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5 Cybersecurity Tips for Small Businesses (Part 2)

In 4 Cybersecurity Tips for Small Businesses (Part 1), I previously shared about cybersecurity. It includes creating better passwords, setting restrictions, and so on. For this blog post, I will discussed more helpful tips for small businesses.

5. Plan for any Data Breach that May Happen

For this step, you may want to consult an IT staff. Perhaps, you may want to seek the advice of I.T. service providers like Omnipotech. Because cyber attacks keep increasing and increasing, it is recommended to prepare for the worst case scenario. For instance, backing up your data really helps in case data loss may happen.

6. Hack Your Own System

To check whether an outsider can easily get in your network, it is best to hire someone who look for these vulnerabilities and weaknesses. An IT consulting firms, like Omnipotech, can help you do a technical audit. now to audit your system in search of weaknesses. From there, you can think of better solutions or come up with better ways to connect with your clients.

7. Set Up a Firewall

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a blog post called Cybersecurity for Small Business, and in that article, they specifically said,

A firewall is a set of related programs that prevent outsiders from accessing data on a private network.

The FCC recommends to all small businesses to create a firewall as a barrier between important company data and cybercriminals. Aside from having an external firewall, other companies also install internal firewalls to add another layer of protection.

8. Back Up Important Data

Yes, these to security measures prevent cyber attacks as possible, but there is no such thing as a perfect defense. You can still be breached regardless of extreme caution. The U.S. Small Business Administration reminds businesses to back up the data on all computers.

Important data include financial statements, invoice, spreadsheets, and other financial files. Do not forget to save word processing documents, databases, human resources files, and other company data. If possible, set up an automatic weekly back up, and store these files on another location. Keep it away from water and/or fire hazards.

9. Install Anti-Malware Software

Don’t leave it all to chance. It’s easy to say that your employees know what they are doing. They could have, unknowingly, opened phishing emails. Perhaps, they thought it was just another harmless email.

In fact, Verizon’s Data Breach Report indicated that 30 percent of employees admitted to opening phishing emails. Once these malicious emails are clicked, malware can quickly spread on the employee’s computer. Thus, it is extremely important to have anti-malware software.

If you can and if budget permits, install an anti-malware software on all devices using the company network. According to an article posted on Entrepreneur.com, phishing attacks go after certain employees. They target anyone who has access to confidential data from executives to human resources.

Conclusion

Cybersecurity should not be the last item on your security checklist. In fact, it should be the utmost priority of any business. Contact Omnipotech Support Center now to learn about the different cybersecurity solutions that you can add to protect your business.

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4 Cybersecurity Tips for Small Businesses (Part 1)

Often times, we often hear about data breaches on the news. These may involve huge corporations and government offices being hacked. However, the truth is that all businesses are vulnerable to attacks. Whether you manage a big or a small company, you can still be a victim of hacking and data breach.

Unfortunately, small businesses are prone to being hacked because these companies are not well protected. It may be because of the lack of resources or lack of employees to handle the cybersecurity division.

Hackers can get into big companies without a hitch. What is gonna to stop them from going for the small fishes in the sea? Small companies are easy money for these hackers because they cannot afford a tight level of online protection. With that being said, I will list some cybersecurity tips that every small business can apply.

1. Create Better Passwords

The first thing to do create strong password to protect your devices and your network. This step should be mandatory, and do not even try to implement “temporary” weak passwords.  If you have a secure network, you should follow strict standards.

Strong passwords are needed, and the one should change/update on a regular basis. Apply certain policies in order to avoid any accidental sharing of passwords even to co-workers.

2. Set Certain Restrictions

Next, you should not only depend on passwords. A secure defense contains layers upon layers of security. This is to avoid any sensitive data safe from going out. This means you should limit the access of certain information. In addition, you should put extra layer of password, encryption, and more.

3. Monitor the Devices Used

Being a newbie, your business cannot afford getting laptops and personal computers at the time being. Naturally, your starting group of employees will have to use personal devices when working.

To make sure that company data won’t leak, it will help if you install a monitoring software on their devices. Implement rules to make sure the devices are secured such as installing security updates, and changing passwords from time to time.

These are security measures in order to protect your business. Hence, you have to clearly explain to your employees that this is not invasion of privacy. You just being careful especially if employees may put the business at risk while using their own devices.

4. Train Your Employees About Cybersecurity

Even if you apply the best cybersecurity solution there, your employees can unknowingly trigger a data breach. So, train your employees regarding the repercussions of their actions. Hence, you have to make sure that all your employees learn on how to properly use company resources with compromising security. Lastly, they should know that security should be the top priority.

Level up your cybersecurity!

Cyber attacks are NO joke, and you should not take it lightly. These cyber criminals can bring down businesses if they want to. Luckily, you can protect your business with the help of IT service providers such as Omnipotech. It’s about time to take cybersecurity very seriously!

 

More on 5 Cybersecurity Tips for Small Businesses (Part 2)

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Network Security Threats and the 4 Ways to Protect Yourself

In the past, I have talked about the Mobile Security Threats that You NEED to Know About and I also shared some tips on What You Can Do to Avoid Mobile Security Threats?

For this blog post, I will focus on the most common network security threats. Let’s all face it; the Internet connects us in a convenient way, breaking geographical boundaries. However, it also brings us closer to various threats.

