National Cyber Security Awareness Month

Pumpkin spice, Oktoberfest, candy, and online safety – October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. NCSAM is an annual campaign to raise awareness about the importance of performing the best practices of cybersecurity. And since 43 percent of cyber attacks target small businesses, it's imperative to protect your SMB with corporate-security policies and make sure all employees commit to them. Here are a few more tips to keep your business and employees safe while online.

Not Sharing Is OK: If your office frequently has visitors, they may ask to connect to your Internet. Instead of giving them access to your primary network, offer a separate network strictly for guests. This allows them to check their email, but not gain access to your internal network and upload any malware or viruses they may have on their computer, unbeknownst to them.

Lock Down Your Login: Although easy to remember, Password123 or LoveYou2 are not secure login credentials. Protect your key accounts by enforcing safe password practices such as complexity, minimum lengths, and expiration dates.

When In Doubt, Throw It Out: The quickest and easiest way for a business to fall victim to a cyber-attack is by not training employees to spot a phishing or malicious message. An email is probably not legitimate and should be deleted if it has one or more of the following clues:

  • Has poor spelling in the subject line or body.
  • Asks for personal information.
  • Seems too good to be true.
  • Asks you to send money.
  • Makes unrealistic threats.

Back It Up: The most valuable part of your business’ computer is the data stored inside. And losing your files due to a cyber-attack can cripple all your hard work and clients' trust. Therefore, if your files are valuable, back them up. And a backup plan does not have to be so complicated. Making frequent copies of important files to the cloud or a private server can help keep your business running after a computer failure or cyber-attack.

Keep The Bugs Out: Since new viruses are created and distributed daily, ensure that your anti-virus software is updated regularly. Sometimes, there are commercial tools that come pre-installed on new computers that require activation for a cost. If they aren’t activated, they stop receiving updates until they are.

If you are a business owner who worries about cybercrime, contact us today!