IT Support: 3 Steps To Prevent Your Small Business From Being Hacked

There's a war going on that you may be unaware of.

All too often, we neglect the fact that we may be at risk.

We say things like, we're a small fish in a big pond, why would they want to come after me?

Here's the thing – THAT'S EXACTLY why they may be coming after you.

What is this risk?

The risk is a cyber phishing attack that could take your company down financially.

Since 2011, the rate at which cyber attacks have been targeting small businesses has increased dramatically.

According to Symantec, that number rose from 18% in 2011 to 43% in 2015. In just a few short years these cyber attacks have gone up for a reason.

Why do people keep doing what they are doing?

To put it bluntly, we keep doing what we are doing because it's working.

These cyber attacks keep happening because they are working and are able to keep doing it.

The phishing attacks take primary aim at employees who are responsible for the finances within a small business.

Just one malicious email opened by this employee could put the entire company's financial information at risk.

What's even scarier is not only are they targeting employees, BUT devices that are connected to your network as well.

Can you say Ransom?

Once these devices are hacked, you can expect to pay a ransom to have them released.

Luckily, there are some things you can do to protect yourself.

Here are three of them.

Be An Information Gatherer

Do your best to stay informed about the latest attacks, security breaches or even warnings of things to come through industry newsletters, websites or otherwise.

Share this kind of information not only with the financial services department in your company, but also with your entire staff, so that they are aware of what may be happening.

Subscribe to sites like Symantec and Small Business Trends to alert you to any news that may come out about the latest attacks.

Be Proactive

Don't sit idly by. If there are trainings you can attend or a workshop you can go to that can help in this area of IT, then you need to make it a priority.

Spending some training dollars to ensure that your business is not at risk of being attacked will be money well spent.

Work With Your IT Staff

Talk to the guys in your IT department and ask them what kinds of things you should be watching out for.

Make Internet Security a topic at your weekly or monthly staff meetings so that everyone is on the same page, and knows what they should be looking out for.

Don't be reactive, but rather be proactive in all things IT security related.

What Now?

If you have an IT staff in place, then be sure to take the measures mentioned above.

If you don't have one in place and think you may be at risk of getting hacked, then you need to find a managed IT company you can work with.

To learn more about our services and how we can help protect you and your business, please contact us today at (770) 325-7325.

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