Like most companies, your business probably manages loads of data on a daily basis. According to the 2017 Cost of Data Breach Study: Global Overview, data breach could happen in 1 out of 4 companies. You could be the next victim!

In 2017, the average cost of a data breach is $3.62 million. With the advancements in technology, it is safe to say the costs keep getting higher and higher each year. The good news is that you can do something to prevent data breach.

Network Security Threats

First, let us discuss the network security threats your company face. Here are the most common threats:

Now that you know the numerous network security threats, the question is… how do you protect your business data?

4 Tips in Protect Your Company

These are the 4 ways you can improve on your company’s overall network security.

  1. Strengthen the Access Control

  • Outsiders can access your data because of weak security. Therefore, strengthen the control measures by applying strong passwords.
  • Follow the basic password guidelines such using a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters. Next, passwords should not be as short as possible. In fact, the longer, the better.
  • Lastly, never use default passwords. Reset them so that you can create a unique password instead.

  1. Remember to Update Your Software

  • Updates are important to your network’s health. That is why people can access your network because of its outdated state. So, keep everything current from your antivirus to your operating systems.
  • The updates are there to fix the previous issues such as potential vulnerability. So, embrace these updates to maintain a secure wall of defense.

  1. Set a Uniform Software

  • Your company should use one standard tool to isolate attack. What I mean here is that your employees should not use any browser they like. For instance, computers are installed with Firefox plus some privacy add-ons. Then, here goes one employee installing Chrome without approval. This cannot be!
  • Make sure the computers all have the same: operating system, web browser, extensions, multimedia player, and so on.

  1. Conduct an Employee Training

  • External threats can happen because of an internal flaw. An employee could have indirectly given away or hinted a password. So, make sure your employees understand the fundamentals of network security.
  • All of them should know what is risky (and what is not) to your network. This is to avoid unnecessarily comprising the security protocol. Give a security training at least once a year to keep your employees updated about the recent trends.

A Dependable Company for Your Cybersecurity Needs

There are team of experts willing to help you have the proper network security. For all your I.T. needs, Omnipotech is the name you can trust. Contact Omnipotech Support Center now to learn more about the cybersecurity solutions that we provide. The number to call is 281-768-4800!

 

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The Top 3 Trends Impacting Cybersecurity Right Now

By 2021, Cybersecurity Ventures estimated that the cost of cybercrime damages would be $6 trillion, an increase from $3 trillion in 2015’s forecast.

Huge companies aren’t the only ones at stake here. In Verizon’s 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report, they revealed that 43% of the cyber threats involved small businesses. The worst part? Cyberattacks continue to flourish, and according to the insurance provider Hiscox, businesses would roughly need $200,000 to combat it. In this blog post, we will discuss the top 4 trends impacting cybersecurity in 2020.

Mobile Malware

  • According to ZDnet.com, mobile malware was the most common threat last year. This is not a surprise, knowing that mobile users are continuing to rise. In fact, Statista predicts that there will be around 3.5 billion smartphone users worldwide by 2020. With these numbers expected to continually increase, malware attack would be a growing problem for many.
  • One of the popular types would be banking malware. Hackers everywhere are developing apps that would pretend as the real deal when, in fact, these aren’t legitimate apps.
  • In 2015, there were already over 1.6 million malicious installations designed to creep in mobile devices and collecting personal data such as bank information, password, and other login details.
  • Kaspersky Lab found a wide array of 30,000 banking-based malware, which were targeting 312,235 users. Mobile malware grew in numbers and, likewise, grew in landscape. You see, in 2018, banking trojan malwares were only part of the 1.85% of all the mobile attacks. However, as earlier as the first quarter of 2019, banking malware was already the culprit of 3.24% mobile threats.
  • Not only that, Kaspersky Lab also found out that Asacub, a specific malware that affects 58.4% of all banking attacks, was trying to infiltrate the mobile devices of 8,200 users each day. That’s just in 2019 alone!

Security in Cloud Computing

  • Everyone is moving to cloud computing. Many businesses opted to migrate to an online store instead of maintaining a brick and mortar store. Perhaps, they would want to tap a different demographic, or they simply want to start anew. However, businesses on the cloud are susceptible to data breaches.
  • Without understanding the solutions of these cloud computing tools, businesses could be vulnerable to threats. Big-time players in the business world – the popular streaming service Netflix, and the American multinational automaker Ford Motor Company – were not safe from such large-scale threats. A cloud backup provider hired by these companies exposed their data storage repository out in the open.

The Use of Automated Tools

  • As technologies continue to evolve, it’s not only the businesses that adapt. Attackers cope with it too! Cybercriminals are also keeping up with the changing times through the use of automated tools. With such tools, it’s easy to evade security measures and manage to steal.
  • In 2019, the Sophos MTR Team has uncovered that the cybercriminals have been automating their attacks in order to stealthily gain initial access. Once they have officially compromised the environment, they will shift to using traditional methods in order to identify crucial information such as the data vault, the backup servers, and other relevant files.
  • They continue to survey the environment until such a time that the attackers, eventually, mimic the style and behavior of the legitimate administrator. Businesses would not even notice such suspicious activity because it seems part of the normal and everyday routine.

 

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