You can protect your business from a cyber attack
Business Technology | April 9, 2013
Here’s what attracts cyber criminals: easy targets. This means that you can leave your small business exposed to a cyber attack if you don’t protect your company’s Wi-Fi systems with passwords or if you trust in passwords that are ridiculously simple to guess. In a current story outlining steps that small business owners can take to safeguard themselves from cybercrimes, Entrepreneur Magazine advises that you do the small things that might make most hackers move on to easier targets.
Encrypt your Data
Entrepreneur recommends you first encrypt all of your significant data, everything from bank routing numbers to credit-card account information to employee Social Security numbers. Hackers want to steal this data. It’s how they eventually drain money from your small business. Entrepreneur’s advice? Turn on the full-disk encryption tools that are included with your computer’s operating systems. On Windows, this tool is labeled BitLocker. On Macintosh computers, it’s known as FileVault. The tool, once activated, will encrypt every file and program on your drive.
The Lockdown Approach
Here’s a surprising fact from the Entrepreneur story: Many businesses end up being the target of cyber crimes only after burglars physically break into their offices and steal their laptops or other devices. Once equipped with your equipment, cyber criminals can easily access important company accounts and information. That’s why employees should, before leaving for the day, run a cable through the Kensington locks – the small metal loops attached to most computers and laptops – on their electronic devices and lock them to their desks. This might prevent some criminals, obsessed with completing their theft quickly, from bothering with the devices.
Wi-Fi Vulnerability
Often the easiest way for cyber thieves to gain access to your company accounts is thru your business’ Wi-Fi network. That’s why Entrepreneur Magazine suggests that you do away with Wi-Fi completely and instead install a wired network. If you can’t do that, at least protect your Wi-Fi accounts with passwords that are hard to crack. A good bet? Long passwords made up of a combination of letters, numbers and symbols.
Here’s what attracts cyber criminals: easy targets. This means that you can leave your small business exposed to a cyber attack if you don’t protect your company’s Wi-Fi systems with passwords or if you trust in passwords that are ridiculously simple to guess. In a current story outlining steps that small business owners can take to safeguard themselves from cybercrimes, Entrepreneur Magazine advises that you do the small things that might make most hackers move on to easier targets.
Encrypt your Data
Entrepreneur recommends you first encrypt all of your significant data, everything from bank routing numbers to credit-card account information to employee Social Security numbers. Hackers want to steal this data. It’s how they eventually drain money from your small business. Entrepreneur’s advice? Turn on the full-disk encryption tools that are included with your computer’s operating systems. On Windows, this tool is labeled BitLocker. On Macintosh computers, it’s known as FileVault. The tool, once activated, will encrypt every file and program on your drive.
The Lockdown Approach
Here’s a surprising fact from the Entrepreneur story: Many businesses end up being the target of cyber crimes only after burglars physically break into their offices and steal their laptops or other devices. Once equipped with your equipment, cyber criminals can easily access important company accounts and information. That’s why employees should, before leaving for the day, run a cable through the Kensington locks – the small metal loops attached to most computers and laptops – on their electronic devices and lock them to their desks. This might prevent some criminals, obsessed with completing their theft quickly, from bothering with the devices.
Wi-Fi Vulnerability
Often the easiest way for cyber thieves to gain access to your company accounts is thru your business’ Wi-Fi network. That’s why Entrepreneur Magazine suggests that you do away with Wi-Fi completely and instead install a wired network. If you can’t do that, at least protect your Wi-Fi accounts with passwords that are hard to crack. A good bet? Long passwords made up of a combination of letters, numbers and symbols.