A lot of small to medium businesses never invest enough to protect their businesses properly from Hackers. They see little value in it until something happens and cripples their business. The most common thing I hear is “why would they go after me? I am one person or too small.” Hackers never go out to hit one person, they create bots and other AI tools to hit thousands of people at once. When they have your data it is archived and sold to the highest bidder so they can sift through it to find valuable information.
I recently heard a President of a large logistic company, say “why do I need to change my password and why does it need to be complex, aren’t we behind a firewall.” This kind of thinking is the reason many companies fall prey to hackers. Any device that connects to the internet is theoretically vulnerable to being hacked, which means everything including your; personal data, security system, POS system, and Accounting data could be compromised.
Thankfully though, technology has adapted to these scary times, and there are plenty of measures you can take to protect your online (and offline) accounts. There’s always some chance a hacker could get your data or even your banking information, things like two-factor authentication are concrete steps that everyone can (and should) take to secure their online activity. I know it is a pain but adding two-step verification to as many online activities will protect your assets. Passwords can be obtained through other means such as Phishing or Spear Phishing attacks. A second step to your password like a text that is random would mean the attacker would need both your password and access to your phone, tablet, or laptop to access your accounts. Adding two-step verification only adds a few seconds to your log-in process, and could potentially save you a lot of sleepless nights……
Passwords are the first line of defense in protecting your data. The one password that cracks me up the most is “Password” If you insist on using such basic words try something like that, Pa$Sw0_rd1. I am pushing all my clients to use phrases instead of a simple word, for example, Pr!v@cy_P0l!cy_1 or M0v!e_Netf!x. These are simple to remember and you can create your own coded message. Let us know what you think of this article or if you need consulting, email us at [email protected]
