If you had to list the greatest threats to your small business, where would one or more cyber-criminals hacking into your website rank?
As the world has unfortunately discovered in recent times, hacked websites have become all too common, oftentimes leaving companies with quite a financial and public relations mess on their hands.
Whether it is a lack of security, employees not deploying common sense in using company computers, or some employees actually being the culprits themselves and tapping into company and customer data, small businesses should never take online security for granted.
With that in mind, there are myriad of means in which you can lessen the odds that your company will be hit by hackers, though it also means being pro-active and not reactive 365 days a year.
Review Your Security Actions and Needs
To begin with, are you using Internet security software in your office?
If the answer is no, you are opening your brand up to potential attacks, attacks that could cost your small business financially and in the public relations arena.
No matter which software solution you decide on, make sure it is proven to work. Don’t end up getting a software program that you think will protect your small business, only to find that you got taken by the vendor.
Secondly, take a look at your office’s Internet procedures, namely how your staff uses company computers.
Review whether or not they:
- Share usernames and passwords with others in the office, thereby putting your security needs at risk. Also be sure that the username/password combos they are using are strong and secure. If they are using terms that prove week, it won’t be too much of an effort for a hacker to figure out the combo, thereby allowing them into your office;
- Leave their computers unattended for long periods of time, potentially letting sensitive company and customer data exposed for others to see;
- Travel for business and are exposed to questionable servers. When employees travel for their jobs, they oftentimes are in hotels, coffee shops, restaurants etc. doing work. It is possible that they will be working off of servers that are not fully secure. When this happens, company and customer information can be put in danger.
Set Rules in Place on Day One of Employment
To decrease the chances of your small business being hit by hackers, it only makes sense to let employees know from day one of their time with you that you take Internet security very seriously.
What that means is:
- Any employee caught mishandling important company or customer data (purposefully or accidentally) over the Internet could face discipline. While you don’t want to scare your employees, you should let it be known that Internet security is a priority for your company. When they handle online items such as customer accounts, plans for potential growth, how to beat the competition etc. it needs to be done securely;
- The sites they visit while on company time should be for work-related purposes only. Yes, it is a given that man employees will “surf” the Internet during their workdays, oftentimes ending up doing some online shopping, shooting messages back-and-forth on social networking sites, planning trips and events and much more. While you do not want to run a dictatorship at work, a setting where all employees feel like their every move is monitored and questioned, you do want to reinforce from time-to-time the main reason they are there, of course that being work. Some companies will set aside an “online” break or two during the day, perhaps as little as five minutes or so, for employees to use the Internet for social media visits and other such personal needs. While this is fine should you choose to do this, be sure your workers are not visiting sites that could transfer viruses over to your computers, namely from hackers. Downloading content (particularly images or email attachments) could end up infecting one or more computers in the office. Once that happens, your sensitive company and/or customer data could end up being exposed.
Internet security should always be one of if not the highest priorities in your office.
In the event that it has not been a major priority up to now, you really need to make it a focus this year and beyond.
Always remember that cyber-criminals are continuously looking for ways to make you and your brand their next victim.
