Cyber-crime has always been a threat to businesses and as the authorities close one loophole, the hackers create another; always looking for unprotected computers and networks that offer free pickings.
Some business owners have paid the ultimate price for ignoring cyber-security and we only get to hear about the big online hacks; thousands of cyber-crimes are committed daily in the US and with that in mind, here are a few cyber-security tips to help you combat cyber-crime.
- Change usernames and passwords often – You and all of your employees should change usernames and passwords on a monthly basis, which minimizes the risk of a password hack. Avoid short and easy passwords and NEVER use your date of birth.
- Professional network security – Talk to the Charlotte-based provider of the best network security solutions and you will never become a victim of cyber-crime. All cloud-based organizations should be using a managed cyber-security service with 24/7 support; they use ethical hackers to try and penetrate your defenses, which is the only way to be sure the network is 100% secure.
- Run a firewall – A firewall is yet another barrier that the hacker has to overcome and your network should have its own firewall that is monitored round the clock by cyber-security technicians.
- Back up daily – Remotely located servers are backed up every few minutes, ensuring that you don’t lose any data. We have all felt the pain and anguish when we lose the contents of a drive and most of us have learned to back up critical data as a matter of course. Here are a few ways that your business could save money.
- Educate your staff – It could be that some (or all) of your employees do not know the dangers of double-clicking on an unsolicited email attachment; set up an online course that takes about 2 hours to deliver and that will ensure that all your workers are doing what they can to protect the business data. There are companies that will train your staff in a virtual environment using Zoom and with this new knowledge, employees can have a better understanding of cyber-crime.
- Don’t allow unscanned USB drives to access your computers – A USB drive could contain a virus and when plugged into one of your office computers, it finds its way to the hard drive and will lay dormant until the time comes for it to do what it was designed to.
- Anti-virus database – The virus definition files in your anti-virus software need to be updated every few days, as new viruses are detected and added to the huge database. Failure to do this could lead to a new piece of malicious code getting past your defenses, as the software doesn’t recognize the code.
Should you ever become a victim of cyber-crime, you should report the incident to the FBI website, where action might be taken. All of the above will reduce the risk of having your data stolen and hopefully, you will never need to report a cyber crime.