Understanding the Card Draining Scam

The card draining scam involves scammers finding ways to drain the value from gift cards before they can be used for their intended purpose. There are two primary methods scammers use to perpetrate this scam: tampering with unsold gift cards and stealing details from legitimate gift cards.

1. Tampering with Unsold Gift Cards

In one method, scammers tamper with unsold gift cards in stores by attaching a barcode from a card they already have to an unsold gift card. When an unsuspecting customer purchases the tampered card and loads money onto it, they are unknowingly loading money onto the scammer’s card. This allows the scammer to access the funds and use them before the buyer even realizes what has happened.

2. Stealing Details from Legitimate Gift Cards

The second method involves stealing the details off a legitimate gift card and then placing it back on the rack for an unsuspecting customer to purchase. The scammer already has the card information and tracks when it is bought and loaded with value. They quickly access the money and use it before the buyer of the card has a chance to use it themselves.

The Appeal of Prepaid Gift Cards for Scammers

Prepaid gift cards, like Vanilla Gift and One Vanilla, are particularly targeted by scammers due to their versatility. These cards can be used anytime and anywhere, making them an attractive target for scammers looking to exploit unsuspecting consumers.

Recognizing and Avoiding Gift Card Scams

Protecting yourself from gift card scams requires vigilance and awareness. By following these simple steps, you can reduce the risk of falling victim to card draining scams:

1. Inspect the Packaging

When purchasing gift cards, carefully inspect the packaging for any signs of tampering or suspicious stickers. Look for any bends or signs of resealing that may indicate the card has been compromised. If you notice anything unusual, choose a different card or purchase your gift card directly from the retailer’s website.

2. Keep the Receipt

Always keep the receipt when purchasing a gift card. This will make it easier to report any issues or discrepancies with the card. If you suspect that your gift card has been compromised, contact the card issuer immediately and provide them with the necessary information to investigate the matter.

3. Purchase Online Gift Cards

Consider purchasing online gift cards directly from the store or company that offers them. Online gift cards eliminate the risk of physical tampering since there is no physical card involved. Additionally, many online retailers have robust security measures in place to protect against fraud and unauthorized transactions.

4. Be Wary of Unsolicited Gift Cards

If you receive a gift card from an unknown sender or a source that seems suspicious, exercise caution. Scammers may use unsolicited gift cards as a way to gain access to your personal information or engage in fraudulent activities. It’s always best to verify the source of the gift card before using it.

5. Register Your Gift Card

Some gift card issuers offer the option to register your gift card online. Registering your gift card can provide an added layer of protection as it allows you to track the card’s activity and report any unauthorized transactions promptly. Check the issuer’s website or contact their customer service to see if registration is available for your gift card.

6. Use Gift Cards Promptly

To minimize the risk of your gift card being drained, use it as soon as possible after purchasing. The longer the card remains unused, the more opportunity scammers have to compromise its value. Additionally, using the card promptly allows you to identify any issues or discrepancies early on.

7. Secure Your Gift Card Details

Treat your gift card like cash and keep the details secure. Avoid sharing the card number, PIN, or other sensitive information with anyone. Scammers may attempt to trick you into providing this information, claiming it is necessary for verification or activation purposes. Legitimate gift card issuers will never ask for this information.

8. Be Aware of Poor Customer Service

Pay attention to the level of customer service provided by the gift card issuer. If you encounter difficulties in obtaining refunds for unauthorized transactions or have trouble reaching customer support, it may be a red flag. Reputable gift card issuers prioritize customer satisfaction and promptly address any issues or concerns raised by their customers.

The Importance of Vigilance

As the holiday season approaches and gift card purchases become more prevalent, it’s crucial to remain vigilant against gift card scams. By understanding the risks associated with card draining scams and implementing the preventative measures outlined in this article, you can protect yourself and ensure that your gift cards are used as intended – to bring joy and convenience to your gift recipients. Remember, knowledge and awareness are your strongest defenses against scammers looking to exploit unsuspecting consumers.

See first source: CNN

FAQ

Q1: What is a card draining scam?

A1: A card draining scam involves scammers finding ways to steal the value from gift cards before they can be used for their intended purpose. There are two primary methods scammers use: tampering with unsold gift cards and stealing details from legitimate gift cards.

Q2: How do scammers tamper with unsold gift cards?

A2: Scammers tamper with unsold gift cards by attaching a barcode from a card they already have to an unsold gift card in stores. When an unsuspecting customer purchases the tampered card and loads money onto it, they are unknowingly loading money onto the scammer’s card.

Q3: How do scammers steal details from legitimate gift cards?

A3: Scammers steal details from legitimate gift cards and then place them back on the rack for unsuspecting customers to purchase. They quickly access the money and use it before the buyer of the card has a chance to use it themselves.

Q4: Why are prepaid gift cards like Vanilla Gift and One Vanilla targeted by scammers?

A4: Prepaid gift cards like Vanilla Gift and One Vanilla are targeted because they are versatile and can be used anytime and anywhere, making them an attractive target for scammers.

Q5: How can I recognize and avoid gift card scams?

A5: To avoid gift card scams, you should:

• Inspect the packaging for signs of tampering.
• Keep the receipt for reporting issues.
• Consider purchasing online gift cards.
• Be cautious of unsolicited gift cards.
• Register your gift card online if possible.
• Use gift cards promptly after purchase.
• Keep your gift card details secure.
• Be aware of the customer service provided by the gift card issuer.

Q6: What should I do if I suspect my gift card has been compromised?

A6: If you suspect your gift card has been compromised, contact the card issuer immediately and provide them with the necessary information to investigate the matter.

Q7: Why is it important to use gift cards promptly?

A7: Using gift cards promptly minimizes the risk of them being drained by scammers. The longer the card remains unused, the more opportunity scammers have to compromise its value.

Q8: Should I share my gift card details with anyone?

A8: No, you should treat your gift card like cash and avoid sharing the card number, PIN, or other sensitive information with anyone. Legitimate gift card issuers will never ask for this information.

Q9: What should I do if I encounter poor customer service from a gift card issuer?

A9: If you encounter difficulties with customer service or obtaining refunds for unauthorized transactions, it may be a red flag. Reputable gift card issuers prioritize customer satisfaction and address issues promptly.

Q10: How can knowledge and awareness protect me from gift card scams?

A10: Knowledge and awareness are your strongest defenses against scammers. Understanding the risks associated with card draining scams and implementing preventive measures can help protect you from falling victim to gift card scams.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by Claire Abdo; Unsplash – Thank you!

The post Protecting Your Gift Cards: How to Prevent “Card Draining” Scams appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Well, the good news is that there is a solution to this conundrum – and that is the emergence of virtual Chief Information Security Officers (vCISOs). However, the lingering question has been, where do you find these knights in digital armor and how can you be sure they have the right credentials? Well, today the industry’s first-ever directory of vCISO service providers was announced by Cynomi, a vCISO management platform. This one-stop directory is set to become a valuable resource for SMBs looking for expertise to strengthen their cybersecurity framework and ensure regulatory compliance.

The Rising Cyber Threat

As our world becomes increasingly interconnected, the scale and complexity of cyber threats continue to surge. According to Check Point Software’s Mid-Year Security Report, there was a 42% global increase in malicious incidents in just the first half of 2022.

For SMBs, which often lack the resources to recover from a serious cyber incident, this trend is especially threatening. A recent study by Datto found that only half of SMBs have a dedicated, internal IT person managing their cybersecurity needs, underscoring the challenge they face.

The glaring gap in cybersecurity expertise among SMBs comes from a couple of key factors. Firstly, many SMBs lack the financial resources to hire a full-time CISO. This is a role that requires advanced skills and substantial experience. Secondly, there is a severe talent gap in the cybersecurity industry, with the demand for professionals far outstripping the supply.

Virtual CISOs: A Lifeline for SMBs

In response to this pressing need, managed service providers (MSPs), managed security service providers (MSSPs), and consultancies have stepped up, offering vCISO services. A vCISO is a professional who provides strategic and operational leadership on cybersecurity, serving in a part-time or consultative capacity.

This allows SMBs to access a high level of expertise without incurring the full cost of an in-house security specialist.

vCISOs offer a broad range of services, from conducting risk assessments and ensuring regulatory compliance to creating incident response plans and fostering a culture of cybersecurity within the organization. By leveraging a vCISO, businesses can gain a comprehensive understanding of their threat landscape. They also implement tailored security policies and train their staff to become the first line of defense against cyber threats.

The vCISO Directory: Simplifying the Search for Cybersecurity Expertise

The launch of the vCISO Directory aims to simplify the process of finding, evaluating, and engaging vCISO service providers.

It currently features over 200 U.S.-based providers. It also offers detailed information about their specific services and the technology platforms they use for security strategies. Plans are underway to continually update the directory and expand it to include international providers. This further broadens the scope of resources available to SMBs.

David Primor, co-founder and CEO of Cynomi, highlighted the potential benefits for SMBs, saying, “Thousands of small and mid-sized businesses globally could benefit from the expertise and support of a traditional CISO, but on a more consultative or part-time basis. Our new directory enables businesses to find all vCISO service providers in one place. And make an informed choice between the different benefits of the many providers available.”

A Step Forward in Cybersecurity

The advent of vCISOs and the debut of the vCISO Directory signify a considerable step forward in the ongoing battle against cyber threats. SMBs are often side-lined in the realm of cybersecurity due to their limited resources. Now, they have a cost-effective solution that doesn’t compromise their defense against digital threats.

It’s time for SMBs to recognize the pivotal role that cybersecurity plays in their long-term survival and success. By harnessing the skills of vCISOs, they can not only protect their digital assets but also ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, and foster a security-conscious culture within their organization.

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Other than that, it can also lead to reputational damage for your business. Furthermore, not keeping your company data safe can also lead to financial losses due to the cost of recovering lost or stolen data. Along with any fines or penalties imposed by regulatory bodies.

Finally, it can also lead to operational disruption if systems are compromised or taken offline due to a security breach.

If you do not want this to happen to you, here are the things you need to do.

The Mandatory Backup

Backing up your data with solutions like https://gitprotect.io/gitlab.html is essential for any business, but it’s especially important for small businesses. Small businesses often have limited resources and budgets. So, they can’t afford to lose valuable data due to a system crash or other unforeseen event.

Data loss can be devastating for a small business. It can lead to lost customers, lost revenue, and even legal issues. By backing up your data regularly, you can ensure that all of your important information is safe and secure in the event of an emergency. Additionally, having a backup plan in place will help you quickly recover from any unexpected disruptions or disasters that may occur.

This will help minimize downtime and keep your business running smoothly. Finally, having a reliable backup system, like https://gitprotect.io/jira-backup.html, for example, will give you peace of mind knowing that all of your critical data is safe and secure.

Find A Safe Server

When it comes to finding a safe server for storing your company’s data, there are several factors to consider. First and foremost, you should look for a server that is secure and reliable. Make sure the server has the latest security protocols in place, such as firewalls, encryption, and authentication measures.

Also, you should ensure that the server is regularly updated with the latest software patches and security updates. You should also make sure that the server is backed up regularly. So that any lost or corrupted data can be recovered quickly. Furthermore, you should look for a server provider who offers 24/7 customer support in case of any technical issues or emergencies.

Finally, make sure to read reviews from other customers to get an idea of how reliable and secure the server is before making your decision.

Happy Employees Will Not Leak Data

Keeping your employees happy is essential for any business, as it can help prevent data leaks. When employees are content and satisfied with their job, they are more likely to be loyal to the company. Plus, less likely to share confidential information with outsiders. Additionally, when employees feel valued and appreciated, they will be more motivated to work hard and take pride in their work.

This means that they will be more likely to pay attention to detail and follow security protocols when handling sensitive data. Furthermore, a happy workplace environment encourages open communication between colleagues. This can help identify potential risks before they become an issue.

Finally, having a positive work culture can also help reduce stress levels among employees, making them less likely to make careless mistakes that could lead to data breaches.

Train Your Employees

Training your employees to take care of sensitive data is an important part of any business. To ensure that your employees are properly trained, it’s important to create a comprehensive training program that covers all aspects of data security. Start by educating your employees on the importance of protecting sensitive data and the consequences of not doing so. Make sure they understand the different types of data and how to handle each type appropriately.

Provide them with clear guidelines on how to store, access, and share sensitive information. Additionally, make sure they know what steps to take if they suspect a breach or unauthorized access has occurred. Finally, provide regular refresher courses and updates on new security protocols as needed.

By taking these steps, you can help ensure that your employees are well-equipped to handle sensitive data in a secure manner.

The post Small Business Guide: Healthy Habits That Will Keep Your Data Safe appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Meeting cybersecurity standards ahead of the pack can be a competitive advantage—one that sets companies up to be more strategic about additional cybersecurity investments and decisions. That’s why it’s important for established businesses to pull from the playbook of new businesses in implementing cybersecurity

Here are five takeaways that can help any company trying to enhance its security profile.

Move fast

New businesses are eager to work through operational issues so they can focus on their core business. The lesson for you: Once you know what you need to do, move fast. The longer you wait to make changes, the costlier they are. Applying the brakes on inevitable changes, like security or modernization, delays costs but also benefits.

Company-wide thinking

New companies tend to be more egalitarian than established ones, so determining and implementing new policies or procedures involves everyone. Learn from that and communicate your needs for increased cybersecurity to your entire workforce. Be clear about changes, what will happen, when, who it impacts, and why it’s important. 

Top representatives from across the company to help with cybersecurity, too. Who better to point out risks, define needs, and share departmental challenges than those with front-line knowledge? The process may mean additional training for that group but you won’t regret it, and will help drive a culture of security.

Bring in experts

Startups know what they don’t know and quickly turn to experts for help. In the same way, your organization can benefit from a cybersecurity partner. Cybersecurity consultants take the pressure off IT, upskill existing staff, and provide a more efficient path to getting compliant and protecting the company. 

Borrow and evolve

Startups take proven best practices and adapt them for their own use. Learn from this: There’s no need to reinvent the wheel regarding cybersecurity policies and procedures when best practices abound. Borrow the basics and evolve them to fit your business plan and employees. Thoughtful policies start with the philosophy, “Don’t tell me what I can’t do, tell me how I can do it safely.”

