Hackers find small businesses to be easy targets these days, and they often use these businesses for practice. Even a tiny business like a barber or a dental office has clients with addresses, credit cards, and names. Since the majority of small businesses have gone digital, the opportunities to take data away have increased significantly. Data theft attempts increased 400% among small businesses last year alone. Here are three ways to make sure that business isn’t you.
Have Security Policies with Emailing
Social media has opened up tons of avenues, and some of them are less than ideal. Because of this, it’s important to set a very strict policy concerning the use of social media and emails. What kind of information will you allow your employees to share online? Sending an email to someone is also not as confidential as it once was; emails are now more like postcards than sealed letters. Even emails from ten years ago can be pulled off of the servers on which they are stored.
Don’t Forget Your Tablets and Phones
With the increase in ways you can connect to the Internet comes an increase in ways people can steal information from you. From iPads to Androids, mobile devices are an easy way to get into a network that is otherwise well protected. These devices need to have passwords and be kept securely stored when they’re not being used. Try not to store sensitive data on a device that has to be moved.
Don’t Leave Desktop Computers without Passwords, Either
Don’t think just because a computer can’t be moved means it’s safe from hacking attempts. Sometimes the hacker is right under your nose and is just waiting for an opportunity to access a computer that has sensitive data on it. Make sure your desktops all lock after less than five minutes, and rotate the passwords on them regularly.