Small business web sites became the victims of record number of cyber attacks in recent years. Most entrepreneurs think that their business wouldn’t be interesting to the money-driven hackers because it is too small. In spite of that hackers have their own reasons for attacking these websites, and one of them is the fact that most small companies don’t invest too much money into cyber security. Another common reasons why these websites are being targeted is that some of them do business with bigger companies and hackers use them as stepping stones for accessing their client’s data. When smaller companies proudly advertises their client list that includes some big company names they becomes a potential target, because hackers know that there is at least some minor e mail communication between people from both organizations. In this article we’re going summarize some of the most common ways to protect small business website from these kinds of attacks.
Installing Anti-Malware Protection
Fight against cyber criminals starts at the lowest scale, which are the computers used by entrepreneurs and company staff. In more than a half of these attacks hackers use planted malicious software to access company computers, from which they drive the keystroke and login information and forward it to hackers. These malware programs are able to harvest all kinds of passwords and login information, from e mails, to social media accounts. These can be used for accessing company’s data, and that’s why it is important for entrepreneurs to have anti-malware protection on both desktop computers and smartphones and to update them regularly and do scans after each suspicious download or software installation.
Using Only Proven Remote Access Software Solutions
These software solutions are a great way to boost company’s productivity and to satisfy client’s needs. It is important for entrepreneurs to choose only proven remote access software solutions that provide intuitive security measures. Another important thing when using this kind of software is to implement some additional security measures. One of those is to protect remote user’s devices that are used for accessing office computers with the latest anti-malware software and always to choose the software that offers some of the, most advanced and secured connections like VPN, for example.
Providing Additional Security Training for Employees
Employees often use their office computer and other devices provided by the company for their personal needs and by doing that they expose classified company information to the unnecessary risks. Opening an unknown e mail or visiting high-risk websites can result in disaster. That’s why employees also need to be on the look-out for potential dangers. This can be done by e mail newsletter, but much better way to introduce employees with internet security is by providing them with training or consultations with IT technicians. Each company also needs to have the company’s security policy that will set acceptable and prohibited online activity and that should be followed by all the company employees.
Outsourcing Company’s Online Security
Company’s tech infrastructure security can be outsourced and managed by some company specialized in this industry. These companies are responsible for backing up files, managing firewalls and encrypting data. Common opinions is that these companies are only hired by the top players of the game, but lot of companies offer packages that include paying only for the type of service company requires without choosing the full-time protection that comes with both staff and equipment.
In the end it is hard to emphasize how important online security is for both companies and their clients. Potential risks can be very harmful for business and spending some additional funds for buying the most advanced software, training employees or even hiring some specialized companies for these services is definitely the money well spent.