Most businesses do not place a high priority on passwords. Often, there is one generic password used by everyone for everything. If passwords are different, they are often written down in a spreadsheet that can be accessed by everyone.

This is a huge cybersecurity risk. So much of the work we do now relies on cloud-based tools that require passwords. This means that if someone can crack one of your passwords, they may way be able to access all of your online tools and wreak havoc with your system.

 

Cyber attacks cost businesses a fortune. Not only have you got the cost of lost productivity and the cost to recover your IT, your business may also suffer reputational damage and lose customers.

 

If you are using weak passwords or one generic password, you are literally asking to lose money. WIth that in mind, here’s what you need to know about weak passwords and how you can start generating stronger ones today.

 

What is a weak password?

There are many common passwords used by millions of people around the world. These include passwords like: 123456, password and qwerty.

 

These aren’t the only weak passwords, however. Any password that doesn’t have a combination of numbers and letters, is a whole word or is used for multiple logins is considered to be weak.

 

Why are these passwords bad?

The primary reason these passwords are bad is that they are easy to guess. When hackers attempt to break into an account, they’ll use a dictionary of common passwords and try thousands of passwords at a time. All of the most common passwords, as well as virtually every whole word variation, are included. This makes any password that is common or only uses letter susceptible to an attack.

 

Passwords that you use for more than one site, even if they are not as easy to crack are also considered poor. This is because once an attacker as one password, they have access to all of your accounts. If a hacker does manage to crack one of your passwords, you only want them to have access to a single account.

 

How to create stronger passwords

The key to creating strong passwords is to use a password generator. These are simple online tools that automatically generate a very secure password for you — and will very often store a record of it for you, too.

 

These strong passwords will contain a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and other symbols. The passwords will also be long, typically at least 8 digits and often longer. An example of strong password would be: 8Fhwf!f@fh3

 

This kind of password will take years to crack. If you are using a password generator to store complex passwords like these, make sure that it has the necessary security credentials to keep your information secure. The last thing you want is for a hacker to get access to all of your strong passwords in one go.

 

The New Year is always a great time for business owners to assess their IT needs. It’s the period where they upgrade, revamp, or realign their IT resources. The process can be daunting, but with the help of experts, business owners can successfully review their IT needs.

Assessing the IT budget

The New Year marks budget planning or budget release time for many businesses. Unknowledgeable business owners often complain of unexpected costs. This is the same reason they fail to come up with a specific IT budget plan.

At the start of the year, you can enlist the help of an IT provider to advise you about budgeting. Getting the perspective of an expert will give you a better idea of exactly what your business needs IT-wise.

You should always be realistic with your IT budget. Cutting costs will not do any good, especially for a growing business. Successful businesses allot a large chunk of the budget on IT expenses.

Conduct a complete audit

A New Year audit is a great way to spot redundant systems. First, set the audit scope and mobilize your department supervisors. Your IT provider can handle this process to limit the impact of the audit on your operation.

After conducting the audit, determine what devices or systems you need to update. Also, your IT provider can advise which IT resource has to go.

Don’t just look at the number of devices; pinpoint the inefficiencies that may hamper your productivity. Are your computers loading slowly? Do you need to add specific hardware to boost your employees’ performance?

Beef up your backup plan

Once you’re done checking your hardware, you should audit your backups as well. Your backups should be working automatically and sync to your local networks.

Check how financial and customer information backs up. These should have layers of protection to guard against a potential breach.

Ask your IT provider to provide a backup plan that can keep up with the growing needs of your business. You should also have a plan in place if your hardware backups fail or get damaged.

Personalize your business’ IT

There’s no one-size-fits-all in the IT industry. You should always customize your system to suit your operation and the industry you’re in. A managed IT provider will help you through the process. This involves procuring the necessary hardware, setting up your system, training your staff, and 24/7 monitoring.

Determining the gaps in your current system is the key to customizing your IT. Paired with the advice of an IT expert, your business will have a system that works.

Remember that an IT plan will only work if both the provider and the business owner are involved in the process. As much as your IT provider can run your system without management, you should always know what’s happening with your business.

Conclusion 

As a new year starts, business owners should utilize the first days in planning their IT infrastructure. Before everyone goes back to work, you have to ensure that the workplace is ready for another year of operation.

Your IT provider should make your operations more straightforward. But what if they do the opposite? Knowing when you should ditch an IT partner can be difficult. Most organizations stick to substandard services because they are afraid of change. While it’s true that re-hiring an IT provider is a tedious process, it’s for the best if the former doesn’t perform well anymore.

So when should you fire your IT provider? The following conditions are signs that it’s time to look somewhere else:

The provider has poor communication

IT problems can happen at any time. This is why your IT provider should always be reachable. If the provider doesn’t answer calls, takes days to respond to emails, or nowhere to be found, it’s time to give them the ax. You’re going to lose money every minute that a glitch remains unfixed.

You need a provider that will respond to you within the hour. Such a quick response will prevent the IT problem from worsening.

Tech problems linger

Recurring tech problems are signs that your IT problem isn’t competent enough for the job. You’re just paying for a substandard service that leaves you dealing with minor issues. What you need is comprehensive coverage that will deal with any tech issues, big or small.

If your IT provider fails to deal with tech problems, your employees have to go out of their way for workarounds. This means lower productivity.

Major glitches happen

The stability of your IT system says a lot about the kind of service your IT company provides. Recurring crashes and system errors will take its toll on your business. Worse, it will impact customer trust.

