As more and more
businesses are storing greater amounts of confidential information
and data in cloud services the demand for more complex security
practices becomes clear. Although news headlines about security
breaches are more common in larger businesses, cyber crime is still a
very real threat for small businesses where arguably, online security
tends to be weaker. One issue is that smaller companies don’t have
the financial resources of the larger companies which in many cases
makes them an easier target for hackers. With this in mind, what can
small companies do to prevent cyber crime that won’t blow the budget?
Let’s take a closer look.
Install encryption
software
By encrypting company
documents and emails it creates another layer of protection. Most
cyber criminals are looking for easy access and just like a house
that looks to have good locks on the doors, most criminals will
bypass it for the house along the street who happens to have left
their windows open. This is exactly the same principle behind
encryption software. It’s cheap to purchase and it adds another layer
of protection.
Have strict password
procedures in place
One of the main factors
in the war on cyber crime is to have your most vulnerable asset on
board, and that’s your employees. So train them in the importance of
using smarter passwords. Show them the importance of creating longer
passwords with a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols and look to
change it every two-three months. In addition also hit home to your
team the importance of not having the same password over multiple
platforms and don’t store them on sticky notes around the office.
Watch for the
warning signs
You might also want to
spread the word about the warning signs of an harmful email. These
include emails that ask for personal or credit card information.
Requests for urgent action (think Nigerian email scamming in
particular) and emails that may contain suspicious attachments. If in
doubt you can always scan emails using trusted software such as AVG
or Avast.
Use reputable
malware/spyware software programs
If your business has
several computers, laptops etc, you might want to state a mandate
whereby each PC has spyware or malware detecting software installed.
This should eliminate any so called threats before they become
problematic.
At MA Security we’re
experienced in all aspects of security including cyber threats. Why
not let us carry out a security risk assessment on your business.
Here we can make recommendations and help you implement cyber
security measures that will give you peace-of-mind. Contact us on
1300 020 406 today and don’t become a victim of cyber-crime.
