Cyber Security for Small Businesses

Small businesses and individual entrepreneurs are not left out as targets by cyber criminals. Small businesses are big victims when it comes to cyber-attacks. They should be aware that their companies do represent worthwhile opportunities for hackers.

Most small business are targets for cyber criminals because they have more finances than ordinary people. They also have less cyber protection than larger companies

Customers information are stored on the database of small businesses and cyber attackers sometimes leverages on customer data.

Most small business owners do not understand this threat and hence underestimate them. They do not care about the cyber protection of their resources. All this makes them a perfect target

How do hackers gain access to small business networks in the first place? Not surprisingly, the number one tactic is email, or, more specifically, email attachments.each user at a small business (fewer than 250 employees) receives nine malicious emails per month. This means,if you have 10 employees, your company could be at risk of an email-borne malware infection on an average of 90 times each month.

In general, cyber crime is big business. It’s predicted that by 2021, cybercrime will cost the world $6 trillion annually. This will double the $3 trillion tab cybercrime racked up in 2015. Ransomware damage costs alone are on track to hit $11.5 billion in 2019, at which point it’s estimated that a business will fall victim to a ransomware attack every 14 seconds.

Here are some few security tips for small business

1. Use Strong Passwords:Your passwords are as important as your business. It is one of the first and easiest thing to do. Use strong passwords which should be a minimum of 12 characters.A good password includes numbers, symbols, upper case letters and lower-case letters. Teach your employees the importance of complex passwords.

2. Minimize the number of attempts for password entering:Having a complex password is good but there are password crackers that aids in the cracking of passwords. Minimize the number of attempts to 3-4 times hence if an attacker tries to brute force your password, it will be really difficult.

3. Employee Education:Educate your employees regularly on cyber threats and steps to take in been cyber protected. Your employees are your weakest links so it could help to spend money on training them than becoming victim of cyber attack which may be a huge loss for your business. Create a manual that will explain the basics of cybersecurity.

5. Update Software regularly: Do not ignore the pop-up messages recommending the updates that are available.Software updates sometimes includes security patches discovered by the vendors and should be taken very seriously.
6. Don’t store Passwords on computers: Passwords saved on computer are so convenient but it is a security problem. If your computer gets hacked, the attacker gets access to ALL YOUR PASSWORDS.
7. Be wary of Links:There is a significant increase in the number of malicious links sent as an email.Do not click on links from unknown sender.Phishing has become the order of the day and this could cause a huge financial loss