In this situation, it’s best to sever your ties with the IT provider. Look for another one that offers a specific plan for your IT system. It’s a guarantee that you’ll get the best value for your money.

Erratic and problematic billing

Due to busy schedules, it’s quite puzzling how business owners don’t check how much they pay their IT providers. A quick audit will show how much you’re losing for substandard solutions. You need scheduled and detailed billing, so you know where your money goes.

You shouldn’t trust an IT team that inflates charges whenever it suits them. Look for a provider that has a breakdown of expenses for full transparency.

Lack of good advice 

If your IT provider is only focused on fixing issues and not preventing them, you should consider looking for a different option. Perform some research and review your contract with your current provider.

Proactive solutions are critical for business owners. It limits the losses and downtimes of the operation. So if your IT provider doesn’t advise you or provide training for your staff, it might be time for the big switch.

Conclusion

Your IT provider should always be reliable and on top of any tech problems. If the team fails to respond or fulfill your business’ needs, you’re better off hiring a different partner. The change will impact your operation, but it will improve your bottom line.

Many business owners don’t have in-depth knowledge about their IT infrastructure. This leads to undiagnosed problems and recurring glitches.  Many are at a loss about what they should do in times of tech problems. Worse, temporary IT workarounds waste a lot of time and energy on the part of the employees.

For that reason, small business owners need to answer these questions:

Do I have backups in place?

Backups are indispensable, regardless of the size of your business. You should always make redundant backups, both offline and online. So if someone hacks your system, you won’t be left in shambles.

Backup files help you rebuild after a major downtime. If you don’t have any, you should prioritize this task as soon as possible.

When is the last time I updated the company’s security software?

You should make it a habit to update security software regularly. This will keep your system safe from hacking and other cyber threats. You should also utilize redundant layers of security to prevent hackers from infiltrating your business. Remember that outdated software is also the reason for slow-loading PCs and recurring crashes.

Updating is an easy task that your IT department can handle on its own.

What are the recurring glitches my employees experience?

Recurring tech errors are signs that something is wrong with your IT system. It also denotes a bigger problem in the future, like a major crash in your IT infrastructure.

When you recognize these minor problems, you can come up with solutions easily. Don’t wait until small problems become bigger before you act.

You can mobilize your department heads to identify these glitches and to communicate with your IT provider.

How much should I spend on IT?

Here’s a fact: more than half of small businesses barely have a budget for their IT. Most of the time, the IT department suffers from cost-cutting. This exposes the company to hacking, recurring IT woes, and other issues that will hinder productivity.

The next question here is how much you’re supposed to spend on IT. This varies across organizations, though experts estimate that small companies spend around 5% of their total revenue on IT.

As much as you want a stable IT system, you should never overspend.

How’s the speed of my business computers?

Slow-loading computers are tell-tale signs of malware. If you update your software, free up space, and the problem lingers, you have to tap an expert to help you out.

Malware goes unnoticed in many workplaces for months. Only when the damage has advanced that the employees will spot the threat. This can paralyze an organization’s operation.

How many people do I have in my IT department? 

Overstaffing your IT department is a no-no. In the long run, it will cost a lot with little returns. Unless you’re in the tech industry, it’s best to outsource your IT department to a managed service provider.

A managed IT service provider has experts who can audit, revamp, and maintain your IT system. They also provide proactive solutions to prevent major tech glitches at work.

Currently, 62% of all hacking incidents target small businesses. Experts believe that this will continue to rise as organizations continue to fail to prioritize data security. Remember that in the internet era, oil is no longer the most valued source; data is. Instead of panicking and worrying, know and understand the following points to increase your business’ security.

You can prevent most threats

The common causes of data breaches are poor email handling, a lack of password management, and the absence of security features. All of these are within your control. Proper staff training will reduce your risk of cyber threats.

You should teach your employees to spot phishing emails, malware, and hacking. With early diagnosis, you and your IT team can prevent the situation from escalating.

A data breach can cripple your business

Small businesses often try to cut the costs of their IT department. Although some can get by without a problem, it’s only a matter of time before a hacker gets into your system.

Some organizations that are hacked go out of business within six months. Others try to rebuild and recover from substantial losses and poor customer trust. This is tough. While you are rebuilding your business, your customers have probably gone elsewhere.

That’s why you must beef up your business security now before it’s too late.

The cloud is safer than you actually think

Many business owners have the notion that the cloud is unsafe for their files. The truth is that files stored locally are still exposed to the same level of risk as those in the cloud.

Often the risk is actually higher. Remember that cloud backups have bank-level security. Backups platforms test and refresh your files to guarantee that they are free of malware. This doesn’t happen if you only store your backups offline.

You should never shy away from encryption

Small businesses with no knowledge of data security often shy away from encryption. This data security process is very critical and necessary, much more so for organizations that handle personal information.

Encrypted files are not readable files. Hackers won’t be able to snatch information and use it against you. So even if your system gets held hostage, you’ll have some level of confidence since your files are encrypted.

Encryption paired with password protection offers a double layer of security that you can easily implement in your organization.

Emails are the common entry points of malware

According to cybersecurity experts, email spams are the leading culprits behind most cyberattacks. The notorious email attachment I LOVE YOU or Love Bug worm caused $10 billion worth of damage back in 2000. Other examples include Zeus back in 2007 and Petya in 2016. All of these email malware will wreak havoc in your business.

Experts say that the lack of knowledge in handling emails is the common cause of hacking. People download these files and unknowingly spread them to other computers. In a workplace setting, such malware can paralyze the entire operation.