Archive for Cybersecurity

Think about some of your private accounts right now. Chances are that you have an email account, social media accounts, bank account and more that are all password protected. Do you share passwords across different accounts, and are your passwords strong enough to keep cybercriminals away from your private information? If not, it might be time to evaluate.

Passwords offer the first line of defense when someone tries to access your sensitive information. Without passwords, anyone could gain access to your social media account, which could provide them with personal information that could be used to harm you. Even worse, bank accounts would be easily accessible to cybercriminals hoping to rob you of your funds.

While many personal accounts are password-protected, your business accounts also need to be properly secured. But this doesn’t just exclusively apply to you – it needs to be understood on a company-wide level. Every employee needs to use passwords to keep sensitive business information secure. Think about the damage a cybercriminal could do to your business if they gained access. They would permanently damage your business’s reputation while also putting your employees’ and customers’ private information at risk.

However, it’s not enough to simply put a password in place. The passwords you choose need to be complex. But what makes a password complex? A complex password will utilize a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, punctuation and special characters. Additionally, your password should not be related to any personal information, nor should you use dictionary words. Your password should be incredibly difficult for someone to guess, even if they know you well, but you also need to ensure that your password is something you can remember.

But even with a complex password, it’s likely still not enough protection. Each of your accounts and devices  should have a unique password that hasn’t been used anywhere else. If you use the same password across all accounts and devices, you’re opening yourself up to a pretty extreme cyber-attack if one of your accounts is compromised. All a cybercriminal needs to do is hack your Facebook page, and they will have the password for your bank accounts and email.

You might think that it’d be impossible to remember so many different complex passwords, but software is available that can help. The best way to keep track of your passwords is to use a password manager. With a password manager, you only have to remember one master password, and the software keeps track of the rest. It will even help you create complex passwords for your different accounts to ensure that your information is as protected as possible.

If you oversee a team of employees, then it’s vital that they understand why creating strong passwords is so important. Your team should have training on cyber security practices, including information on creating  passwords. If just one employee fails to create a complex and unique password, it could open you up to a cyber-attack.

Creating strong passwords does not have to be difficult. If you’re struggling to remember or create strong passwords, use a password manager. Strong passwords will help keep your sensitive information protected.

Read about all our cybersecurity solutions here.

It’s back-to-school season! Soon, our kids will return to the classroom, where they will relearn the information from the prior school year to ensure that they were able to retain that knowledge. There’s nothing wrong with needing a refresher, and this is true for both students and your employees.

If your staff has not had a refresher course on your company’s cybersecurity practices sometime in the last year, now is the perfect time to get them up to speed. After all, they can’t defend themselves from cyberthreats if they don’t know how. That’s why it’s so important that your team has bought into a cyber-secure culture and is aware of potential threats that could impact your business.

Cyberthreats come in all shapes and sizes, but an overwhelming majority of successful cyber-attacks can be attributed to human error, which is the main reason your employees need cyber security refresher training at least once a year. A lack of training can open your business up to hackers and other cyber-attacks by way of phishing e-mails, weak passwords, unsafe browsing and more – which jeopardizes your entire company. Additionally, in many cases, insurance won’t cover your claims if your employees have not undergone regular training. Finally, customers usually don’t want to do business with a company that isn’t keeping their information protected. It doesn’t matter how big or small your business is – you must make an effort to ensure that all of your employees have gone through cyber security training. However, if you’ve never trained your team on cybersecurity and are unsure of which topics to cover, don’t worry because we’ve put together a list of the most important topics to discuss.

Password Security

Nearly every employee at every company has their own login to access the company’s systems, data or Internet. When selecting the passwords for this login, employees need to use strong, unique passwords that utilize letters, numbers, punctuation and other special characters and are not shared between accounts. You should also ensure that your employees regularly change their passwords. For an extra layer of security, you can utilize multifactor authentication so you’ll know that those logging into an account are who they claim to be.

E-mail

Your employees should be cautious of any e-mails that come from addresses outside of the company. When your employees go through their e-mail, they should not open e-mails from people they don’t know or have not communicated with in the past. Unless they know exactly where the e-mail has come from, they should not open any links or attachments within it.

