According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Report, there was an increase of 300,000 crime complaints from 2019 to 2020, with the top three scams including phishing, non-payment/non-delivery and extortion. These threats will continue to be dangerous for organizations of any size as employee remote and hybrid work formats become more ubiquitous. In fact, we conducted a survey with the Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) which found that small businesses are still struggling to navigate the rapidly changing cybersecurity landscape, with nearly half experiencing multiple incidents in the 12 months leading up to the study.
This cybersecurity awareness month, we’re sharing a few tips that you can help address these concerns and prevent your small businesses from becoming cybercrime victims.
According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Report, there was an increase of 300,000 crime complaints from 2019 to 2020, with the top three scams including phishing, non-payment/non-delivery and extortion. These threats will continue to be dangerous for organizations of any size as employee remote and hybrid work formats become more ubiquitous. In fact, we conducted a survey with the Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) which found that small businesses are still struggling to navigate the rapidly changing cybersecurity landscape, with nearly half experiencing multiple incidents in the 12 months leading up to the study.
This cybersecurity awareness month, we’re sharing a few tips that you can help address these concerns and prevent your small businesses from becoming cybercrime victims:
Layer on the Protection
Access with one password can only do so much to keep your information safe. Implementing multi-layer protection allows users and devices to be safe from all stages of blended attacks.
Stay Updated
Enable automatic updates on your devices to ensure that they work optimally and have the latest measures installed to protect from threats.
Make Passwords Unique
Passwords are your frontline of protection and should be changed every 90 days with two-factor authentication enabled. Make sure they are not something that can be easily guessed, with a minimum of 8 characters, at least one number and special characters.
Knowledge is Power
The more you and your employees know about the latest phishing and hacking scams, the better you can protect yourself. Teach employees the importance of cybersecurity safety and share safety tips and tricks to keep them informed.
Encryption
It’s important to keep private information encrypted so it remains safe from unauthorized personnel, even if you experience a breach. It’s an essential step to take when setting up proper cybersecurity protocols to keep data confidential.
Protecting your small business from attacks can be overwhelming to start, but once proper precautions are put in place, you can be confident that your information will be safe. To learn more, visit https://www.sharp-sbs.com/becybersmart.