Get involved

In startups, everyone rolls up their sleeves and pitches in to get things done. The same mindset is important for leaders of established companies adding cybersecurity. The top brass needs to show their commitment to cybersecurity, not just talk about it. They can do that by:

• Prioritizing budgets, time, and other resources for cybersecurity
• Becoming knowledgeable and involved in compliance initiatives
• Demonstrating that they personally follow protocols
• Having zero tolerance for non-compliance

You can teach an old dog new tricks, and startups are a great place for more established companies to look for fresh ideas and approaches, including how to smoothly integrate cybersecurity into the flow and fabric of operations.

Bio

Edward Tuorinsky, Founder and Managing Principal of DTS, a government and commercial consulting business, brings more than two decades of experience in management consulting and information technology services. 

The post 5 Ways Businesses Can Have a Startup Mindset for Cybersecurity appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Security elements placed appropriately act as a comfortable “insurance policy” of sorts against theft and other foul play elements. Having the right eye in the right place can also act as a huge deterrent. Not just for recording criminal activity, but for halting it altogether. This article will provide a general overview of business security cameras and three of the top security cameras available in the space.

Company Surveillance

When looking into a security camera there are several metrics you should keep note of, video quality, functionality, and price. Additionally, knowing if the camera is going to be used for 24/7 surveillance will inform whether or not you need infrared or spotlight integration features. Many cameras work in tandem and form a network for greater sequential coverage and visage.

Additionally knowing what areas need coverage will tell you the number of cameras you need in your system and can affect how much funds you can allot to a system or styling of a camera. Some offer greater scope, rotation, or the aforementioned networking capabilities to cover this necessity.

Business Security Cameras: Arlo Pro 4 Wireless Security Camera

The Arlo Pro 4 features a 2K video with HDR (High Definition Resolution) and an integrated spotlight for 24/7 coverage. The footage is triggered by its motion-detecting features. The camera also directly connects to Wi-Fi features and does not require a hub or base, however, it can offer smart home integration, (Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit). The footage is stored in the cloud for 30 days, so if there is anything that requires a second look. The Arlo Pro 4 has you covered there as well. It is considered the best camera for outdoor use.

It does require a plan for optimal usage and is largely of poor quality without one. Plans go at 3, 10, and 15 USD a month. The battery is rechargeable and one of these can be guarding your doors and windows for $200.

Business Security Cameras: Reolink 3 Argus Pro

This camera is considerable for its overall best quality. A 2K camera that works both day and night ensures that you don’t just see “the thing” but see it clearly, whenever it lurks. It features 122-degree sights, slightly less than Arlo’s 130 vision. The Reolink 3 features motion sensitivity as well allowing you to get a notification or alert when something is detected. It has, however, cut motion zones – areas where you could target key tracking like doors or windows, to conserve battery life.

You can also schedule times to record. And with 128 GB of storage on the device and 1GB kept in the cloud for up to a week. You can find the detected thing. The Reolink also captures audio as well.

This camera typically runs around $130. It has video plans at 5, 10, 15, and 25 dollars monthly with the first two allowing for 30 days of cloud storage and the last two allotting for 60. With improved cloud storage at 30 GB, 80 GB, 150 GB, and 250 GB respectively.

Business Security Cameras: Eufy Cameras

This is the premiere indoor camera focused on indoor security (duh) and customer privacy. All storage is housed in the camera, meaning anything recorded is kept on-site and not stored in any outside cloud or database services. These cameras additionally offer 2K video (1920 p) and offer cloud-based programs and AI detection. This allows for the camera to auto-capture anything with motion or similarly timed suspicious activity.

The standard Eufy runs anywhere from around 150 – 200 USD. There is a budget pick – the Eufy Solo IndoorCam C24 that is only $43. Some models also allow for cloud plans for those who are content to store their data on an external drive or source.

The post Protect Your Small Business with These Top Security Cameras appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Considering all the other work and tasks that have to be completed in a day, strengthening cybersecurity can quickly turn into an afterthought. Regardless, proper security against ever-evolving hacking techniques is essential for preventing major financial and reputable harm.

According to Statista, a cyber incident is the main risk for small businesses in 2023. Its repercussions are more damaging and concerning for companies than inflation, energy crisis, trade wars, or natural catastrophes.

So, what is XDR security all about, what makes it essential for IT teams who manage security, and how does it cut costs for small businesses?

What Is XDR Security?

XDR security is the platform that aids teams make sense of the large quantity of data coming from several security tools while also automating responses to known exploits.

The key function of this security solution? Collect, analyze, and correlate security data then organized and shown in one interface.

Another main function is to automatically respond to threats regardless of where within the network they might occur.
As a result, security is simplified. Also, IT departments retain visibility of the state of the security from a single user-friendly dashboard to which they can refer and make informed decisions on how to protect the company.

Closing the Gap in the Security

Most small businesses will have layers of security tools that consist of:

• A firewall to observe and block any unwanted traffic
• Antivirus programs to remove malicious software that managed to get into the system
• Virtual Private Network (VPN) to protect remote employees
• Phishing awareness training for all employees within the company
• Insisting on multi-factor authentication and stronger passwords for employees

While this is a good start for building strong security, such companies don’t have a chance when facing zero-day threats and more sophisticated hacking attempts.

This is precisely where XDR security comes in handy.

It gives the company the means, visibility, and comprehensive reports they need to fight more advanced threats that security teams have to mitigate manually.

Providing a Key Asset for Security Teams

Small businesses lack a large security team managed by CISO (short for Chief information security officer). How does XDR security help SMEs get the most out of the IT personnel at the company’s disposal?

Before XDR security, companies would rely solely on security information and event management (SIEM) technology.

The main disadvantage of the old SIEM is that it would bombard the team with too many alters. Many of them would not indicate the high risks. Most would be discarded as false positives.

To fix that, XDR enables teams to manage security from a single interface. Increased visibility in the state of the security provides them with actionable reports and suggestions on how to prioritize tasks.

The tool uses machine learning to analyze the information about the security posture in the context of a company.

This helps it to catch if something out of the ordinary is occurring within the systems. Teams have useful information at hand, such as which parts of the infrastructure are affected and whether the risk is critical (e.g. is there a possibility of endangered sensitive data?)

XDR security boosts the productivity of teams. It allows them to dedicate their time to tasks that matter and reduces fatigue caused by the frequent change of the dashboards.

Being a Cost-Effective Solution for Growing Companies

XDR can cut costs for small businesses by:

• Preventing major cyber incidents that cease work in the company or cause data theft
• Not having to go through the most expensive part of the cyber breach (the recovery time)

The average cost of cyberattacks for small businesses due to the recovery period is between $15,000 to $25,000. This doesn’t include the cost of possible legal action, damaged reputation, or even restoration of the system itself.

For SMEs, the average recovery period is 279 days or just over nine months.

Financial damage and the duration of the recovery period also depend on how long a bad actor has illicit access to the network and whether sensitive user data has been stolen during the attack.

With XDR, small businesses can detect and remove hacking threats faster. This saves them the costs that would otherwise have to be allocated to repairing the network and investigating the crime.

Instead of purchasing multiple solutions that have versatile dashboards, XDR security provides small businesses with the means to respond to cybercrime by relying on the data from the unified security solution. This scales as the business grows and reaches new heights.

Main Advantages of XDR Security

Whether you’re looking for a solution that can improve the speed at which you detect and react to threats or want to help your security team, XDR can be beneficial to your small business.

It’s an essential resource for your small cybersecurity team. It allows them a birdseye view of the complete security posture. Additionally, it organizes data in reports whose insights they can use to strengthen the security or react in time.

For small companies that already have some form of basic protection, XDR offers a more advanced, but also a user-friendly solution with which they can tackle more sophisticated threats.

Finally, XDR security saves on the costs otherwise needed to repair the architecture following the cyberattack or paid during ceased operations.

The post Helping Small Businesses Fight Cyber Crime: XDR Security appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

A “bot” is a computer program that operates and impersonates a human on the internet. They feature artificial intelligence to varying degrees and are not always necessarily a bad thing. Google and Bing use bots to comb the internet. It’s part of how organic SEO is constructed.

LinkedIn bots work similarly but not entirely to the same ends. LinkedIn bots are often used as part of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and are sent on full automation to comb LinkedIn for leads. Here is an almost nearly comprehensive article breaking down the best consumer-grade bots to let loose on LinkedIn.

However, if you are not in the lead generation mess that is CRM you could fall prey to getting combed by a fake sales representative looking to peddle who knows what to you unwittingly. Here are some helpful tips to help break down who or what exactly you’re talking to on LinkedIn.

Account Frequency and Activity

LinkedIn bots can post frequently and without fault. A normal person may post often, however, it is unlikely they will be posting excessively, multiple times over the course of a day. Given the hours and nature of the content, it can reveal much about the nature of the entity on the other side of the screen.

The higher the frequency, time of day, and subject matter can give you clues. Yet ultimately, the higher the number of posts the more likely an automated response software or bot is behind the account.

The Flow of the Conversation

Bots are typically punchy, short, and to the point. While they have gotten their hold on more capable AI in recent years, they are often still clunky and repetitive. They tend to pull from a list of discernible targeted responses and will lack the nuance to have a slight change.

The greater the similarity of the individual’s comments may indicate that you are dealing with an automated response bot. Try asking the same question in a slightly different way. As the program has to elect to operate any given number of responses to filter into a given answer it is likely the entity – if it is a bot will respond with the exact same answer.

Two-Step Disassociation

Have question a, lead to question b. And have the context for that second question rooted in the first. Think,

Q: Where are you working?

A: Seattle

Q: What is the weather like outside?

A: Can you please rephrase the question?

This is indicative of bot behavior; a human would likely understand the nature of the question and comply; however, a bot cannot logically jump between the two at this point.

The Profile

It is unlikely that bot profiles will detail a rich and well-lived history. Most people give at least a general overview of their life. Where they’ve worked, their professional accolades, and so on. A bot will typically only have a profile image and a company, with maybe a school they went to or so on. Bots typically only have the most essential necessities to appear passable. Again, think of nuance and personality to discern humanity.

The more the “life” feels “lived” and the greater the personality the account has, the more likely it is in fact a real person. With bots, it can be handy to revert to the overall feel of the conversation. Once again, think Justice Stweart’s, “I know it when I see it.”

The post How to Identify Bots on LinkedIn: Fake Sales Representatives appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Software and Software Developers for Business Protection

You can be on top of all aspects of business operations, but if you’re not taking measures to protect your business, you may be at risk.

• Cybersecurity tech. According to Savvy Security, you can prevent malware attacks and cyber security breaches by ensuring your business is set up against all kinds of risks.
• Project management tools. Trello and Zoho help users by keeping responsibilities, tasks, and events in one place. This can help prevent silly mistakes that may cost the business long-term.
• Payment tools. Platforms like Stripe and PayPal help process payments while offering user protection and security.
• Outsource software developers. Many businesses utilize job sites to hire freelance cybersecurity specialists tasked with developer resources. So, if you are tasked with developer resources, start by reviewing software developers online, then select a few for interviews to gauge their level of expertise.

Tools to Support Your Backend

An optimized and efficient backend also means a well-oiled business machine. Here are the best backend tools to invest in.

• HR management. HR management tools like GoCo offer payroll advantages, shift scheduling, and more for employee management.
• Accounting software. Software like QuickBooks Online is favored by small businesses as it tracks expenses, income, claims, and invoicing.
• Communication and collaboration. Microsoft Office 365 is an excellent option for file sharing, instant chatting, and calendar organizing.

Tech for Marketing Your Business

Also, marketing your business is critical for increasing brand exposure and boosting sales. Here are some tech resources to help with marketing.

• Logo designer. A cohesive logo can help increase brand recall and identification. Likewise, use a free custom logo design and download tool to create a logo easily.
• Email marketing. A provider like MailChimp helps keep your email subscribers up to date on special offers, promos, and business happenings.
• CRM software. Additionally, customer relationship management tools like HubSpot improve engagement and employee relationships.

So, are you ready to start crushing your business goals? If so, these tech tools will help! Start leveraging the power of tech to boost productivity, operations, and of course, revenue for business success today!

The post Tech Resources for Business Success: How to Get Started appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

If that’s you, I have a plan.

Why are small businesses big targets?

It’s helpful to understand the reality behind the statistics. Small and medium-sized businesses are a popular target because they tend to have poor cybersecurity compared to their larger counterparts. Many attackers want money, so small businesses are more likely to pay to recover. Others want access to data – and small businesses have that, plus access to larger partners and vendors. 

Many small business owners think they are flying under the radar and are too small to be targeted, but phishing schemes and ransomware are crimes of opportunity and even a few hundred dollars of ransom is profitable for cybercriminals.

The case for cyber insurance

With new, next-gen attacks using artificial intelligence technologies to study and replicate human behavior for sophisticated phishing schemes, businesses of every size are being compelled to protect their company, employees, and data. And a natural starting place for many small-to-medium businesses is cyber insurance. 

Cyber liability insurance protects the business from the high costs associated with recovering from a data breach or malware attack at a relatively low price point. Recovery costs may include ransom payments. But, also the technical resources needed to recover lost data and restore system access, communication with stakeholders, lost productivity due to the breach, and reputational damage.

While insurance can make the difference between closing your doors and surviving a cyber-attack, it isn’t a complete solution.

The one issue with cyber insurance 

Cyber insurance may help your business recover from an attack. But it does little to fight off attackers in the first place. 

Today, most insurance policies require basic cyber hygiene to qualify for coverage, such as having practices and plans to keep sensitive data organized, safe, and secure, with more advanced security helping to lower rates. Companies are allowed to self-attest their cyber protection. But, insurance companies are beginning to ask for objective evidence that controls are being met if marked implemented on a questionnaire. 

A recent article from Insurance Journal explains how one insurance company refused to pay out the policy after it determine that the company filing the claim didn’t actually follow its cybersecurity plans, allowing an attack to happen.

A complete solution for companies of any size includes cyber insurance, cybersecurity protection, and employee training.

A three-step plan

Anyone running a business knows there are certain operational requirements. Cybersecurity now joins traditional tasks like running payroll, obtaining Internet access, and purchasing office supplies. Developing and maintaining comprehensive cybersecurity practices is a must for any company that has customers, data, or employees. In other words, every company.

Because small business owners tend to wear many hats and involve themselves in core business activities, they often view cybersecurity as a challenge. But it doesn’t have to be. 

