Tip of the Week: Improvement Needed to Avoid Cybercrime

Did you know that almost 90 percent of small business owners feel they are completely safe from attack? It’s unfortunate, but the truth of the matter is that half of these businesses will eventually be proven wrong--they too can suffer from a cyberattack. Are you going to risk becoming one of them? You should know now that there is no reason to.

The good news is that you don’t have to lie down and accept defeat at the hands of cybercriminals. If you take precaution now, the chances of your business being struck by a cyberattack are lessened considerably. If you fail to take action now, you could be among the organizations that are forced to close up shop as a result of a breach. It’s estimated that half of the companies that suffer from a cyberattack will be out of business within six months, and if you don’t prepare for it now, you could be next.

Here are a few tips that can help your business withstand cybersecurity attacks:

• Implement updates: Updates aren’t meant to be an inconvenience, but it can sure seem like it at times. By properly maintaining your organization’s software, you’ll have a better chance of succeeding against enemy threats.
• Involve your employees: Employees are one of the biggest entry points for cyberthreats, so it’s natural that you involve them in the conversation surrounding security. Take the time to train them on security best practices to ensure they don’t make a slip-up that costs your organization dearly.
• Limit user access: If an employee has access to more data than they need to do their job properly, then your organization is potentially exposing more information than necessary to danger. Even if you trust your employees, there’s no reason anyone should have access to financial records or personal information unless they need it for their job, like human resources or accounting. Furthermore, you should have a separate Wi-Fi account made exclusively for your visitors. This keeps your network separate from others who have no business accessing it.
• Maintain data backups: In a worst-case scenario, you’ll be glad to have data backups to help you get back in action following a data loss incident. Whether your data is stolen, destroyed, or corrupted, a data backup is critical to the success of any preventative security strategy. Be sure that your data backup solution is cloud-based, encrypted, and password-protected.

Does your business need security assistance or data backup services? Computerware can help. To learn more, reach out to us at (703) 821-8200.