While we usually hear about major data breaches in the media, there are many smaller breaches that involve small businesses that we never hear of. Imagine what would happen if all of your customers’ financial data was stolen? Aside from the obvious embarrassment, your customers might suffer, which is something to avoid at all costs and with that in mind, here are a few tips to strengthen your cyber-security.

• Staff Training – Your employees can unwittingly aid a hacker without ever knowing and with a few hours of training, they can learn the best practices such as changing passwords regularly, plus the trainer would show them what phishing is and point out ways to identify a phishing website. One of the easiest ways to breach online security is to request user information and hackers are often successful using this technique.
• Use a Managed IT Services Provider – Once you join forces with a managed IT services provider, they handle all of your cyber-security issues. The only way to be absolutely sure that your network is secure is to ask ethical hackers to carry out penetration testing, when the hackers do everything in their power to try to penetrate the network. Not only will the IT services provider handle your cyber-security, they offer round the clock IT support and are happy to advise on all aspects of IT services. The mysterious world of cyber-crime is indeed dark and hackers are constantly developing new ways to steal your data
• Use a Firewall – A firewall is yet another layer of security that a hacker has to negotiate and that might be the difference between becoming a victim or not. Talk to an IT support provider about firewall security and they will recommend a suitable application and it does need to be updated from time to time.
• Change Passwords Often – The reason this is a good idea is because a hacker can spend a long time trying to crack a password and the longer he has, the more chance of success. Changing all your passwords every couple of weeks will help ensure that no one manages to crack your password. Click here for top security tips to protect your business.
• Use a Password Generator – Most people choose a name they know, or their date of birth, which is quite easy to hack; use a password generator, as the password will be very strong, containing upper, lower case, symbols and underscores. The program remembers all your passwords, which is handy.
• Avoid Using Shared Computers – The hacker finds it easier to hack accounts on computers that are shared by several users. If you do use another person’s computer, never access your banking details, as this is recorded somewhere inside the browser history and a hacker could quickly find it.
• Network Security – Local Area Networks require strong security and if you aren’t using managed IT services, this is something to remedy. Although we only hear about the big data breachers, hackers like to target small businesses and small networks can be easy pickings if not protected. Imagine what would happen if all of your customers’ financial data was stolen! It simply isn’t an option and that’s why you need professional network cyber-security.
• Beware of Phishing – This is a technique where a bank’s website would be duplicated (slightly different URL) and the victim receives an email of SMS asking you to click on the link; when you land on the website, it looks exactly like the real one, therefore, people think nothing of it and they duly re-enter their credit card details.

The important thing to understand with cyber-crime is the ongoing game of cat and mouse between the hackers and the cyber-security professionals; the only way to be sure that your data is safe is to enlist the help of a managed IT services provider, who can do a lot more for your business than just cyber-security.  Click here for further reading on cyber-security, which the US government takes very seriously, as billions of dollars are lost each year due to cyber-crime.

Make sure that you update your antivirus program, as new viruses come out on a daily basis and protect your network with local IT support.