I’ve outlined a three-step plan for small businesses to establish a cybersecurity baseline and prepare for cybersecurity insurance coverage.  

Step 1: Assess your cybersecurity posture.

Start by making a list of all hardware, software, and online applications your business uses. Analyze the list for security vulnerabilities. That might include how you dispose of old and unused equipment or how often you install software updates. It could also include what password guidelines are used and how often you back up data. Additionally, whether employees connect to work systems remotely.

Step 2: Create a basic cyber hygiene policy.

With insights from your assessment, write out a set of practices (the rules, procedures, personnel, and schedules) to maintain good cyber hygiene. Minimally it should include:

• Passwords: Complex passwords, changed regularly 
• Software updates: Updating all software you use regularly and installing security patches when released
• Hardware updates: Computers, smartphones, and other mobile devices need firmware updated regularly 
• Management of new installs: Anything new that connects to your systems or internet access needs documented and installed properly. Employees should not download apps or connect to new accounts without permission 
• Limit users: Only those who need admin-level access to programs should have access
• Back up of data: All data needs backed up to a secondary source (such as a hard drive or cloud storage) to ensure its safety in the event of a breach or ransom.
• A cybersecurity framework. Select a framework used by your industry or available from the U.S. government, like the NIST cybersecurity framework, to guide more advanced security standards. Even if you aren’t fully compliant with all guidelines right away, these frameworks can help you focus your plans and security investments.

Step 3: Do your insurance homework.

All cyber insurance policies are not created equal. Compare rates and coverage and ask about factors that lower rates. You may be able to get a lower insurance rate simply by switching on multi-factor authentication for your email accounts. Or completing online training classes! So, look for policies with valuable benefits. Like cyber investigators helping during an attack or legal aid to determine your liability to customers and vendors.

Cybersecurity is for every business, and cyber liability insurance has quickly become an important part of protecting the country’s small businesses. While the threats will continue to be challenging, preparing your business to face them is feasible with sound cyber hygiene practices.

The post What Every Small Business Needs to Know about Cyber Insurance appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Small business owners face significant challenges, and their most important daily responsibility is ensuring their businesses grow and thrive. As an industry, we have not done enough to connect the benefits of strong cybersecurity practices and policies to business expansion, resiliency, and long-term survival.

There is no area of cybersecurity more indicative of the challenges we face in threading the needle between security and business-friendly policies than usernames and passwords. We still overwhelmingly rely on an insecure means of account and network access that has proven inefficient and insecure for more than 30 years.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

We know there are more secure methods that can be deployed. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) bolsters security by requiring users to present more than one piece of evidence (credential) whenever the user logs in to a business account (ex. company email, payroll, human resources, etc.). MFA usually falls into three categories: something the user knows (a 15-character password), something the user has (fingerprint), or something the user receives (a code sent to the user’s phone or email account).

MFA works, but companies remain extremely reticent to deploy. The Global Small Business Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Study released by the Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI) found that only 46% of small business owners claim to have implemented MFA methods recommended by leading security experts, with just 13% requiring its use by employees for most account or application access.

Most companies implementing some form of MFA have not made it a requirement for all.

Only 39% of those who offer MFA have a process for prioritizing critical hardware, software, and data, with 49% merely “encouraging the use of MFA when it is available.”

According to Microsoft, 99.9% of account compromise attacks can be blocked simply using MFA. Yet, 47% of small business owners surveyed said they either didn’t understand MFA or didn’t see its value. In addition, nearly 60% have not discussed MFA with their employees.

Implementation of MFAs

Implementing MFA does not require hardware changes to company computers, mobile devices, or printers. Instead, there are numerous free and low-cost software-based tools users can download to their company and personal devices. For example, email providers usually offer (and encourage) MFA. Therefore, it can be as easy as clicking an option in email settings to turn on MFA.

There are several easy steps companies can take to implement MFA. First, organizations should update their policies and procedures with specific expectations. For example, all employees should implement MFA on their company email accounts. Next, hold workforce information sessions to communicate MFA policies and expectations. Employees need to know that it is easy to activate MFA on their accounts. Finally, designate someone in the organization who accepts the responsibility for cyber readiness to help employees troubleshoot as they begin using MFA.

Final Thoughts

At CRI, we fully believe strong cybersecurity is a business imperative, not an operational challenge. This requires a change in mindset from small business leaders, new questions must be asked, and behaviors need to change:

• Can my business afford to suffer a cyberattack?
• Will a cyberattack irreparably damage my brand?
• Will a cyberattack burden my employees, customers, and trading partners?

Honestly answering these questions will change the importance of cybersecurity in a small business’s growth strategy.

The post Linking Strong Cybersecurity to the Growth and Survival of SMBs appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

As a business owner, you might be wondering whether getting a virtual debit card would be of any use to your company, or streamline your finances even as you expand your operations. With this in mind, below are reasons why you should consider getting a virtual debit card for your business. But first, you need to know what a virtual debit card is. 

What’s a Virtual Debit Card?

A virtual debit card is a digital version of the physical debit card linked to your underlying debit card. Besides being virtual, it includes all other aspects of the physical debit card, such as debit card number, cardholder name, card verification value (CVV) code, and expiration date. It also has a 16-digit randomly-generated number.  

You can quickly and easily make payments over your phone or online payments using the virtual debit card. However, you can’t use this card to withdraw money from your account. 

Reasons to Get a Virtual Debit Card

Using a virtual debit card service will provide you with a couple of benefits. These include: 

1. Reduced Number of Payment Fraud Incidents

Traditional physical cards create an easy target for theft, either by getting cloned or being stolen. But when using a virtual debit card to do your business transactions, you enjoy greater security from fraud and theft. This is because you can easily deactivate your virtual debit card in minutes. You also don’t share bank account numbers. Thus, you can enjoy greater peace of mind when making online payments.

In addition, they don’t have visible card numbers and magnetic strips present on physical cards. Hence, it becomes harder for unauthorized individuals to hack into your account. Some virtual cards also require face scans or PIN details before accessing your account. 

You can also set your virtual debit card to be single-use and expire immediately after using it. This offers you further protection by ensuring your card is not used by unscrupulous dealers. Nonetheless, make sure to use a virtual debit card issued by a trustworthy provider. This way, you can be certain that their card network boasts excellent security features and extensive fraud checks.

2. Improved Oversight And Accountability

In business, you need to be accountable for every penny you spend or you risk experiencing cash flow problems or suffering considerable losses. This is where using a virtual debit card comes in handy, as it allows you to have excellent oversight and accountability for all your business transactions. 

With the virtual debit card, you’ll be able to determine how and where all your money is going as each transaction is automatically recorded in the card management system. This saves your accounts department the hassle of manually checking the expense receipts to validate each transaction, which is often time-consuming. So, you can easily and effectively monitor and control as you can easily know how every penny is spent. 

The card also comes in handy if different employees use the same virtual card to make different transactions. You can also set limits each of your staff can spend to further boost transparency and prevent any violation. This allows you, as the business owner, greater control of uses in company finances and ensures increased accountability.  

3. Convenience For E-Commerce Activities

Running a business is highly engaging and requires you, as the entrepreneur, to be fully committed to the daily operations of your enterprise. Using the virtual debit card offers you this freedom because you don’t need to physically go to the bank to complete a transaction. Additionally, you can do the transactions 24/7, unlike a physical bank operating at certain hours. 

Getting a virtual debit card also doesn’t require you to file a lot of paperwork. Along with taking a lot of time, paperwork increases the chances of making a mistake. Also, you can start right away instead of waiting 7 to 14 days for your account to start running. This is because you can handle everything conveniently and quickly using your computer. As a result, you can shift your focus to other vital matters relating to running your business. 

4. Promotes Teamwork

Another advantage of virtual debit cards is that it promotes teamwork among the employees within your business. This is because your staff will constantly need to communicate with each other when keeping track of their spending. Doing this helps to inspire collaboration within them, and they’ll find ways how they can reduce their spending. This will help the team come up with a fixed budget they can use to guide them for quarterly campaigns. 

5. Saves Your Organization Time And Money

Time and money are two precious assets you don’t want to waste in business. Utilizing a virtual debit card ensures that wasting time and money doesn’t happen because you can quickly get one at the click of a button, unlike physical cards that require manual work for making payments. You can start using virtual debit cards to do transactions, which in business is vital considering every minute counts if you want to remain competitive.

The use of these cards saves you money because digital transactions are faster and cheaper. This is because regular admin tasks are cheaper when making digital transactions. 

6. Helps You Take Back Power From Vendors

Once a vendor has your card information, they can charge you each time they want. Because of this, you might find your subscription lasting longer than you wish. Using a virtual debit card account, you can prevent this as it offers you greater control over all your online subscriptions. Accordingly, prevention allows unnecessary payments from being charged to your account if an employee forgot to cancel a subscription. 

Takeaway

Virtual debit cards are the go-to option nowadays among many businesses for both online and offline transactions. This especially comes in handy as a business owner because you’ll need to make a lot of business-to-business (B2B) transactions to pay buyers or suppliers, and you don’t want to waste precious time physically lining up at your local bank. Detailed in this post is an outline of why getting a virtual debit card can be a wise move for your business in case you have even the slightest reservations. 

The post Debit Card: Why Your Business Needs to Go Virtual appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

From accounting to business operations, industry leaders increasingly unite their beliefs that blockchain will impact every key area of work — and the transition is already underway. According to some estimations, small business blockchain might contribute $1.77 trillion to the global economy by 2030. The Internet of Things will help see to it.

How does it work?

Blockchain automatically tracks transactions from start to end without requiring a central authority to preserve the trade or encrypt the data without the need for human interaction.

Instead, blockchain or NFT provides transparency into what occurs in the transaction’s history by classifying them. Furthermore, since blockchain is immutable, this information is safe.

This “digital ledger” enables NFT developers and disruptors to rewrite the book on traditional organizational procedures in new and exciting ways.

The technology provides greater transactional security since it is intrinsically transparent, immutable, and decentralized. They use worldly math and software principles to store almost impossible data for adversaries to exploit. Each block adds to the chain has a complex cryptographic reference to the block before it. This reference is a complicated mathematical issue that people must translate for the further following block to the network and chain.

The method creates a digital fingerprint that is uniquely encrypted.

The rising popularity of it may impact experts working in banking, agreements, settlements, or any corporate procedure that involves being a third party to marketing. As the defender of trust, blockchain cryptology replaces third-party intermediaries.

When dealing with assets using mathematics rather than intermediaries, blockchain may assist reduce overhead costs and headaches for businesses or people. If you work in this industry, you should understand how cryptocurrency or NFT assets are produced, exchanged, saved, and verified on the cloud to capitalize on their opportunities.

How is blockchain being used in business?

You now understand how blockchain may change the way organizations run. However, it is essential to reflect on the firms touched by the cloud.

Many people want to know how to use blockchain in business. A detailed understanding of blockchain applications in many sectors may provide the answer. Over time, several organizations embraced it with positive results. Here’s a rundown of some of the other blockchain business ideas altering unique organizations.

The opportunities for blockchain-based firms in the SAP services market are inspiring. For a long time, blockchain and banking have been inextricably linked. By providing secure, digital, and inflexible ledgers, blockchain may perform the very purpose of banks.

As an evolution, blockchain improves the accuracy and flexibility of data exchange in the financial services ecosystem. It can disrupt the banking industry, which has a value of over $4.8 trillion, by dis-intermediating critical services provided by banks, ranging from authorization and payment systems to expenditures.

Credit Suisse is the most visible example of platform use in the banking industry. It collaborated with the New York-based firm Paxos to compensate U.S. stock transactions using blockchain technology. Furthermore, well-known players in the financial services industry have exhibited positive instances of its use in business.

Blockchain is expanding into the finance sector.

Banking institutions and lending companies often provide underwriting for loans based on credit reports.

Clients may be antagonistic to the central credit reporting system. As a result, various systems employing platforms to create cost-effective, secure, and efficient lending and borrowing may significantly simplify the process. Clients may be open to employing loans based on a single worldwide recognition score. But only if cryptographic security and a decentralized database can provide for earlier payments.

Dharma Labs is a noteworthy example of such usage in lending and borrowing instances. It’s a protocol that allows developers to create online debt markets with the necessary instruments and metrics.

Bloom is another example of a technology that influences lending and borrowing. It’s a job right on educating credit scoring on the blockchain, emphasizing the growth of a protocol for managing risk, originality, and distinction scoring using blockchain technology.

The impact of blockchain trends and the possibilities of blockchain giving value in many corporate use cases may allow anybody to begin their blockchain-based experience.

However, it is critical to seek knowledge to properly respond to the wave of “blockchain development.” There are many businesses experiencing disruption due to blockchain companies. Administrators should keep these points in mind.

However, new company setups should focus on the distinctiveness of social purpose as a powerful agent of change. Likewise, the current generation of customers is altering how organizations develop and provide value. As a result, company concepts should emphasize sustainability. Other market participants should be chosen by current clientele.

The post What Is Blockchain’s True Impact on Businesses? appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

While you’ll find many benefits with cloud computing, you might also have concerns over potential security issues. Fortunately, you can embrace the advantages of cloud computing and managed siem while still keeping your small business and your customers’ private information safe.

Look into ideas such as hybrid cloud computing, which costs less money and gives similar advantages to companies. You’ll still gain the safety net of a third-party provider, but for a fraction of the cost.

Here are some things to keep in mind when considering whether cloud computing is a secure option for your small business.

1. Train your workers to identify attacks.

Phishing usually starts with an email made to look as though it’s from an official source.

Teach your staff to go directly to a website and never click on links within an email. You can significantly reduce social engineering attacks by training your workers to recognize them.

Phishing can also look like an email from someone higher up in a company, but will actually be from someone trying to gain access to accounts. It’s always best to double-check requests for passwords or personal information by calling the other employee directly.

According to Verizon’s 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report, approximately 36% of breaches come from phishing attacks. Phishing is quite avoidable if you train your workers to recognize and avoid it.

2. Install virus and malware protection.

Make sure every device used by your company or its employees – even remote workers – has the latest virus and malware protection installed.

One of the biggest threats to the computing safety of your small business is workers not protecting their accounts. Hackers can do a lot of mischief if they get their hands on login credentials.

