Many small business owners across the country may not know it, but these days, companies of their size are being increasingly targeted for hacking attacks of many kinds. As such, they’re likely going to have to do more to increase the security of their computer systems so that criminals cannot gain access to their sensitive data.
The reason that many small businesses in particular are now being targeted by hackers is that while they may control relatively little critical personal or financial information about themselves, employees, or customers, it’s far easier to obtain than the vast collections being controlled by larger companies that can afford to invest heavily in security. And while most independent enterprises certainly can’t afford to keep up with their larger competitors in this regard, there’s still a lot that can be done to increase the safety of this data, according to a report from ABC 15 in Phoenix.
One of the biggest things to keep in mind is that criminals nowadays tend to gain access to systems through access granted to employees, the report said. For instance, if a person clicks a link that loads malware onto his or her computer, that program can then worm its way into the entire company’s system, exposing all kinds of data in a short period of time, and this may become an even bigger problem for people who are working remotely. Usually, these bogus links are sent via email and purport to be something they are not, so the best way to avoid such a problem is by educating workers about the ways in which hackers might try to prey on them, so that they can more easily spot a scam attempt.
What else can be done?
Of course, there’s more to protecting data than just increasing hacking awareness around the office, the report said. It might also be wise to make sure employees are not logging into company data files with personal devices, which may have been similarly compromised in the past, and that all such data is encrypted. This may take some kind of initial investment, but it’s relatively small compared to the cost of remediating a data breach.
Owners worried about such price tags may also want to think about the benefits of tech insurance. This kind of small business insurance coverage is designed specifically to help companies avoid the high costs typically associated with these incidents, which can stretch into the hundreds of thousands or more.
