Small Businesses Warned to Protect their Digital and Virtual Information
Small businesses aren’t immune to the dangers of hackers. Remember when hackers maliciously stole the personal information of 3 million Georgian Blue Cross members? The attack put employees in danger. Attacks on businesses put everyone at risk, including customers and their private information. Unfortunately, if your customers don’t believe their information is safe with you, they will abandon your business and it will be hard for you to regain their trust. Hackers can ruin your business, but luckily there are ways to help prevent an attack.
Protecting Your Business from Viruses and Malware
Investing in digital security programs is truly a wise move. Most small businesses use advanced technological equipment to operate. This equipment (and software) has significant advantages but left unprotected it can be breached by malicious software (aka viruses, malware, etc.). Such malware is bound to create problems and could lead to personal information leaks.
Security is paramount, but it comes in many forms. Depending on the virus software’s complexity, it may range from imperceptible to massively destructive in terms of the damage it can cause. That’s why it’s important to invest in preventative measures of digital security. Digital security covers areas such as cloud protection along with a suite of other programs.
Viruses and malware are typically spread through various media such as downloads, email attachments, USB drives, cracks in cloud storage security, and more. The malware is more harmful when it’s able to copy itself to a computer’s memory and then spread throughout your company. Once it’s done its job, it could access everyone’s personal information. In an effort to further protect yourself, educate your employees on online safety and encourage them to change their passwords often. It’s also a good idea to learn about some of the more harmful viruses, such as Zeus, Cryptolocker, Sality, Dark Comet, and many more.
The Effects Viruses Can Have on Your Business
Once a virus infiltrates your database, the damage can be irreversible. For small businesses, this could mean the end before you’ve even fully developed as a company. As previously warned, the hackers will have access to your company records, as well as your client information. Once a customer has lost trust, it’s nearly impossible to regain it.
The information at risk is as follows:
- Identifying information (names, address, birthdate, etc.)
- Social security numbers
- Credit cards and other financial information
- Your company’s financial reports
- Passwords and user names to business accounts and third party sites
Files can be erased. Unexpected failures and shut-downs may occur, and precious working hours lost. Your company’s computers and other devices may slow down in terms of performance. Moreover, the hacking attempt may be used to play tricks or games with your employees. Overall, your business will be damaged, both in terms of your reputation and in terms of massive data loss.
Your business can be protected from these threats, so it’s a good idea to equip your computers with high-quality deep security. Professional software is strongly recommended because this software constantly updates and has a broad range of effectiveness. It’s also important to protect your business databases by disabling the autorun feature. This helps to ensure attached viruses on your networks and external hard drives are kept away. Finally, it’s essential that your employees are careful with every single email, including only opening attachments sent from trustworthy sources that have been vetted for potential viruses.