Make sure any device used to access accounts has protection installed. Remote workers may need to go through IT to ensure they add two-factor authentication and install all available software.

Companies should provide protection and follow up frequently to be sure it gets installed and updated properly.

3. Insist on strong passwords.

One way people allow hackers into their accounts is by reusing passwords, not changing them frequently, or using easy-to-guess combinations.

At a minimum, you should change all your business passwords every few months, including any passwords to cloud computing software.

Encourage employees to use passwords that aren’t easy to guess and contain lowercase letters, capitals, numbers, and characters.

Don’t forget to watch the passwords you use for software as a service (SaaS) applications. A company with under 500 employees uses as many as 123 different SaaS apps.

For example, if you use several different websites for various tasks, make sure you change passwords when an employee leaves or you terminate them. Not keeping up with passwords opens your business to vulnerabilities.

4. Set clear security policies.

Avoid confusion over security protocols by setting some policies.

What happens to customer data when you no longer need it? How often do you change passwords? Are there tiers to data access?

Figure out what works best for your organization and set the rules. This helps current and future employees know what’s expected of them.

5. Comply with all applicable laws.

Know the rules surrounding data protection.

For example, if some of your customers reside in the European Union (EU), you fall under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and must comply with the rules or face fines.

States such as California have similar standards. Your state and local governments may vary, so be sure to check any applicable laws.

You also must comply with laws in areas where your out-of-state customers reside.

6. Set a budget.

McKinsey & Company recently noted most companies plan to have $8 of every $10 in their IT hosting budget go toward cloud hosting by 2024.

The pandemic brought many companies online with cloud access for remote workers they weren’t planning to implement yet.

The increase in data means an increase in online criminal activity.

So, is cloud computing safe for your small business? The answer isn’t always the same, but most cloud hosting providers invest quite a bit of money into the most recent security measures possible.

It’s likely as safe as any other method of storing data, short of keeping information only on paper, which isn’t practical. Set a budget that meets your company’s goals. You can always increase it if you feel your data isn’t safe enough.

Is cloud computing safe or not?

Cloud computing is as safe as any other form of digital data storage.

You should ensure any companies you hire have the latest in safety standards and security. Take steps to protect your information, such as training employees and frequently changing passwords.

With some good security practices and awareness, it’s much less likely that you’ll face a data breach.

The post Is Cloud Computing Safe for Small Businesses? appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

You know all too well that many businesses owe their success to luck as often as labor. That’s not to say that the risks you take aren’t carefully calculated – they are. However, many of you reading this may have risked everything by waiting to take effective cybersecurity measures.

The cybersecurity risks have never been higher than right now — and the government knows it.

It’s why the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced the Shields Up program. Shields Up is designed to protect American businesses from malicious cyber activity surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It’s also why the DOJ announced it will fine government contractors and other businesses that fail to follow cybersecurity standards or fail to report cybersecurity incidents.

Waiting on security upgrades until regulatory agencies mandate security can be costly and dangerous for your businesses.

Any company, including contractors and subcontractors, who do business with the government faces a slew of orders to be compliant with various cybersecurity frameworks. This includes NIST 800-171, which outlines the required security standards and practices for non-federal organizations. Likewise, FAR 52.204-21 lays out 15 basic safeguards surrounding data, physical security, and cyber hygiene. Similarly, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program is a framework designed to protect the defense industrial base.

Playing a Dangerous Game of Cybersecurity Chance

As regulators negotiate, discuss, and finalize, we’ve noticed an alarming trend. Many companies are hitting the “Pause” button.

We get it. Last year’s CMMC town halls highlighted small business concerns. The new policies being proposed put a disproportional burden on smaller companies that might not have the systems, in-house expertise, or budget for the required response.

The industry developed CMMC 2.0 to address those issues. And in many ways, it does. But it also contains a few surprises.

The Reality Check

If you’ve pumped the brakes on investing in more robust cyber security and are waiting to see what the regulations will look like, you’re taking a huge gamble. Here’s the reality.

Attacks won’t wait.

While you spend time waiting on security, your business continues to be at risk for a data hack or ransom.

The business interruption, reputation damage, proprietary information losses, recovery fees, and customer or contract losses are often enough to sink even the most stable businesses. And any cyber insurance policy you’ve got won’t be sufficient. It won’t cover everything.

If hackers return your data after a ransomware attack, your problems may multiply. Corrupted and inaccessible data aren’t much use.

The “final” version will come up too quickly.

When DoD starts using CMMC 2.0 guidelines it will be with just 60 days’ notice.

That’s not enough time for most companies to complete remediation work. Waiting for a final version or official start may cost you contract opportunities. If you’re ready to go sooner, however, you might be able to grab work from others who are not.

While not fully finalized, DoD is planning to offer incentives to organizations that go through the certification process prior to the final rulemaking for CMMC.

Your to-do list has 320 tasks!

The requirement to be compliant with NIST 800-171 cybersecurity framework has 110 controls that require 320 assessment objectives.

For Maturity Level 1 and non-prioritized Maturity Level 2 contracts, senior leadership will self-attest to their company’s compliance each year.

But that’s not a free pass. The DOJ has already used the False Claims Act to go after companies who self-attest, have a security incident, and are found, through an investigation, not compliant.

Documentation did not go away.

Many companies believed that CMMC 2.0 would do away with documentation: It. Did. Not.

Companies must document all of the 320 assessment objectives. It’s a significant amount of work — and few companies can do it all internally. Another reason that waiting on security measures will backfire when the a time crunch comes.

The ROI Dilemma

We acknowledge that the cost of cybersecurity seems daunting.

Many companies haven’t invested in an enterprise-level solution or even budgeted for ongoing cybersecurity work. But they need to.

Cybersecurity has become a normalized expense for business operations, like paying payroll taxes or carrying insurance. If you’re struggling to see the ROI of cybersecurity consider three things.

1. Small businesses are the ideal target for ransomware hackers.

Cybercriminals know you have fewer resources and staff to prepare for, defend against, and recover from attacks. Attacks have doubled in the last year because they are incredibly lucrative and you’re a great testbed to prepare for larger attacks.

2. The average cost for a data breach in a small company is $108,000.

But money isn’t the only thing at stake. The disruption, recovery, and unanticipated costs — plus customer frustration — have been shown to take a far greater financial toll on companies. This can total as much as $3 million per incident for companies with fewer than 500 employees.

3. Cybersecurity can be a competitive advantage.

While others delay, you can cash in on customer and partner trust built on the strength of your cybersecurity program.

There is an easy way to begin.

A slow roll is still a step in the right direction. We advise small businesses to do several things right now to get things started. Most of them won’t cost you a dime!

Talk real numbers.

A realistic estimate is the first step toward developing a compliant security plan.

A good cybersecurity services company will provide a basic assessment and estimate free of charge. A great cybersecurity services company will further your education, explaining the standards you will need to follow, where you stand now, and the scope of a solution.

Real numbers allow you to plan ahead and budget for security. Very often, we surprise small businesses when they learn that cybersecurity compliance doesn’t cost as much as they expected.

Understand your attack surface.

The physical front door isn’t the only way people are entering your business.

All of your web apps, portals, and bill pay systems are entrance points too. Identifying all of your assets is the first step in securing them.

Now is the time to conduct a thorough audit of your digital ecosystem to understand your attack surface and plan for ongoing monitoring.

Revisit your incident response plan…and practice it!

In case of a security incident, every employee with network access should understand the plan.

Above all, your Incident Response Team, encompassing leadership, IT, HR, legal, and communications, should also practice their first steps. Similarly, it may be helpful to have written procedures and a printed phone tree that clearly spells out whom to contact and under what circumstances.

Back up your data.

Put together an ironclad schedule for backing up all data. Likewise, it’s valuable to test the procedures for restoring information, too, in case you are hit with ransomware or another cyberattack.

A good look at cybersecurity realities can help small business owners and leaders change the game. Therefore, there’s no need to gamble with your company’s future and reputation.

Cybersecurity-building steps often start with a slow roll and pick-up speed as companies understand more about their requirements and the business benefits of a robust security stance.

Derek Kernus is the director of cybersecurity operations at DTS and holds CISSP, CCSP and CMMC RP certifications. DTS provides tailored, scalable cyber solutions for small- and medium-sized organizations leveraging top resources and the expertise of talented individuals with a passion for excellence to help protect our clients’ people and data.

The post Waiting on Security: The Real Cost appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

The concern over securing digital devices and data doesn’t just apply to sprawling governments and massive corporations. It also impacts smaller entities, including startups and small businesses.

If you’re a small business owner, don’t assume that you’re too small to be at risk. Instead, consider these recommendations as simple-yet-impactful ways that you can safeguard your business against the ever-imminent threat of a cyberattack.

1. Find a good IdP.

When addressing cybersecurity, it’s tempting to focus on the devices and the data that you’re trying to protect. However, another critical angle is the people that are using said content.

Both you and your employees must be able to protect their online activity as they access your company’s database. This can be tricky in a world dominated by decentralized application solutions and third-party providers.

Chances are you already have a wide variety of different tools in your tech stack, each of which requires its own login, passwords, and so on.

This is where an IdP can come in handy. Okta defines an IdP or “Identity Provider” as a service that helps to manage digital identities. Companies can utilize an IdP to help give themselves and their employees easy access to all of the tools or areas of data that they have permission to access.

A good IdP gives you an added layer of security — all while streamlining much of the work that goes into logging in and out of different areas of your digital infrastructure throughout the day.

2. Set up a secure network.

It’s important to safeguard your company’s digital devices, but there’s another line of cybersecurity that you should tend to, as well: your network.

The overarching protection of your company’s network is called network security. The Wi-Fi experts at Plume define this as protecting your larger, web-connected network from the threat of infiltration.

There are many ways to do this. For example, you can encrypt your local network, change your router and admin passwords regularly, and set up guest networks for public users.

If you operate in a physical office space, you can address this easily, as you only need to protect one Wi-Fi router.

However, if you’re like many businesses in the post-pandemic era, you likely have employees working from home, too.

If that’s the case, it’s important to take steps to protect your staff’s home networks and routers, as well. You can start by training them to maintain good digital hygiene (more on that further down.) You can also equip them with dependable routers from companies that are known for their security.

Even so, be aware that it is always more difficult to protect your networks and keep data secure when your employees are working from different locations.

That’s why, along with a safe network, you want to keep your employees’ individual activities as safe as possible, which brings us to our last point.

3. Institute good digital hygiene.

Your data is only as safe as you are when you handle it.

Consider the example of an old-fashioned bank vault. A financial institution might have a vault with thick walls and massive locks. But if an employee opens it up when a thief is present, at that moment, they compromise all of the security that the vault offers.

It’s the same story with data.

You could have an air-tight cybersecurity program in place. But if you or your employees mishandle your devices, it can open up the opportunity for hackers to take advantage of the “door being open,” so to speak.

The best way to avoid this is by instituting good digital hygiene policies. SeaGlass Technology succinctly summarizes this term by explaining that it is the practice of cleaning up both electronic- and information-based assets and keeping them updated.

You can do this in multiple ways.

• For instance, using strong, secure passwords is ground zero for good digital hygiene.
• So is organizing your digital assets, like documents, files, and folders, so that you know where everything is.
• Keeping all of your devices up to date is also critical. This includes installing updates and patches as soon as they’re available.

Digital hygiene isn’t just for the boss. It’s something that all of your employees should be comfortable with maintaining to help keep data secure. Take the time to define what the term means and then train your staff to keep up their digital hygiene over the long haul.

At this point, there are too many cyber threats to keep track of. With so many digital dangers lurking around every corner, it behooves even small business owners to take extra precautions.

The good news is that there are easy ways to do so. Find a good IdP. Secure your network. Train your staff to practice good digital hygiene. It’s little things like this that make the difference when a cybercriminal comes knocking.

The post 3 Ways to Protect Your Small Business and Keep Data Secure appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

That is to say, the right data choice by the U.S. Congress not to follow the European method of data protection brought enhanced data safety. How did we arrive at this point?

Protection Fails in Europe

Europeans do not report that the restrictions have increased their internet confidence. In reality, most poll respondents in the United Kingdom and Germany believe the GDPR will have a neutral, if not hostile, effect.

According to a new Canadian report, the GDPR imposes a massive regulatory burden on regulators and businesses. The GDPR apparently harms small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and increases consumer complexity. Similarly, it includes frustration with endless pop-ups and “consent fatigue,” reduces innovation, and obstructs cross-border commerce.

The lack of EU-based digital businesses development might be a significant indictment of the GDPR. Today, Europe accounts for just 3% of global internet value, and it is on the verge of being surpassed by Africa. Meanwhile, Google (Alphabet), Facebook (Meta), Amazon, and TikTok, a Chinese app, have expanded their market share and profitability in Europe.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) has GDPR-style standards, and its high compliance cost is a small company killer.

Fortunately, a realistic solution protects consumers without putting undue strain on businesses and regulatory agencies. The Uniform Law Commission (ULC), a non-profit organization comprised of 350 commissioners selected by the different U.S. states, prepares model legislation to offer consistency and clarity to contradictory state and federal laws.

During the pandemic, hundreds of data protection stakeholders, including ULC commissioners, worked to establish a model code known as the Uniform Personal Data Protection Act (UPDPA).

Protection of Customer Data Needs a Wake-Up Call

The Act establishes fair information practices (FIPPs) for collecting and using personal data. It also specifies compatible, incompatible, and forbidden data use. The Act protects and ensures that consumers have a reasonable cost to regulators and businesses.

The risk-based approach, which balances the interests of consumers and companies while allowing for flexibility and innovation that may benefit consumers, is critical to the UPDPA’s effectiveness. Its emphasis on entities that “keep” data as part of a system of records about individual data subjects for retrieval for customized communication or decisional treatment is a fundamental limiting concept.

For example, there are fewer data breaches before small business audits than after. Another benefit of the UPDPA is that it creates a safe harbor for low-risk suitable activities that do not need permission. These behaviors are in the person’s best interests and are within their reasonable expectations.

For instance, two examples are leveraging location data for a community’s COVID risk assessment and targeted advertising while accessing free content and services. Small businesses are exempt from the UPDPA for practical reasons. The Ukraine offers a grim example. No one wants to repeat these mistakes.

A Requirement for Consent

A requirement is consent for practices that pose a risk. Technology for small businesses always carries risks.

