses are often the means and not the end: hackers see them as an entryway to large companies.
But what’s the point of hacking into a small business that has less valuable data than a big corporation? Unfortunately, small businesses are often the means and not the end: hackers see them as an entryway to large companies.
If a cyber attack against a small business is successful, the hacker has a higher chance of compromising the cyber security of a large company, since they can operate from a source trusted by the corporation.
But even if the ultimate target of the cyber attack is your business, you can still lose a lot of money and valuable data, along with your customer’s loyalty, trust, and ultimately your reputation.
Luckily, there are steps you can take to protect your business against cyber attacks. Don’t worry about the costs: most of these solutions are either low-cost, or completely free.
Most email platforms have a two-step verification process. This means that if a person tries to log into an email account, providing their password will only be the first step.
Make sure your employees have all turned on their two-step verification.
After that, the system sends a code to a trusted phone number or another email address, and the person trying to log in has to enter this code in order to gain access.
Make sure your employees have all turned on their two-step verification. Even though it may seem annoying and slow, it ensures that no third party can log in without the owner of the account being alerted.
And preventing a cyber attack is definitely worth the extra two seconds of log-in trouble.
Your small business’ wifi password is its first line of defense against cyber attacks. If your passwords are something like “wifipassword” or “mycompanyrocks”, change them immediately to something more difficult to decipher.
A safe password is longer than ten characters, contains random numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters, and special characters. Even so, it’s best to change your passwords periodically to ensure maximum cyber security.
Invest in anti-malware software. There are free platforms, like Avast, but if you have some cash to spare, it’s a sensible choice to buy anti-malware software to protect your business against cyber attacks.
Build another wall of security around your small business’ most sensitive data. Encrypting your customer files, bank account info, etc. allows you to require another password before someone can gain access to your most sensitive data.
Your small business’ employees can do a lot to prevent a cyber attack. Devise a strong cyber security policy and make sure all your employees follow it.
Train your employees not to open any suspicious emails and attachments
Train your employees not to open any suspicious emails and attachments, to avoid potentially harmful websites, and always report anything out of the ordinary.
If you need a little help, check out this free tool that allows you to check if a website is contaminated with any malware.
Unsurprisingly, money transfers are one of the most targeted business processes. Bank wires, especially international ones have many vulnerabilities that allow hackers to get in and hijack your funds.
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