Think your small business is safe from cyber criminals? Rethink it. Most small businesses are surprisingly vulnerable to hackers. It’s relatively easy for savvy cyber criminals to hack into your business’ Wi-Fi account, for instance. From there, it’s easy for cyber criminals to steal your company’s data and money. Luckily for us, Entrepreneur Magazine recently ran a story providing tips for small business owners who wish to shield their companies from hackers. The good news? Combating cyber crimes quite often requires the simplest of steps.
Encryption Matters
The best defense against hackers? Encrypt your data. This makes it more difficult for cyber criminals to access your company’s bank accounts, employee information and credit-card data. Hackers can crack encryption if they’re talented enough. Most will see encrypted data and just move on to an easier target. Best of all, it’s easy to encrypt your computer data. Simply turn on the full-disk encryption tool that comes with your computers’ operating systems. This tool is known as FileVault on Macintosh computers and BitLocker on those powered by Windows. Once these tools are switched on, it will encrypt every file or program on your computers’ drives.
Lockdown
Most computers have a Kensington lock port, a small metal loop that users can run a cable through to lock them to their desks. If you wish to truly protect your business, require that your employees take this protection measure. It may sound silly, but the Entrepreneur story said that businesses are often hacked after burglars break in and steal laptops and other devices. A cable strapping a laptop to a desk won’t stop all thieves. Nonetheless it might scare away those who want to strike especially quickly.
Wi-Fi Vulnerability
Many hackers break into the Wi-Fi networks operated by businesses. That’s why it is crucial for businesses to protect these networks with passwords that are improbable for hackers to crack, typically long codes featuring numbers, symbols and letters. Of course, such passwords are difficult for you to try to remember, too. Solve the problem by recording your passwords and keeping them in a locked safe or some other secure location.