When sensitive personal data is breached — such as race, religious belief, gender, sexual orientation, citizenship, immigration status — it’s legally actionable. Even more so for financial account numbers, Social Security numbers, government-issued identification numbers, and real-time geolocations. Criminal records, medical diagnoses, or information about children under the age of 13 is also a growing risk.

Prohibited behaviors include shame, ridicule, intimidation, harassment, or identity theft that is carried out without appropriate security. These might result in financial, bodily, or reputational damage. Selling personal data for marketing purposes is an incompatible activity as well.

People also have the right to a copy of personal data and the ability to rectify and change it under the UPDPA.

Data controllers must follow a clear and easily accessible data privacy policy that discloses the types of personal information kept, notification of practices, procedures for responding to data subjects’ rights, applicable state and federal laws, and any voluntary consensus standards (VCS) they use.

VCS is a collection of user-developed, bottom-up tailored rules for specific applications, services, and contexts. Therefore, the office will notify the appropriate attorney general if they encourage innovation and standardization for the sake of online data protection.

Oklahoma, Nebraska, and the District of Columbia have already enacted the UPDPA. The Act allows states to include enforcement measures from an implementing state’s existing consumer protection law.

However, state attorneys general may issue regulations to execute the Act. They are expected to work together to promote consistency in enforcement. Private action delays the adoption of federal internet data protection laws. The UPDPA leaves that up to each state.

The post Data Protection: A GDPR Update appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Every few years, the speed of the digital revolution accelerates. We are now in one of these eras. For fraudsters, the future of fraud looks bright, but for those of us who rely on technology, it’s a never-ending struggle to protect assets.

A genuine present meets a very futuristic future in Experian’s Annual Fraud Forecast for 2022. Like the now-iconic and authentic Tinder Swindler, cybercriminals build each new scam on a new habit. Fraud is always an antidote to action.

NFT? Metaverse? Exercise caution.

In his now-viral YouTube video Line Goes Up, Dan Olsen characterizes the present hoopla surrounding NFTs as a poverty trap.

The creation of the rich and winners puts newbies at risk. Dan says cryptocurrency is a larger fool scheme, where users must encourage others to participate in recouping their investment. This inevitably causes price increases in the small business technology sector.

According to Juniper Research, merchant losses due to online payment fraud would total $206 billion between 2021 and 2025. That’s why organizations need to invest in fraud protection systems to avoid future frauds and losses. Businesses and consumers must be mindful of fraudsters’ ingenuity and agility in our digital-first era, said Kathleen Peters, North American chief innovation officer at Experian Decision Analytics. They use data and sophisticated analytics to assist companies in detecting fraud and safeguarding customers. The way we pay for goods has changed, and it hasn’t only gone more online.

The way we pay increases our vulnerability to fraudsters.

Paying for internet purchases in installments rather than buying everything at once is becoming more popular. These companies didn’t invent the notion. They use credit and installments only for significant transactions.

As a result of making smaller transactions more appealing, in 2021, 45 million BNPL customers will spend over $20.8 billion. Since 2018, the industry has grown above 300 percent annually.

Then there’s Bitcoin. Record investment and hype naturally lead to record frauds.

From October 2020 to March 2021, the FTC recorded over $80 million in Bitcoin fraud losses. Suddenly, a $4.5 billion crypto laundering plan operated by a husband and wife team with a rapper alter ego dubbed Razzlekhan surfaced. Netflix has everything it needs for its next real crime documentary.

Confusion provides an opportunity for malfeasance.

Because cryptocurrency is so new, people will use it to extract, store and hide stolen assets. The size of the business doesn’t matter.

Cryptocurrency is very confusing, says Tina Mulqueen, creator of The Block Talk and Admonsters’ Top Women in Media for 2021.

Fraudsters will exploit any uncertainty. We witnessed that with ICOs and now with NFTs. There are good projects, but investors need to educate themselves about the market. It shouldn’t deter people from using cryptocurrencies, investing in them, or even investing in blockchain.

But it takes practice. The initial measures are to utilize several levels of verification and a hard wallet or “cold storage.”

Decentralization is an intriguing notion since using blockchain — hundreds of online ledgers to verify anything — makes it more verifiable. But customers dislike being misunderstood. It’s the same reason most parents don’t want their kids on TikTok.

Blockchain and crypto will expand. We recently had the first “Crypto Super Bowl” in terms of advertising. BMCS established the first Sumcoin Index Fund last week, effectively one coin that follows the Top 100 cryptocurrencies based on market capitalization.

The metaverse will expand opportunities for fraud.

Then there’s the metaverse, which is currently only partly known.

The idea of effortlessly engaging in a virtual environment isn’t new. They already sell marketers on new income streams from virtual shopping experiences and digital products.

If our workplaces become part of the metaverse rather than simply a Zoom screen, we need to make sure our meta identities mirror what we want to show to the world, our coworkers, or anybody else.

We’re already living in a metaverse of sorts.

For example, this happens if your child plays NBA2k. They play, earn virtual cash, and spend on character costumes, traits, and haircuts. As characters in an evolving online realm, they compete against other online rivals. It’s a pretty basic metaverse.

But it also makes you more aware of the deception.

In the new Horizon Worlds app, parents are already worried. We can already observe concerns with identity fraud in the metaverse. The uncontrolled market for purchasing and selling NFTs will witness significant scam efforts.

It’s impossible to build long-term wealth in crypto and the metaverse. This argument is from Alan Smithson, co-founder of MetaVRse and co-creator of the metaverse’s first mall, set to debut in 2022. Smithson also developed the Metaverse Manifesto, which describes future XR ethics.

Building the future of human connection, cooperation, culture, and commerce requires more responsibility.

The now requires alertness.

Even if the attention shifts to new digital behaviors, ransomware is still a significant problem.

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center estimates a theft of $133 million between January 1, 2021, and July 31, 2021. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FCEN) reported $590 million in ransomware activity in the first half of 2021, compared to $416 million in 2020. Remember The Tinder Swindler, the cautionary story (no spoilers).

People could create intimate reliable connections without meeting in person since more people used dating apps and social media to find love during the epidemic. A rise in romance-related scams certainly was inevitable. Con artists take advantage of romantic connections to beg for money or a “loan” to pay anything from a vacation to medical expenditures. Nine Perfect Strangers on Hulu highlights this vital story (again, no spoilers).

The key is never to let your guard down, whether in business, cyberspace, or personal concerns. It doesn’t hurt to think like a fraudster in an increasingly virtual world.

The post Opportunity For Fraudsters Digital Dependency appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

A little legal practice, a 35-person manufacturing firm, and a two-person charitable organization are all examples of technology-driven businesses. As much as any brand-name financial institution or international shop, their core operations depend on operating systems, software applications, and networks. And they have all been victims of ransomware.

However, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) may be severely harmed, unlike large corporations, which are more likely to withstand a high-profile cyberattack.

A problem? Yes, but perhaps not as big as you think.

SMEs pay a high price for business disruption. They pay a high price for remediation and data recovery. They may lack the expertise and workforce to secure their essential IT infrastructure from cybercrime.

Enormous Ransoms for Small Businesses

According to NetDiligence’s Cyber Claims Study 2021 Report, ransomware has accounted for 40% of overall incident expenses connected to cyber claims in the last five years.

That is to say, the average ransom demand in 2020 was $247,000.

Research has estimated the cost of recovering from a cybersecurity breach affecting a small business to be roughly $352,000. These expenses do not account for the loss of client confidence due to the misuse of sensitive data.

Criminals know that small firms have weak or non-existent cybersecurity systems. As a result, they target them in large numbers, sending out repeated phishing attempts in the hopes of capturing a few victims in their automated nets.

Google has sent out 50,000 phishing or malware attack alerts as of October 2021, up 33% over the same month in 2020.

Since the Covid-19 epidemic, work-from-home and work-from-anywhere technologies have become more popular, exposing workers and small company systems to cyberattacks. According to one survey, approximately 70% of full-time workers in the United States started working from home during the Covid-19 epidemic.

Unfortunately, some small businesses infrequently take efforts to secure their remote employees. These efforts include implementing two-factor authentication (an additional login step) or encrypting computer disks. During the epidemic, millions of people lost their employment. Have they lost access to all of their email accounts and logins? Probably not.

Vulnerabilities in Small Businesses and Cybersecurity

Why are tiny firms such prey to predators? They could not have the operational know-how or staff to appropriately defend their IT systems and networks.

Meanwhile, here are a few examples of circumstances that put small companies at risk:

• IT infrastructures are often outdated, are not regularly updated, and are poorly constructed.
• The person in charge of IT — whether the CFO, the CEO, or a random employee — is seldom updated on the newest security risks and solutions.
• Given the average pay of roughly $165,000, hiring a chief information security officer is often unaffordable.
• A jumble of local hardware, networks, devices, and apps may make cyber protection difficult.
• Employee cyber awareness training is poor or non-existent.
• Backups may be unreliable or have not been thoroughly tested.
• Business continuity and disaster recovery planning have not been emphasized.

Company executives may mistakenly believe that they are too tiny to be a cybercrime target, to their detriment.

Getting a Head Start On a Tough Situation

You don’t need any new gear or antivirus software to start boosting your company’s cyber security image.

Begin by taking a detailed inventory of your physical and digital assets, as well as a vulnerability assessment. It’s critical to create a “data governance” document that establishes guidelines for data management. People still record passwords on Post-it Notes on computer displays or taped on the bottom of mouse pads in small workplaces. Thus this technique is essential.

Above all, cybersecurity awareness training for employees is also necessary.

Phishing or other efforts at social engineering or getting individuals into vulnerable networks are a vital security threat vector for the ransomware outbreak. According to IBM’s 2021 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index, phishing was responsible for one-third of all cyberattacks. Ascertain that your personnel knows what to look for in these circumstances.

For example, penetration testing is another technique to go ahead with.

“Pen testing” ensures that your security measures are effective. Therefore, few small firms, in all experience, have the competence to undertake penetration testing. Therefore you may wish to hire an expert.

Finally, some experts recommend that every company establish real-time network and server monitoring. While strong passwords, two-factor authentication, encrypted data, and network firewalls are necessary and will slow down attackers, complete protection is neither cost-effective nor practicable.

Taking efforts to mitigate the potentially catastrophic effects of a cyberattack may be well worth the expense for small companies.

The post Ransomware: Don’t Become a Small Business Cybercrime Victim appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Even the tiniest local stores, restaurants, dancing studios, and car garages create sensitive cybersecurity data to serve their customers better, including customer profiles, payment credentials, and service records.

On the other hand, it could be different. But internet exposure has its drawbacks.

Every day, a fresh wave of cyber threats hits innocent companies. Likewise, malicious emails deliver ransomware and password-stealing trojans to inboxes, while other threats use software flaws to get access to systems and data. For example, you might use your website to spread malware to users without your knowledge. Cybersecurity trends lean that way.

Cyber-attacks are a massive headache for large corporations. They are an existential danger to small businesses. Interruptions in operations cost money, while reputational damage and possible legal consequences from data breaches are difficult to overcome. Smaller firms generally lack the means to withstand the storm, much alone pay a ransom for speedy data and system restoration.

Every firm must have cybersecurity.

Businesses of all sizes might take solace in the notion that they are “too tiny to target.” Likewise, the truth is far grimmer.

Cascade Technologies founder Cramer Snuggs used to see one customer attack every six months. For example, one assault every two weeks in the past year. Even with those stats, many of our clients believe they would not be victims, Snuggs adds. They mistakenly think today’s cyber-criminals aren’t interested in small businesses.

Modern cyber threats use automation and even AI, making it easy for criminals to create new threats and strike at scale at little cost. You may utilize personal data from social media accounts and past breaches to enhance assaults with little human effort. For example, this sinister net can readily catch even the tiniest groups. Another method is supply-chain assaults on software suppliers and IT service providers.

Today’s SMBs are vulnerable to phishing, malware, and other digital dangers.

On the other hand, cybercriminals no longer need to choose targets and adapt attacks to fit their needs manually. The need for comprehensive security has never been greater. Even small enterprises rely on the availability and integrity of their data and services.

Penetrations cost an average of $3.56 million in the first half of 2021. And the average ransomware payout hit $100,000. For example, new product categories — such as cyber insurance — have risen in popularity. Likewise, these metrics are critical for every firm, but for most small enterprises, they are lethal.

These products don’t provide the amount of organizational protection you need to rest comfortably, nor do they scale well as your firm expands. On the other hand, when your organization is at risk, you need expert help.

Here’s how MSPs can help with security.

Think how you would hire an electrician to connect your home or fix a faulty outlet. Consequently, there is great benefit in outsourcing cybersecurity to experts. Managed IT services can help.

On the other hand, today’s cyber threats target small enterprises. Likewise, most lack modern anti-malware protection that combines with data backups and IT security expertise.

Knowledgeable people will set up the software and adapt to changing scenarios correctly. For example, they also don’t always teach personnel cybersecurity best practices, which leads to weak passwords and increases phishing scam risk.

On the other hand, it’s hard to blame smaller businesses for the existing situation. Effective cybersecurity is becoming more difficult for resource-constrained enterprises. Most are also unaware of the grave concerns posed by current cyber threats, any of which might spell catastrophe.

If firms merely adopted multi-factor authentication, they would be immensely more secure, says a prominent Virtual Chief Information Security Officer. So why don’t you? It’s not complicated or expensive to do. Managed service providers make it easy and economical to safeguard your corporation with features like Endpoint protection.

In a world of quickly developing cyber threats, you must be proactive.

Working with a managed service provider provides small companies access to security experts. These experts can help them strengthen their cybersecurity posture and configure security solutions.

For example, service providers will detect risks via frequent vulnerability assessments. Likewise, they take measures to reduce your exposure and implement solutions as soon as they become available.

Privacy protection is the new focus.

Do you know where you keep your data?

Even small organizations often depend on global cloud services and infrastructure — and most nations have their laws and regulations around data storage and access. On the other hand, managed service providers can help you comply with data storage and privacy rules. Furthermore, they’ll help by avoiding legal issues you may not have been aware of.

Businesses need to back up their data, but recovering from backups may take time. Likewise, the restoration procedure may not be feasible immediately after a catastrophe if your systems are locked or have no power.