Social Media

An employee’s personal accounts should never be set up through a company e-mail address. When posting on social media, your employees should be cautious about what they post in regard to work. They shouldn’t disclose private information about your company or your clients on social media. If they did, it could be devastating to your company’s reputation as well as your cybersecurity.

Protecting Company Data

At the end of the day, your cybersecurity practices are in place to protect company and client data, and your employees have a legal and regulatory duty to protect sensitive information. A reckless disregard for protecting company information can quickly cause your company to go under and has the potential to bring forth lawsuits.

Establishing strong cybersecurity practices and ensuring your team is aware of them through training is the best way to protect your business from cyberthreats. By implementing training on these four topics, you’ll be on your way to developing a cyber-secure culture.

In May, the Colonial Pipeline was hit by a cyber-attack that disrupted fuel supplies along the East Coast for several days. The company – and the FBI – paid hackers $4.4 million in Bitcoin to regain control of the system.

Colonial Pipeline was not the only corporation that paid hackers an exorbitant amount of money. The NBA, Kia Motors and JBS Foods have also been victimized by cyber-attacks where hackers demanded millions of dollars. CD Projekt RED, a Polish video game developer, was also a victim of a cyber-attack, but since they had backups in place, they never had to pay the demanded ransom.

Across the world, hackers are targeting and exploiting security weaknesses and holding data hostage.

While these are all big organizations, that does not mean that small and medium-sized businesses are safe. These stories made the news because companies paid millions of dollars to regain control of their data. When a small or mid-size business (SMB) gets attacked, they can’t pay millions of dollars to recover stolen information. Instead, these hackers will usually go after customer and employee information as well as financial records and statements. When a hacker attacks an SMB, it often ends in the business closing their doors for good.

The year 2021 set a record for cyber-attacks, and 2022 is shaping out to be no different. If you’re a business owner, you need to wake up to the reality of cyberthreats and cyber security before it’s too late.

Here are a couple of the best cybersecurity practices you should put into place immediately.

Hire A Managed Services Provider for Your IT Needs

Cybersecurity awareness has grown over the past five years, but there are still plenty of SMB owners who think there is no need for cyber security measures or that they’re too expensive. The simple truth is that every business can be a victim of cyber-attacks. If you think it’s too expensive to have your own IT team watching over your cyber needs, think again. Hiring an MSP is one of the best and most cost-effective ways to ensure that your network and information are protected.

MSPs can be incredibly beneficial to any business. They’re designed to recognize and fix weak points in your IT infrastructure. MSPs work proactively to ensure that your business is fully protected in the cyberworld. They offer around-the-clock monitoring, data backup and recovery, firewall and network protection, real-time threat prevention and so much more. MSPs provide you with a dedicated team of IT professionals who are available to assist with any IT needs. If you have not investigated hiring an MSP for your business, you need to consider it.

If you’re interested in hiring an MSP or want more information about the benefits, reach out to us and we will assist with any concerns or questions you may have.

Create A Cyber-Secure Culture

Many cyber-attacks stem from employee error or misunderstanding. You need to make sure that all your employees are aware of the risks associated with cyber-attacks. When you first hire an employee, train them on cybersecurity. In addition to this, your current employees should go through a reminder course at least once a year.

You’ll need to inform your employees about the dangers of phishing e-mails and texts, downloading malware, social media scams and improper password protection. If you have employees working remotely, you should ensure that their devices have security measures built into them. If your employees are informed about the risks, they will be more observant so they can spot any potential threats. Your entire team needs to buy into the cyber-secure culture if you want your training to be effective.

In today’s day and age, you can never be too careful when it comes to your cybersecurity. You need to be proactive and put into effect all of the security measures you possibly can. The year 2021 saw cyber-attacks reach new heights, and it’s likely that these numbers will continue to rise even higher this year. Take preventive action and don’t let your business add to the cyber-attack statistics. If you’re unsure of where to begin when it comes to buffing up your cybersecurity practices, give us a call, and we will be glad to help.