Cyber crimes are becoming more frequent than before. A recent report by McAfee has estimated the cost of cyber crimes to businesses to be 400 billion dollars worldwide! Can you imagine that! You might be owning a small or mediums size online business thinking that cyber crimes only target the big companies. That’s false! In fact, the opposite is true. You only hear of large enterprises attacked because let’s face it; they command more attention because of their size and the number of people such an attack affects than their smaller counterparts. Nowadays, cyber criminals capitalize on such a misplaced assumption by business owners.
Well, the bottom line is that you are not safe but you can still protect your business from the escalating number of cyber-attacks. The following pointers will help you prevent such cyber-attacks on your business.
Installing SSL certificates
Install SSL is a basic security to prevent phishing and eavesdropping activities. SSL secures online communication that passes between the server and the browser with strong encryption. It secures credit card details, login forms and other date transfers. Thus, third person will not able to intercept ongoing communication. Once you have SSL on your website, it will have HTTPS instead of HTTP against domain name in address bar along with green padlock.There are many types of SSL Certificates like Domain Validation, Extended Validation, Organization Validation etc, so always choose the SSL Certificate as per you business need.
Cyber security training
One of the most common methods hackers use to commit a cyber crime is through your employees. Any employee with login access to your website is a potential portal to access your data. For this reason, training your staff on cyber security is vital in preventing such attacks. Companies that train their employees on facets of cyber crime have witnessed a reduction in the number of cyber attacks hence data breaches.
Strong Passwords
Passwords have increasingly become easily hackable. This is because of the nature of our passwords. Simple passwords, for example, ones containing numbers only or letters alone are the easiest to hack. Combining numeric, alphanumeric and symbols in your password makes it a little bit harder for hackers to hack your systems. Regular password change should also be routine, to ensure that passwords are always safe.
Software updates
Keeping all your software updated will also solidify your security. Outdated software leaves huge gaps in your defense mechanisms making your business vulnerable to cyber crimes. So, always take keen note all the notifications from the software developers and act on them accordingly. Outdated software might be the only crack the hacker needs to commit cyber crime.
Professional help
Hiring a professional to work on your business security might seem costly, but it is nothing compared to the loss you will suffer if hacked. Security experts alias ethical hackers are your best shot at knowing where your defenses are weakest. Once they discover the weakness they will help you put up a stronger wall. Large companies such as Facebook have embraced this approach and it has gone a long way in making their defenses close to impenetrable.
Conclusion:
Work on your defenses. Preparedness is your ultimate weapon against cyber attacks. Since cyber attacks is now a global issue, you cannot afford to ignore its existence. Start with the basic ones such as installing an SSL certificate on your website then you can move onto other advanced strategies to defend against cyber-attacks.
The first step is to use LICENSED software and stop using pirated ones. The main culprit is piracy. Microsoft knew about the loophole in their software and released the patch in March 2017. The WannaCry Ransome is exploiting exactly that loophole. All the users who didn’t updated their systems and the one using pirated are like “Open for All”.
Shame to know that many of the banks didn’t update their servers. They have a freaking dedicated team of IT professionals to do the job. As of now, from two days all the ATM machines are closed, as they are “Updating Software”.
Excellent article and tips on preventing cyber attack! This is especially timely with all the cyberattacks going on around the world from that leaked NSA exploit that is in the news.
I agree that complex passwords are an important thing, and I would like to suggest LastPass for those of us who are too lazy to remember a password, LOL!
Thanks for sharing such an informative article. I absolutely agree that investing in the training of your employees and making them aware is essential. Will wait for more articles like this!