Managed service providers can help you swiftly recover from a catastrophe. Their expertise is in storing backups as virtual machines in the cloud and limiting service disruptions. For example, they’ll also help you detect and repair data leaks.

On the other hand, used to be that if our customers had backups, we merely restored them and went on, Snuggs adds.

Likewise, we have more to worry about now. Often, customer data is exclusive to their firm or sector and, if hacked, may create considerable disruption. In healthcare, for example, we must be concerned about personal data hackers put on the Dark Web.

The post Cybersecurity: The Small Business Savior? appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

That’s because hybrid cloud deployments consist of a private cloud established on a company’s proprietary data center. This setup is then combined with public cloud services from a recognized provider.

With hybrid cloud networking, your enterprise can have its own data center. You can keep sensitive information safely stored behind a firewall, without sacrificing the benefits of public cloud services. Using hybrid cloud networking can have many benefits for your business. These benefits include cost-cutting for enhanced security, increased scalability, higher networking speed, and even fewer headaches for your IT team to deal with.

Hybrid Cloud Networking Combines Security with Speed and Scalability

A hybrid network environment isn’t intrinsically any faster than a public or private cloud. However, it does allow your IT to optimize the network so that users can get their tasks done faster on it.

For example, your IT team can use edge computing to bring the most important of your cloud services closer to users. This boosts overall speed and help data get where it’s going.

Hybrid networking consists of a combination of both public and private cloud services. your organization isn’t reliant on its own data centers and their finite ability to store and process data. Additionally, you can take advantage of the theoretically limitless storage and computing capabilities that public clouds offer.

However, public clouds are more generic in their construction — they have to meet the needs of a wide range of enterprises. Your enterprise can tailor the private cloud portion of your hybrid cloud network to make it exactly what you need. That’s because the private part of your hybrid cloud network exists in a protected data center. You can keep your sensitive operations and data secure while taking advantage of the scalability offered by the public cloud.

Whenever you need more computing power — or less — public cloud services can deliver.

Hybrid Configurations Are Ideal for Regulatory Compliance

Some jurisdictions have regulatory guidance dictating the time and place for storage of sensitive data. You may not be able to store your sensitive data on data centers in another country or state. Many industries also treat certain kinds of data as strictly confidential. Not all of your data will need to be kept secret. However, for any data that are governed by regulations, you need extra security.

Hybrid cloud networking combines bespoke private cloud infrastructure with public cloud infrastructure. As a result, you can keep your sensitive data safe on the private network while performing less sensitive operations on the public side.

For example, you can keep personally identifiable information in the private infrastructure. You can then move it to the public infrastructure after it’s been sanitized for processing.

Hybrid Cloud Gives You More Control Over Your Network

You don’t want to trust a third-party service provider with all of your data and processing power. You shouldn’t have to.

Hybrid cloud networking gives you more control over your data storage and processing infrastructure. It allows you to build part of that infrastructure from scratch and keep it secure. A portion of your network remains private. IT can have control over the management and maintenance of servers and other infrastructure, as well as critical daily processes.

Hybrid Cloud Networking Is Cheaper than Private Cloud

Putting together a private cloud isn’t cheap.

Most enterprises understandably want their private cloud networks tailored to their own needs.

It’s well worth it to store some of your data on a private cloud network. There, you won’t have to worry about migrating it from one public cloud service to another. You won’t be concerned that perhaps you’ll need to pay a termination fee in the process.

Some public cloud services won’t even give you back your data in a format that you can use! If your public cloud provider goes out of business unexpectedly — or has problems like the ones that affected some public clouds during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic — you won’t have to worry about hastily migrating your data.

However, maintaining a private cloud for all of your networking processes is overkill. It’s cheaper to supplement with public cloud services. You don’t need to sacrifice your data security in order to save money on cloud computing.

Hybrid cloud is the next big thing for businesses that want to save money on cloud networking. You can keep your sensitive data safe. You’ll enjoy some bespoke network structuring. Additionally, you can call on the resources of the public cloud whenever you need them with hybrid cloud networking.

The post Hybrid Cloud Networking: Here’s Everything You Need to Know appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Secure Package Delivery

If you’ve ever lived in an apartment or multi-family rental unit, you know the stress of receiving packages. Either you risk the packages getting stolen by people walking by, or you have to schedule time to go to the Post Office or UPS or FedEx location. With electronic parcel lockers, you’ll be able to offer a better experience for the people who rent with you. Instead of being delivered directly to the door, setup parcel lockers in a secure, centralized location. Once the resident’s package is delivered, they will receive notification and can retrieve their things from the locker. This differs from traditional systems which rely on keys and a lot of manual input. It’s also an excellent way to offer contactless delivery for those who want it.

Online Bill Pay

Writing a check is so 1990. To make it easier on you and your residents at your rental properties, offer them online bill pay. Sure, the system will take a fee, but it’ll make the renter experience more enjoyable and keep them happier longer. The less stress they experience renting with you, the more likely they are to stay renting with you. Additionally, you can offer autopay options and even offer a tiny discount for those who set up and use this feature. Online bill pay is one easy piece of technology to improve your rental properties.

Offer Surveillance in Public Spaces

Want to help keep residents safe in your multi unit rentals? Offer them video surveillance. These videos can help deter criminals and offer corroboration for disputes and fights that happen in public. You’d be amazed at how he said versus she said the issue can be easily settled using video footage. It’s best to also disclose the use of video surveillance to your residents before they move in so that they can be fully informed.

Keyless Entry

Wouldn’t it be great to never lose a key again? Keyless entry options have come a long way. There are technologies that offer everything from swiping a card, to using biometrics, to scanning a QR code from your phone. Incorporating these technological advances in your rental properties can not only make it a better experience, but it can also improve safety and security as well. Residents won’t need to worry if they lose their key or leave it in the door overnight. Instead, they can use a personalized code or their phones to enter the building and their unit. No more late night lock-out calls to respond to. This can save you time and money.

Smart Thermostats

Users get full control of their utilities using smart thermostats. With multiple different options to set manually, you can also adjust remotely. It’s estimated that a smart thermostat can save people 10-30% a year on heating and cooling costs. The apps that come with these thermostats are easy to use and they make it simple to make changes. Additionally, they track the weather and will notify you if there is a storm coming.

Tech-based Climate Sensors

As a rental property owner, you are responsible to install fire alarms, CO2 sensors, and other devices to ensure the safety of your residents. Use smart sensors for all of these and manage safety all in one place. You can also install monitors to sense water leaks and freezing before either of these causes major damage to your property. These advanced sensors provide additional information including how often they are going off, what the levels are and more. Instead of just beeping at you in the building, you can view this information in the app.

Motion Lights

If you rent out houses, having motion sensor lights can provide safety for your tenants. People love being able to go outside in the dark and not worry if there is anyone or any animal trying to sneak up on them. These simple, but helpful devices also reduce the cost of insurance and can protect renters from injuries that happen when they go out in poorly lit environments. Motion lights can also be timed and controlled through apps and smart devices.

Security Systems

Security technology has come a long way in the past 20 years. Older systems were bulky and needed a phone line to notify law enforcement that there was a break in. These systems couldn’t be turned off remotely. Advanced technology has enabled intuitive security systems that help you monitor things when you’re not around. If the alarm goes off, you can talk through the device remotely.

Some systems allow you to see what’s going on. If a teen came home and forgot the code, they are no longer at risk of getting the cops sent out if you can turn it off remotely for them. These features make security systems an appealing feature of a rental property. In addition, it can reduce the cost of your insurance and add more value to your property. Meaning you can charge higher rental rates.

Conclusion

Incorporating technology into your rentals is a great way to reduce insurance costs, improve time management, and create a safer place for your tenants. With the right devices, you’ll make it easier for tenants to get packages, get into their home, keep themselves safe at night, and give them ways to monitor their environment. All these improvements not only make the property more welcoming, but it can also boost the rental rates you can charge. By offering these premium smart technology devices, you’ll help create excited and happy tenants who rent with you long-term. 

The post Leverage Technology to Improve Your Rental Properties appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

There are those who wish to take advantage of any and every vulnerability. However, according to a recent survey of business owners and independent insurance agents in the United States, many businesses are simply not taking the necessary steps to protect themselves and their assets.

This is bad news. It should give all SMB participants nightmares. Because a breach in one company can lead to a domino effect. More companies can fall within a matter of hours.

Some also seem to be attempting to persuade themselves that they are invulnerable, even though they are aware that they should be doing more.

The news has been full of small business technology and security trends this year. Following cybersecurity industry trends, knowing how hackers infiltrate networks, and taking the necessary safeguards to keep them out are important parts of defending your organization.

The following are the top cybersecurity trends to watch in the New Year.

1. Implementation of multi-factor authentication.

Multi-factor authentication is a method in which users must authenticate their identity by using two or more different devices at the same time.

Example: When trying to log into a program, users may input their password on their computer’s browser and then get a code on their cellphone, which they must enter on the computer once more to be successful. It increases the security of logins by certifying that the user is who they claim to be in at least two locations.

Businesses may utilize a variety of third-party programs. To incorporate multi-factor authentication into their systems. If you market to clients who use applications such as Facebook, Robinhood, and Netflix, you may discover that they are already acquainted with the process. This is because prominent apps such as these already employ the method.

While many firms still consider multi-factor authentication to be optional, others are using multi-factor authentication systems as an extra layer of protection against a cyber attack.

2. Increased cyber-threats to remote employees as a result of technological business advancements.

In the opinion of cyber security experts, the transition to remote or hybrid work that has been prompted by COVID-19 has placed workers at greater risk of cybersecurity attacks.

In addition, when individuals bring their personal networks and devices into the workplace, they become more vulnerable to phishing emails and ransomware assaults. Their preparation is lacking. They don’t have the security protections that a company would put in place on its internal systems.

Your workers will benefit from having better security measures installed on their cloud-based apps, home devices, and home networks if you provide them with tools and training.

Find out more about the best practices for cybersecurity training. Consult in-house or get a professional consultant. Don’t rely on your Uncle Fred or some online website!

3. Attacks against cloud-based computing business services.

According to a survey by Northeastern University, cloud-based computing services have grown in popularity in recent years, and businesses are using them more than ever across a growing number of international employees.

They make it simple for workers to access the resources they need to be successful from any location, and they are both accessible and reasonably priced to host and maintain. The downside is that they are a great target for cyber-attacks, as well.

As a precaution, make sure that your cloud-based systems are up to date. You should also run breach and attack simulations to identify any security system flaws.

4. Simulation of a breach and an assault.

When there is illegal tampering with your technological systems, this is referred to as a cybersecurity breach.

Test your system frequently with BAS. These breach and attack simulations (BAS) are crucial. Even for the smallest business. They help you discover the most vulnerable parts of your cyberinfrastructure. Once discovered, they can be quickly strengthened.

Implementing BAS may assist you in identifying and eliminating vulnerabilities in a timely manner.

Learn more about the ramifications of a data breach on your company. Do some simulations at the beginning of the New Year.

5. Managing the use of technology and gadgets.

For the purposes of this definition, the Internet of Things (IoT) is a structure of physical things. These devices contain sensors, automation, and other software technology in order to communicate and exchange data with other devices and systems through the internet.

The term encompasses anything from linked equipment on the factory floor to smart home items and automation technologies. It’s swiftly encircling us and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Begin to incorporate artificial intelligence and smart technology into your organization. Develop an enterprise-wide plan to detect and manage every connected machine.

This is critical to maintaining the security of your network and data. Don’t put off the hard work, because the payoff can be significant.

The post What’s New in Cybersecurity for the New Year? appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

The Business of Chicago

One Monday morning, 35 workers of a Chicago business board of directors turned on their computers. They were met by a desiccated head popping up and demanding nearly a quarter-million in Bitcoin. Hackers had shut off their internet access. Their databases had been scrambled and rendered unusable.

This NGO had vital infrastructure but no skilled cybersecurity professionals or even a proper data recovery and business continuity strategy, much like thousands of other ransomware victims whose tales never reach the news.

Company management believed that its data and networks were secure until they experienced that dreadful Monday morning return to work. The company also lacked the financial wherewithal to pay the ransom.

Productivity loss is the biggest price tag paid by ransomware victims. In addition, they suffered the time-consuming job of controlling and cleaning up after the assault.

According to Proofpoint and the Ponemon Institute study, a ransom payment generally amounts to less than 20% of the entire cost of a ransomware attack’s interruption.

The staff at the Chicago organization discovered too late that their data recovery methods did not actually back them up. The organization labored over finding paper documents in order to recreate its records from the ground up.

Businesses In a Bind

Many smaller businesses believe they aren’t vulnerable to ransomware. That is very clearly not the case.

According to the National Cyber Security Alliance, small and midsized firms are the target of the bulk of cyberattacks, with up to 60% of them going out of business within six months of the ransomware assault.

Three Simple Steps to Defeat Hackers

Some may reasonably question, if a $44 billion firm like Accenture can fall prey to ransomware, what hope does a smaller company have?

Everyone requires a reaction plan if no one is immune to an assault. Consider the following three essential steps:

1. Provide cyber awareness training to all staff.

PEBCAC stands for “problem exists between computer and chair” in the world of cybersecurity.

Because email phishing is by far the most common threat vector for ransomware, the first line of defense is to teach all employees not to open unfamiliar attachments or clickbait links — “You’ve just won $1 million!” — and to protect their login credentials, preferably with two-factor authentication.

Some employees, believe it or not, still retain passwords on Post-it Notes stuck to their computer displays. Every employee in today’s networked remote workforce is a member of the security apparatus. Employees play an essential role in data protection. However, they must be given the correct knowledge and training.

2. Update all of your applications.

An inventory of operating systems and software is the first step in any threat assessment.

Updates defend a computer network from known security flaws. Additionally, you must properly maintain and configure every firewall and server to stay safe.

Unfortunately, this seemingly simple task of data governance is a big undertaking. It’s made considerably more difficult by the abundance of endpoints. Think smartphones, industrial systems, IoT devices, and all the equipment used by work-from-home staff.

3. Put backups and recovery strategies to the test.

This is the one step that many companies skip. You shouldn’t.

Pick a day, perhaps a Saturday, when everyone “pretends” to be victimized by a hacker. Test the reliability of your backups and the amount of downtime you can expect to endure should you fall victim to ransomware.

