Wow! It’s almost 2018! Fifty years ago, the extent of our technological savvy did not extend to public internet access. It wasn’t even until 1950 that the first credit card was issued. The best shot a thief had at stealing anything from your company was to physically break into the building, steal it, and then run like crazy from the authorities and hope they ran fast enough.
In today’s economy, the evolution of technology has made it increasingly easier for us to take care of all of our monetary and identity issues electronically. Unfortunately, it has also made it easier for the modern thief to steal said information.
Once it’s been taken, there are almost no boundaries to contain the damage they can do to your personal life or to your company. Here are a few ways you can protect your company from cyber attacks.
Assess Your Risk
As a business owner, you know it’s just common sense to assess the risk of any venture you participate in. The same is true of the World Wide Web. As things progress, the amount of information that we keep in paper form stuffed in a filing cabinet in the back office is dwindling sharply.
This has all kinds of advantages ranging from making your business greener to saving money on copy paper. With that said, storing all your company’s information online, in the Cloud, or any other electronic vault you can come up, with gives hackers a broader palette of jobs to choose from. Heaven for thieves, if you will. Hire a team of experts to assess the risk your company has of a technological break in.
Protect Your Connection
The tools you use to complete everyday business are the same tools hackers will capitalize on to make their gain. You must protect your computers! They are like the pawns in a game of Chess. Many consider the pawn to be a disposable suicide bomber, but the fact is, they are the first line of defense against invaders who would kill your king.
Your network is the first line of defense against cyber-attacks that could leave your company and all who participate in it in a land devoid of their money and information. Make sure to install and frequently update the best firewall you can get your hands on. Keep your OS updated, as well.
Then, make sure that every electronic device associated with your company is password protected. Your password should be something that you can easily remember, but it should remain complex enough to make a hacker move on to easier ventures.
Know Your Enemy
There is a saying from the Sun Tzu that holds true in every battle we face, including that of holding off the attack of a would-be hacker. “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” You must take the time to get to know what makes this life appealing to a hacker and how they look at everything you do or don’t do to protect your company’s information.
Taking steps on the home front is only half the battle. Educate yourself about how the enemy works his gig and it will make you wiser about how you protect yours.
Hackers are a force that will not go away anytime soon. They are a reality. Take the steps needed to secure your company’s future and the future of those who are involved.
