Cyber criminals cost businesses up to £21 billion annually in the UK. This is hardly surprising, given that 20 per cent of all recorded crime in the UK involves targeting businesses: cyber crime is extremely profitable to criminals.
While some businesses take care of their physical security relatively well, the lack of awareness when it comes to business computer security is astonishing. Even the smallest loophole can lead to catastrophic losses. You must ensure that your Head of IT is fully keyed up on all the risks and safeguards.
The internet and its risks
Running your own in-house email infrastructure is a full-time job on its own. Superfast fibre optic broadband is a blessing, but it brings with it a whole new range of threats to your business. Malware and other harmful cyber threats are plentiful in supply, so you need to make sure that your IT department is fully equipped to defend your business.
If your company is considering migrating its email system to a cloud-based service, internet threats will no longer be your concern: the cloud service will monitor your cyber defences. On the other hand, if you’re continuing with your internal server, it’s of the utmost importance that your IT department stays on top of software updates, particularly with antivirus software.
Encrypt your hard drives
Whatever business you’re in, it’s vital that all of your hard drives are encrypted properly. Passwords aren’t enough to obstruct hackers any more. The best way of preventing a hacker from accessing your files from a remote location is to commission a full-disk encryption to make sure that all of your files, even deleted ones, are protected from hackers.
This task is best left to the experts. While there is free encryption software out there for you to use, implementing the encryption incorrectly will create loopholes for hackers to jump through and steal your data.
Smart passwords
It’s not enough to create a long, complicated password anymore – hackers are extremely sophisticated and will probably be able to figure out most passwords. To be sure that your data is hacker-proof, you need to have long, complex passwords that mix letters with numbers and other symbols.
Of course, it’s very difficult to remember a whole list of these kinds of ‘super-passwords’. Instead of asking your staff to memorise impossibly long passwords, invest in a password manager program to generate complex, hacker-proof passwords that the program will remember for you.
Making sure your business has sound data protection sometimes is more important than making sure your business premises are well guarded against vandalism or burglaries. Cyber crime can take your entire business down: it’s vital to make sure that you’re secured against it.
How do you intend to protect your email address data from hackers this year? Are there tips you would like to share with us?
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I often use long password, So that mean it is not safe either.
What is safe online? Nothing!