Small Business Cyber Attacks
Don’t leave your small business vulnerable to a cyber attack.
Here’s what attracts cyber attackers: easy targets. Which means that you can leave your small business open to a cyber attack if you don’t protect your company’s Wi-Fi systems with passwords or if you trust in passwords that are ridiculously easy to guess. In a recent story detailing steps that business owners can take to safeguard themselves from cybercrimes, Entrepreneur Magazine suggests that you do the little things that might make most hackers move on to easier targets.
Encryption Matters
Entrepreneur recommends that you first encrypt all of your significant data, anything from bank routing numbers to credit-card account information to employee Social Security numbers. Hackers want to steal this data. It’s how they ultimately drain money from your small business. Entrepreneur’s advice? Turn on the full-disk encryption tools that are included with your computer’s operating systems. On Windows, this tool is labeled BitLocker. On Macintosh computers, it’s called FileVault. The tool, once activated, will encrypt every file and program on your drive.
The Lockdown Approach
Here’s a surprising fact from the Entrepreneur story: Many businesses become the target of cyber crimes only after burglars physically break into their offices and steal their laptops or other devices. Once armed with your equipment, cyber criminals can potentially access important company accounts and information. That’s why employees should, before leaving for the day, run a cable through the Kensington locks – the small metal loops attached to most computers and laptops – on their electronic devices and lock them to their desks. This may prevent some criminals, obsessed with completing their theft quickly, from bothering with the devices.
Wi-Fi Protection
Wi-Fi networks are often at risk from hackers. That’s why Entrepreneur Magazine suggests that businesses depend on wired networks preferably. But if your business clearly needs a Wi-Fi network, make sure to protect it with a complex password. Entrepreneur Magazine recommends a password made up of letters, numbers and symbols. Write down this password and hide it in a safe or other secure location.