Posts Tagged ‘cybersecurity’
For what feels like forever now, just about everyone has been forced to modify priorities. As a business owner, you’ve probably been focused on shifting your business to accommodate this world crisis. You may even be investing more of your time in retaining customers and generating new cash flow. If you’re like most people out there, you’ve barely even had time to think about cyber security and protecting your important data.
Maybe you’ve heard the saying “Never let a crisis go to waste.” It’s as if cybercriminals wrote it because that’s exactly what they’re thinking right now. In fact, they’re probably working overtime right now to craft new malware while our lives have been turned upside down. Yes, as you’re focused on your business, hackers are finding new ways into your IT network. Their objective is to steal data and passwords, compromise your clients’ private information and even demand large ransoms.
Did you know that cybercrime is expected to cost $6 trillion by the year 2021? But, now is when hackers are expected to do their absolute most damage.
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A lot of you may be in a similar spot: You bought your computer four or five years ago. It’s still working, but you’ve noticed small issues that keep cropping up. Slowness might interrupt your workday from time to time. Your computer’s fan might be working overtime to keep its components cool. Though you’re still able to complete necessary tasks, your computer feels – for lack of better term – run down.
Why does this happen? Like all pieces of technology, computers have loosely-defined life cycles. For about four years, your computer tends to function normally. As it reaches the end of its life cycle, however, your computer begins to fail. You may notice some of the issues mentioned above, but more often than not, you won’t notice anything. Many computers don’t show overt signs of failure until it’s too late. This can leave you without key hardware during the times when you need it most.
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Smartphones have become essential parts of all of our lives. They act as extensions of ourselves, containing key information related to our work and livelihood. That makes smartphones a prime target for hackers; while we almost certainly use our smartphones to access sensitive data, they’re often a lot less protected than our computers and tablets. Taking small steps to ensure your phone is safe from cybercriminals is essential in keeping both your personal and business data secure. Here are a few simple ways you can protect your phone from dangerous hackers:
Update Your Phone and Apps
Just like you update your computer, you need to update your phone. Developers constantly update security patches. Like you, they want to stay ahead of the threats. Implementing these patches is of the utmost importance when it comes to cybersecurity.
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As you know, IT is essential; but in our experience, most company leaders grossly overpay for their IT department while simultaneously NOT getting the critical data protection and security they need. The fact is, IT is the “dark arts” for many company leaders. Leaders feel forced to trust that they are being treated fairly by their in-house IT department. Too often, we find that’s not the case.
During normal times, overpaying for an IT department is a survivable situation. Right now, however, we are FAR from normal, and every company leader must be not only extremely prudent with overhead and costs, but also HYPER vigilant to protect against a cybersecurity breach while employees are working remote with home PCs and unprotected networks.
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Hackers love to go after businesses for all sorts of reasons. Many don’t invest in good IT security, and often, business owners and their teams have bad cybersecurity habits. Here are five ways you may be increasing your risk of a cyber-attack (and what you can do to reduce your risk):
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Businesses are big targets for hackers and cybercriminals; many don’t have strong – or any – security in place. In so many cases, hackers don’t need to use malicious code to get what they want. Instead, they rely on an often-unseen vulnerability: your own employees.
The #1 threat to any business’s IT security is its employees. Oftentimes, it stems from a lack of training. Employees may therefore overlook threats, clicking unverified links in e-mail or engaging with other scams. Most of the time, these actions are simple mistakes. These mistakes, however, can result in major costs to your business.
