Today, cybercrime is a hotter topic than ever before. There have been numerous occasions where businesses have fallen victim to cybercrime and hacking attacks and sadly, smaller companies are often bigger targets for cybercriminals since they are typically easier to breach with less stringent security measures in place. However, educating yourself and your employees on how to prevent cybercrime and how to recognize the signs of a potential attack can make all the difference. Here are some tips to keep in mind.
Work With an IT Company:
Many small businesses simply don’t have it in their budget to hire in-house IT professionals. As a result, regular members of staff are often tasked with taking care of IT and network security along with their regular job, which can often lead to problems. Not only are these employees often trained in an entirely different area altogether, but the fact that they are working on several different things at once can often be distracting and cause them to miss out on important signs. Outsourcing your IT to a reputable IT service provider is one of the most effective ways to ensure cybersecurity for your company without blowing the budget on an in-house team.
Communicate Openly:
Often, hacking attacks and data breaches occur because employees feel that there’s no need to mention something that they noticed that might not feel right. But often, cybercrime attempts don’t happen as they do in the movies. Sometimes the signs are very subtle and the only inclination that something is wrong almost goes unnoticed. As a result, employees often put things down to other reasons and don’t speak up about things that they might think could seem silly or unimportant. Make sure that employees understand the importance of open communication and that it’s always better to communicate about something that turns out to be nothing rather than keep quiet.
Check for Phishing:
Many people mistakenly believe that a phishing attack will be obvious. And some of the time, they really are. You know that a price from the other side of the world didn’t suddenly win the lottery and decide to give you a large sum of cash, neither did you have a long-lost great-aunt who so happened to be extremely wealthy and has made you a millionaire. But some phishing attacks can be very believable. They might look like they have been sent directly from your bank and once you’ve clicked on the email link asking you to log into your account, the hacker has your login details. They might be very convincingly from a senior member of staff who asks you to reset your password, and again once you’ve clicked on the link and done this, the hacker has it. Always verify the source of any messages you receive asking for information. You can use Nuwber to get more info using somebody’s email address or phone number.
Update Security Systems:
Many small businesses don’t have advanced security systems in place to protect from cybercrime. If your business is relying on software like antivirus programs and firewalls to protect against hacking attempts and data breaches, then it’s more important than ever to ensure that this software is kept up to date at all times. Set all software, operating systems, firewalls, and virus detectors to automatically update. Updates are hugely important since hackers are always finding new ways to get around security protocols and get into the system.