Teach your employees well

Small business hacking is becoming more prevalent. The payoff isn’t as big but the opportunity is greater and security is lacking. Security firm Symantec reported in 2016 that 43% of cyber attacks were against small business. Small businesses have little in the way of security and employee training. They often have more to lose in the sense that they have less cash flow or all of their money is tied up in their business. Making them more likely to pay ransoms. (Ransomware is explained in more detail in our post-If you ever want to see your files again…)

Attacks can be as simple as rerouting the web address to a porn site, locking all of the computers for a ransom, all the way to hacking financial data and cleaning out bank accounts. More than half of the companies attacked were forced to go out of business. Maintaining sound computer security cannot be emphasized enough.

The website Small Business Trends, in an article posted January 3, 2017, stated that 48% of attacks are caused by an employee error. In addition to updating security software one of the biggest defenses owners can deploy is educating their employees on cyber attack indicators. The malware has to enter the system somehow. Simply clicking on attachments will send the virus into the network to do its work. The more stealthy viruses will enter the system without a show of existence. These are meant to mine data from the system. By the time you find the virus the bank accounts are fleeced.

Regularly train employees on different types of attacks and how to defend against them. Establish a policy for computer usage. Explain what is acceptable Internet use. Malware can be injected via email attachments or links to websites. These links can be introduced through email or social media. Demonstrate what a suspicious email, link, social media contact looks like. Practice solid password policies and change regularly. Encourage employees to speak up when something is suspicious and do not click on the suspicious activity.

Even if you do not think you store valuable data, although customer records are a valuable commodity, the chance of losing your business data or risking a financial attack is too great a chance to take.

See our blog archive for other posts relating to cyber security:

Scam Websites November 2016

If you ever want to see your files again…August 2016 

There’s been a breach February 2015