It goes without saying that your business is important. You and your employees depend on its success for your livelihood, and your customers value and trust you to keep their information safe. The internet has made it much easier to connect and do business, but unfortunately, it also has brought new threats along with its many improvements.
It’s estimated that cyber crimes will cost businesses and organizations a whopping $6 trillion annually in damages by 2021. In order to protect your business and minimize the risk cyber attacks pose to you, here are three ways to protect yourselves.
1. Keep Active With Your Anti-Virus Tools
Maybe you have a lot of computers in your office, and just have that one that you rarely ever turn on or connect to the internet. It seems like a hassle whenever you have to let it download an update due to how infrequently it’s used, but if it’s on your network, it can put you at risk.
The first line of defense in keeping malware and cyber threats from your business network is your anti-virus suite. If you’re neglecting it even once on a machine, it can become the weak link in your network and put every machine at risk. By keeping everything updated and current, you minimize this risk greatly.
2. Utilize Proper Password Management Techniques
Proper password management is important for everyone, but even more so when it comes to corporate business. It’s understandable wanting to save time when logging into multiple accounts on various websites, but having the same password and username puts you at risk for cyber attacks. Should one website you use get compromised and your details are similar with others, all those accounts could be put at risk.
Another good practice is to use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) as much as possible. 2FA requires you to verify your credentials with a mobile device when you log in or make changes to an account. Even if your password or account does get compromised, a cyber attacker won’t have your mobile phone. This fact can keep your most important accounts safe, making 2FA a good choice for your business.
3. Carefully Screen and Be Mindful of What You Click
By this point, it’s beyond obvious that not everything you come across on the internet is on the up and up. However, it’s incredible the lengths that scammers and unscrupulous marketers can go to to get you to click something. From spoofing URLs and email senders, and clickbait thumbnails, we’re at so much more risk than ever before when it comes to what we click. Try to think about what it is you’re going to click and where it came from.
A good practice is to check for HTTPS when visiting a URL. This is a secure socket layer (SSL) verification that ensures that the path between your browser and the server is secure. Many popular websites use this as it avoids leaking details to a third party unnecessarily.
When it comes to your business, your employees and your customers are constantly at risk when you leave yourself open to cyber attacks. Customer credit card details are often what attackers are looking for when they try to invade, but you should also keep yourself protected as well. Keeping up with the latest cyber prevention methods will help you in the long run.
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