How You Can Recover

To recover from an assault, every firm needs dependable backups and, equally essential, a business continuity strategy. Form a cyber incident response team and conduct penetration testing to ensure the safeguarding of vital infrastructure. Be proactive rather than reactive in your cyber response.

No one is immune to assault. These are merely the beginning of your defenses.

Monitor network traffic in real-time. Otherwise, your organization is extremely susceptible. Mechanisms must be in place to detect and respond to intrusions before you suffer damage. Be aware that 100 percent prevention is neither cost-effective nor practical.

Virus Software

Virus software and firewall hardware have come a long way. However, at the end of the day, the greatest defense is a skilled cybersecurity team.

A monitoring and incident response control center will allow speedy data recovery, reducing downtime for both internal and external cyberattacks. Outsourcing a security operations center may help businesses with limited resources reduce their risk.

Consider the cost of business disruption as the first step in making systems more robust. Governments, utilities, and even IT corporations are all vulnerable to assault. Put a solid data security strategy in place. Without one, it’s not a question of if, but rather when hacking will occur.

Make sure your cloud storage is secure.  It’s imperative that you do so ASAP. Without this safeguard, all sorts of malware, such as ransomware, can run riot through your systems.

The post Small Business Is Vulnerable to Ransomware appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Imagine that you sent private romantic texts to someone you were interested in. Now imagine that you’re on trial for fraud and a former company executive reads aloud the private message you sent. In recent times, prosecutors have subpoenaed millions of private text messages to incriminate people.

What about text messages that highlight our most intimate moments?

For journalists, whistleblowers, and political dissidents talking to sources, secure messaging is crucial.

A conversation doesn’t have to be harmful to a government. You don’t even need to share anything highly-publicized to be at risk.

In addition to being subject to law enforcement subpoenas, private chats often pop up in social groups. People post them on social media. Reporters publish them. They even end up in civil trials.

The heart of the viral New York Times story “Who Is The Bad Art Friend?” is gossipy group chats, emails, and documents unearthed during legal discovery.

Private chats implicated several Bollywood actors in a recent scandal involving drugs. Law enforcement officers used WhatsApp messages to prove their innocence. Sen. Ted Cruz’s plans for fleeing Texas during a power outage to travel to Cancun, Mexico, became famous. Turns out that a member of his wife’s group chat leaked portions of a private conversation. Then, of course, there are various hacking tools that governments and private entities can use to gain access to your smartphone data.

Many people send text messages they aren’t proud of, have a private conversation go public, or be targeted because they attended a protest. Taking precautions may help, but they won’t guarantee your safety.

Alexis Hancock, director of engineering for the non-profit digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation, succinctly makes the point: “Nothing makes a ghost.”

Find out where leaks are happening.

Apple devices feature default end-to-end encrypted chat software. Although end-to-end encryption is the best method for secure messaging, there are still some ways that these chats could land in court. The growing list of people who found this out the hard way includes ten prime ministers, three presidents, and a king.

Access to your smartphone and the ability to unlock it allows you to see all messages in the various chat apps. Sometimes, law enforcement can force someone to unlock their phone.

Chats require at least two people. As a result, the other person may hand over the conversation to a law enforcement agency. It’s possible that your private discussions could be stolen. This is especially dangerous when backups live in a place where third parties have access.

Remember that cloud backup can be a good thing.

For Apple devices, you can turn iCloud backups on to make iMessage chats more secure. Apple automatically saves all messages to the cloud so that you can transfer them over to a new device. These messages get encrypted. However, Apple holds a key that law enforcement can request directly.

If you’re concerned, disable iCloud backups of messages and delete all previous backups.

The same applies to cloud-based backups to which you don’t hold the encryption key. You can keep them on to prevent sensitive messages from being saved to your account.

You should immediately delete messages after the recipient has read them. iCloud backups run only once per day, so it’s best to delete them as soon as possible.

Of course, the other person may still have a record of your conversation. You can choose to have your message history deleted automatically after 30 days or after one year. Try going to Settings – Messages – Message History.

Signal is one tool that allows you to delete text messages automatically.

Signal is a popular, secure messaging platform that uses end-to-end encryption. It’s designed to preserve as little metadata as possible about your communications.

One of Signal’s most valuable features is the Disappearing Messages setting. You can choose to have messages deleted immediately or hours or days after sending. While there is always a time window in which recipients can see them for quick copy-paste or a quick screenshot, this reduces the trail if it’s accessed later.

Other apps provide ephemeral messaging and social media options. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that messages get deleted forever. For example, you can save Instagram stories even if they are no longer publicly available.

Remember the old saying: “One can keep a secret but two cannot.” It’s always best to share your most intimate thoughts and emotions with your pillow and nobody else.

Even married couples should be wary of exchanging private messages concerning anything outside their own relationship. Otherwise, things can get awfully messy and embarrassing if it comes to divorce.

The post Keep Private Text Messages Secure appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Those two goals may at first seem to be at odds with one another, but that’s not true anymore. New software and hardware solutions make it increasingly simple to identify an authorized individual. This can be done by username and password but also by cell number, face scan, and thumbprint.

These improvements in user identification are running in parallel with a growing need for enhanced customer service. In our digital age, people are far less likely to cooperate with outdated processes. Nor should they be asked to do so.

What exactly is a “data silo?”

A data silo is best defined as a valuable set of data collected by one department within an organization but not shared with others. Very rarely do these silos develop out of a need for extreme security and protection. Far more often, data silos are a legacy of outdated systems that simply kept running untended.

Why are data silos such a bad thing?

Sometimes, a data silo can be the intentional result of an individual or group of people misguidedly attempting to become “indispensable.” They see giving unrestricted access to their resources as a threat of some kind. Whether the underlying cause is something that just organically developed over time or slightly more nefarious, data silos breed mistrust. They hamper overall efficiency and contribute to a lack of transparency.

Data silos keep people in the dark. Management is left to operate by hunches as no one has a complete picture of how the company is doing. This in turn leads to poor decision-making which does nothing to alleviate any trust issues. Collaboration falters when departments engage in turf wars. Customers have a degraded experience with your company. They must frequently share identical information with multiple representatives.

Data silos are known for being only as accurate as of the person or persons left in charge. Since only a privileged few can manipulate the data, there is no opportunity for someone in another area to spot a mistake or make a correction. Housing multiple data sets — many of which contain similar or identical information — adds to the operating costs of any business. Siloed data is not useless, but neither is it optimized.

How do I find these silos?

The trick to spotting data silos is as simple (and as difficult) as paying attention to internal processes with “new eyes.” In many settings, data silos have become part of the everyday routine, as ubiquitous as office furniture. Here are some questions you can ask yourself as you seek to uncover information logjams.

• Are there any processes that stall out for lack of access to information?
• Where and when are employees running into duplicate or conflicting information?
• Are there routines in place that require entering the same information more than once?
• Have we ever had to stop what we were doing to call someone who was out of the office?

Asking these types of questions can help you and other employees push past underlying assumptions. Those assumptions have helped give rise to data silos in the first place.

Another good tactic your teams can use is to pay attention to those times when they experience excellence in information availability balanced by security. Seeing how other companies keep their data sets talking to each other in real-time can call attention to areas where your business might be lacking.

What can I do to eliminate data silos?

The simple answer to eliminating data silos is getting your systems all talking to one another seamlessly. That’s most often easier said than done. However, hang onto that metanarrative as your people encounter snags. In most cases, the overall goal will be to eliminate data hoarding in outlying areas of your company and bring them all together under one roof.

Implement an all-in-one-place data management tool.

Some people balk at the idea of having all of their sensitive data housed in one location. However, this is a holdover from the days when the crash of one hard drive could take down a business for days if not weeks. Centralized servers — both secure and reliable — make it possible to gather all of your data in one place. You can then manage levels of access with a high degree of granularity.

There are many outstanding data management tools on the market today. Listing and evaluating them would be a daunting task and is beyond the scope of this article. Not only that but patches and software upgrades are being released every week.

The trick is to commit to a period of evaluation — six weeks, six months, whatever — and learn as much as you can from vendors and other resources as you can. At some point, you’ll want to pull the trigger. Don’t become paralyzed by promises of “new and exciting” products that may or may not be released on time.

Use applications with built-in integration mechanisms.

As your company moves forward with tearing down its data silos, be sure that any new investment in hardware or software solutions allows for the future integration of other methodologies. Any system that insists on nothing other than a single, proprietary solution is probably not a good bet. You won’t want to find yourself beholden to any single architecture or vendor. This is a set-up for being held hostage somewhere further on up the road.

As you look for applications and systems that promise to connect your silos and centralize your data sets, be cautious. Make sure to ask about the availability of application programming interfaces (APIs) that readily permit the use of other solutions. Those solutions can be proprietary to another company or open-source.

Reward collaboration.

Many organizations have employees who view access to certain information as a privilege unique to their position.

One telltale sign of someone who has a vested interest in maintaining data silos is the phrase “my data.” This phrase most often rolls off the tongue when the time is at hand to integrate systems. This type of thinking is certainly to be discouraged.

However, you’ll likely make more headway in your organization by publicly praising examples of collaboration and cooperation with regard to integrating data systems.

When teams that don’t normally work together demonstrate initiative in moving the company forward through breaking down data silos, be sure to call attention to these efforts by rewarding them. Rewards can include financial incentives and perhaps even promotions. The key is to make sure that everyone “gets it” that your company is actively moving away from information hoarding by treating it as a relic from another age.

When it comes to outdated information, purge, purge, purge.

Your integrated solution will only ever be as good as the data that gets uploaded to it. With that in mind, any effort to break down a data silo must have as its first step the systematic cleaning of the data housed within. While you may be able to write scripts to help root out incomplete, inaccurate, or outdated information, nothing beats an experienced set of eyes for cleaning data.

You may find you have employees that are somewhat reluctant to purge data out of concern for losing records. One way to get around this objection is to have your IT department set up a “sandbox” or staging server where multiple backups are made per day. Whatever you can do to embolden your people to purge bad data, it will be worth the effort when those data records are ultimately uploaded to your new integrated software solution.

Wrapping Up

The most challenging aspect of tearing down data silos is most often human, not technological. As you begin to tackle this task, you are almost certain to run into one or more employees who are reticent. This is to be expected. Many people get nervous in the face of systems changing.

To the extent that this is completely true, assure your staff that no one’s job is on the line. In fact, you’re hoping that the elimination of data silos will ultimately lead to improved productivity, a better customer experience overall, and perhaps even more jobs.

The post How to Spot and Eliminate Data Silos appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

‘Tis the season . . .

Halloween is over. Thanksgiving will be here in the wiggle of a turkey’s wattle. And then the insanity really begins.

Every business will become a madhouse this year as labor and material shortages threaten profit margins. This means, among other things, that security issues may have to take a back seat during the holiday rush. And that’s something that hackers are beginning to realize and relish.

Like vultures hovering over a desert landscape, hackers are always looking about to find the weak and vulnerable. Those whose defenses are diminishing. When a vulture finds a starving animal ready to collapse it settles down next to the poor creature and waits patiently for its chance to feast.

So it is with holiday hackers. They are waiting in the cyber shadows. Searching for defective firewalls. Probing for any security inconsistencies. And when they find a security system that is not being guarded constantly, they settle down to wait. Because they know that sooner or later that particular system will become vulnerable and then they will strike. Whether with ransomware, virus, or some other kind of malware, they will rip apart their victim and begin their grizzly cyber feasting.

Penny pinching is the hackers’ best friend.

Many were hoping during the 2020 holiday season that by 2021 the pandemic would be under control and sales and production would be back to normal. That wasn’t the case.

COVID-19 is proving to be almost intractable. So once again merchants, business people, technical support, and many other branches of online industry and commerce find it necessary to cut corners. Or start massive lay-offs again. Owners and operators of businesses, both small and great, are loath to ring in the holidays by ringing out any more employees.

At this time of year, that’s always generally bad press. And so companies look to other expedients to bring down operating expenses.

Sadly, one of the expedients most often used is to slash security budgets. This means that even though the latest security technology will stymie the most advanced hacking team, it can only be effective if it is paid for and installed.

Employers are not doing their employees any favors by skimping on security. A small business that is brought down by a cyberattack has to send everyone home for a month or more. As they try to regain control of their system, this is not a holiday present that anyone will appreciate.

The fact of the matter is that employers could serve their staff better by lowering their hours and raising security defenses, if need be, in order to keep everyone gainfully employed. Most companies make the majority of their sales during the Holidays. If their computer systems are down because of a hacking issue during this crucial time they may find it hard to recover from this critical blow.

Don’t give hackers any gifts this holiday season.

Make things hard for the black hats this holiday season. Stay on top of your cyber security, people. See to it that they are at their posts 24/7, as they are paid to do.

It may surprise some small business owners to know that holiday scheduling for security people can be very much a hit or miss proposition. Everyone wants to go home for the holidays. Grandma’s turkey with chestnut stuffing is calling. Hanukkah is pulling families to be together in the glow of the menorah.

Security workers want to forget about security during Christmas time and rejoice with peace on earth, goodwill towards men, instead of reinforcing firewalls. And of course, New Year’s is the least sober holiday on the calendar. All this means that scheduling adequate security shifts during the upcoming festive season can drive managers crazy. They are apt to cut corners by understaffing. And even the staff that is on duty is going to be distracted by a continuous round of office potlucks and other diversions.

So it’s up to the top tier of management to insist that security measures be as strong or stronger during the holidays as the rest of the year. This can be accomplished without too much fuss if owners and operators will follow this simple and basic procedure.

Don’t skimp on the holiday pay and overtime. You need these people to be alert and attentive. Be ready to repel any and all hacker attacks at any moment. So offer bonuses, paid vacation days, or whatever it takes to keep your cyber security staff at full strength during the upcoming hacker holidays.

The post Hackers Hope to Harm You with Their Hype appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

A cloud-based framework provides a guideline or linchpin for your own organization’s applications. It offers an easy-to-use method that requires some dedication and effort. Ultimately, however, it leads to tremendous success.

Below is a short guide to building a well-architected, cloud-based framework. It covers the benefits as well as a few ways you can use it for your own cloud applications.

The Well-Architected, Cloud-Based Framework Defined

At a glance, a well-architected framework is just a series of guidelines. It’s intended to help users build high-performing applications in the cloud. The framework rests upon five different pillars to accomplish its goals. These are:

• Operational Excellence
• Security
• Reliability
• Performance Efficiency
• Cost Optimization

Using these five pillars to create the infrastructure of an application or workload is key to building highly efficient and functional applications within the cloud. Using the first four pillars as a guideline to create your application eventually leads to maximizing the value you get from the fifth pillar in the long run.

A well-architected framework is also useful for reviewing proposed or existing architecture prior to building an application.

Operations

The operational pillar governs running your workloads efficiently and constantly finding ways to evolve/improve the program. In this stage, you should be writing operations as code. Why? So the principles used in the operations can be cross applied to every aspect of your cloud environment, including apps and infrastructure.

This is also the pillar where you should be figuring out where possible points of failure might be and writing code to address those points of failure. This can be accomplished by writing small, reversible changes into your code. That way, when an error does occur, it doesn’t become a needle in a haystack search to find the issue.

Failure is a great teacher. The operations pillar is a wonderful learning opportunity. If something fails here, you can share the information with your team. You can make sure it doesn’t happen again or make a better version of the application in the future.

Security

Just like the operations pillar, the security pillar is a vital part of applying the principles of a well-architected framework to your applications. There are actually seven key principles in the security pillar worth following.

Start off with some basic security measures such as appropriate authorization levels and privileges for your application. Anyone who isn’t authorized to access an app shouldn’t be able to do so without proper credentials.

Next, monitoring is super important. You should implement security protocols to trace and monitor data and access across the board. Using layered security that automates your security as code is also essential. Protect your data using encryption, authorization tokens, and other access control mechanisms.

Finally, maintain tight access controls to any possible data. The fewer hands in the pot, the better. Maintaining the security and integrity of an application is not terribly difficult assuming you’re able to implement and follow security best practices.

Performance

When studying and implementing the five well-architected framework pillars, be sure to pay particular attention to your app’s performance. How well your program performs is going to be a key indicator of whether or not it’s a viable or useful application.

Some design considerations here are to use advanced technologies to your advantage. Consider using them as a service while letting the cloud provider do the heavy lifting so to speak. Don’t be afraid to experiment a little bit with your designs, especially with regard to infrastructure and configuration. Use the virtualization features of the cloud to test the performance of your application.

Finally, you’ll need to attempt to understand how your application and data are going to be accessed and used through the application.

While these are the core tenets of the performance pillar, they are by no means the only considerations to take when designing a program. To ensure a well-architected application, perform your due diligence. Do plenty of testing before launching anything.

Reliability

Reliability in an application is perhaps one of the most important considerations.

When you’re looking for scalability and reliability in a program, you’ll want to limit failure points. Designing your program to have the least amount of failure points — or at least to understand where these points occur — is one surefire way to ensure reliability.

Be sure to test recovery procedures. Consider building an auto-recovery feature into the application.

Using smaller resources to build your application can result in better scalability and keep multiple systems isolated from each other. The last thing to do is never try to guess the capacity of how many users will be on your application at any time. Let the system do that for you and scale it appropriately.

Following some basic design principles here can ensure a reliable application that doesn’t require much debugging or redesign.

The post A Short Guide to Building a Well-Architected, Cloud-Based Framework appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Simply stated, to put off the implementation of reliable digital security infrastructure is to put your entire enterprise in jeopardy. If you feel as though you could be doing more to protect your own company in the digital arena, you’re far from alone. To help protect your interests against malicious intent, give some careful consideration to the tips and tech tools listed below. You may want to implement one or more of them sooner rather than later.

What is digital fraud?

At its simplest, digital fraud occurs whenever a cybercriminal attempts to deceive someone into inadvertently giving them access to financial assets or sensitive data. Unfortunately, damaging incidents of digital fraud hitting small business owners come in many forms. They can show up in a wide array of venues.

Successful cyber-attacks can be exceptionally difficult to recover from. This is particularly true for smaller businesses operating with thin profit margins. It can be overwhelming for small business owners to split their attention between protecting their assets and establishing a good reputation with customers. The first step is to stay informed. For example, you can greater insight into how cybercrimes such as takeover fraud occur by checking out this page.

Install company-wide email compliance software.

We’ve experienced a sudden rise in remote work and a worldwide increase in screen time. The digital realm is packed with more emails than ever before. Every email created represents another piece of hackable data. Any increase in data creation spells more opportunities for cybercriminals.

Steps should be taken to eliminate vulnerabilities. A reliable email compliance system can do just that. Effective email compliance software can regulate your emails on a company-wide basis. It can also allow you to archive and store information for later access should a security incident take place.

Insist on a strong authentication system.

Adopting a stronger authentication system can greatly reduce opportunities for small business digital fraud. It might mean something as simple as requiring every employee to come up with strong passwords on their first day of employment. Instituting this practice might seem obvious, but bad passwords are far more common than you might guess.

If even one of your employees conducts business on your network with a weak password, they represent the weakest link in your chain. They are, in effect, creating a vulnerability through which cybercriminals might gain access to the deepest parts of your infrastructure. Educating your employees and raising awareness is a good way to combat this widespread practice. Another safeguard to consider is introducing a two-step authentication system.

Moreover, if you’re handling vast amounts of sensitive data or highly valuable digital assets such as product blueprints, it may be worth thinking about introducing a tiered access system. That way, only your most trusted employees have access to the portions of your network housing make-or-break data systems. 

Set up security-related SMS alerts.

Sometimes cybercriminals will attempt to hijack an account by force. They typically employ methods such as a brute force attack that utilizes ransomware…or even just by successfully guessing an employee’s password.

Setting up SMS alerts can help. These can notify you instantly whenever unusual changes occur to your business account. These provide a timely way to give yourself a heads-up warning. In many cases, instantaneous notification gives you time to change passwords before any lasting damage takes place.

Install anti-spam software on all company machines.

Anyone with an email address will, unfortunately, be well-acquainted with spam messages. Most of these can be easily spotted and avoided. However, an increasing number can come across as incredibly convincing and appear authentic. To avoid having your small business “phished” and your reputation damaged, installing anti-spam software might be able to provide a helping hand.

Not only are spam messages incredibly annoying, but they can also be extremely harmful. Taking steps to reduce spam and phishing attempts across the board is a must.

Perhaps one of the best ways to prevent a successful phishing attack is to educate your employees. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to discern the telltale signs of a spam email. However, doing so has become absolutely necessary to keep your business safe. 

Adopting an approach to tackle human error can be immensely helpful. This is one of the main ways phishing attacks manage to succeed. Teach your staff to spot telltale signs of fraudulent emails by running through a simple list of markers.

• Check for spelling and grammatical mistakes.
• Find out whether the sending email address is from a legitimate domain.
• Recognize when a request is genuine vs. unusual or overly demanding.
• Notice when branding is wrong or “off somehow” even when the message contains stolen images and logos.

Use a cloud-based VPN for core business functions.

Implementing a virtual private network (VPN) is a great way to disguise your location online. This might be especially helpful for small businesses who want to avoid being directly and preemptively targeted by cybercriminals.

Disguising your location can help free your business up to make use of the online world in peace. Setting up a VPN has many other great benefits, too, such as bypassing content that is locked by region.

Adopting centralized, cloud-based security solutions provides an effective way to ensure that your digital assets are kept safe in one location. Losing digital assets can be a highly expensive problem, even a business-ending one. Adopting a safe, singular location for your employees to access and share information might just be the best way to go.

The post Small Business Digital Fraud: Newer Tech Can Help Protect Assets appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Along with the growing sophistication of technology, cybersecurity threats have also become more widespread and advanced. With the rise in the number of businesses that use the internet, more organizations are falling victim to cyber-attacks. Small businesses, in particular, are typically far more vulnerable.

According to CNBC, 43% of cyberattacks are against small businesses and only 14% of them are adequately prepared. The worst news is that many of them end up going out of business due to the financial repercussions. To give some idea of scale, a single cyberattack can cost businesses an average of $200,000.

Attacks these days are far more sophisticated. If businesses aren’t sufficiently protected, the consequences are not only expensive but will also tarnish the organization’s reputation.

Which Cybersecurity Threats Are Putting Businesses at Higher Risk?

There are many risk factors that business owners may not be aware of, especially when they’re just beginning to address cybersecurity.

However, the biggest vulnerability typically lies in the organization’s lack of a robust security system and employees that aren’t educated about cybersecurity.

Unfortunately, many small businesses tend to underestimate their need for cybersecurity measures. But regardless of an organization’s size, there should at least be a reliable cybersecurity program in place. This can be in the form of security software programs or tangible cybersecurity products that can be obtained from a hardware security module provider.

The Biggest Cybersecurity Threats to Small Businesses

Cybersecurity threats vary in terms of the technique used in attacks. These attacks target either the system user or the system itself by exploiting vulnerabilities.

It’s important to note that securing your business against cyber threats requires strengthening not only your network infrastructure but also your end-point users. This should include your employees and even your customers.

The list below provides an overview of common threats to cybersecurity. All are expected to continue affecting vulnerable businesses, regardless of size.

User Threats

1. Phishing: Perhaps the most common threat, phishing continues to be prevalent today. Its methods are becoming more creative to lure unknowing online users. Often sent as an email or a web form, phishing tricks targets into either clicking on malware links or sending sensitive data. Avoiding phishing scams can be difficult and requires proper user education.
2. Social Engineering: Used with phishing as a goal, social engineering employs methods that make phishing materials look legitimate. Content often incites a sense of urgency so targets are prompted to take actions quickly without thinking. For example, text or email messages that warn you of a breach in your account and ask you to click on a link to fix the problem. Just like phishing scams, social engineering tactics are carefully planned. They can only be avoided by sufficient training.
3. Insider Threat: These threats involve endpoint security vulnerabilities within an organization. The most common cause is a lack of awareness among employees. When staff members don’t know any better, they may unknowingly download malware into an organization’s system or even cause data breach incidents.
4. Identity Theft: This is often the end result of data breaches and successful phishing attacks. Stolen personal information is used for fraudulent activities. This is especially true when the breach involves financial information such as credit card details.
5. Malvertising: Malicious advertising materials often lurk in browsers and social media. Once a user clicks an ad, they may be prompted to download malware or be directed to malicious websites or servers. Spotting this type of cyber threat is often a challenge. It’s important for all users to be extremely careful when clicking on ads.

System Threats

1. Cloud Attacks: There are many threats to cloud servers as they’re directly accessible via the public internet. Cloud attacks often result in server breaches that compromise data on a larger scale. They’re also often initiated by organized cybercrime groups. Although cloud attacks usually target larger enterprises, small businesses that use shared cloud servers are more vulnerable. This is especially true when there are no security protocols employed on the client’s end.
2. Deep Fakes: An emerging threat typically used for fraud, deep fakes make it possible to flawlessly superimpose faces on another body. Criminals use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create convincing videos that can be used maliciously. AI-enabled software can also be used to create fake audios that resemble another person’s voice.
3. Zero-Day Exploits: These are direct attacks on system vulnerabilities that most targets are not even aware of. These vulnerable points are often spotted by hackers who are looking for organizations with security weaknesses they can exploit. Fortunately, these vulnerabilities can also be identified by developers or ethical hackers. Once spotted, they can be patched up before an attack takes place.
4. IoT Attacks: This scheme uses bots to attack internet-enabled devices. These attacks often target web and mobile applications and exploit weak authentication methods. This is especially prevalent in apps that lack encryption such as SMS messages.

What Business Owners Can Do

Although it’s ideal to establish a solid security system right from the start, it’s never too late for business owners to consider beefing up cybersecurity. If you’re the owner of a web-based business, you can start by consulting cybersecurity experts and professionals.

It would also pay to invest in a robust security system that can protect your organization against the most common cybersecurity threats. Your cybersecurity program should also provide analytic data. Analytics can help you gather useful information that will help you improve your security protocols where needed.

Most importantly, educate, train, and update your workforce regularly about the most important cybersecurity practices and how they should respond to potential threats. It’s also ideal to enforce security protocols in the workplace and encourage accountability among every worker. Effective cybersecurity involves both the system and its users. When one is weaker, it can compromise the other, and the rest of your organization.

The post The Biggest Cybersecurity Threats to Businesses This Year appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Some mistakes are common sense, while others have some gray area. Furthermore, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that you won’t get caught doing something wrong.

While there are hundreds upon hundreds of mistakes that can put your employment at risk, here are five of the worst. Don’t let any of these creep into your life. 

Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol 

Driving under the influence of alcohol is one of the biggest mistakes you can make, as it puts your employment, personal well-being, and future at risk. 

For example, a DUI will reflect poorly on your business while also harming your personal brand. And when that happens, you’ll find it difficult to maintain the same level of success that you’ve had. 

Every day, roughly 28 people in the United States die in a DUI-related accident. That alone should be enough to scare you from making this mistake. 

Committing Any Type of Crime

Committing a crime is a big deal. It can ruin your personal life, take a toll on your finances, and even land you in jail. 

Depending on the type of crime, there’s a good chance that a conviction could put unnecessary stress on your small business. 

Take for example theft, assault, or domestic violence. These are serious crimes that put you in a bad light with your employees, partners, customers, suppliers, and more. 

Note: don’t assume that you’ll be able to hide your charges and conviction from others. Even if you’re successful in doing so for a short period of time, it’ll eventually catch up with you. 

So, before you make a poor decision in violation of the law, think about the impact it’ll have on your business. Even something you consider a minor crime can have far-reaching implications on your future. 

Driving Without Insurance

Can your license be suspended for not having insurance? This is a common question, especially among those who have had trouble securing insurance coverage in the past. 

While it’s not the most serious violation, it can impact your future. 

To be clear, your license can be suspended for not having insurance. That’s a big deal if you rely on your vehicle to get to and from work. And it’s an even bigger deal should you drive for a living, such as a business owner who makes sales calls. 

Rather than take this risk, have a clear idea of the type of insurance you need to meet your state’s requirements. 

If for any reason you lose insurance coverage, don’t get behind the wheel until you find a remedy. It’s often as simple as calling around to obtain a few quotes. 

Stealing from the Office

This is no big deal, right? Wrong!

Too many employees assume that it’s okay to steal small items from work. This includes things such as paper clips, ink cartridges, pens and pencils, and paper. It may even hold true with snacks and beverages, such as those made available in the company kitchen

But you’re the business owner. Why does it matter?

Here’s why: you’re setting a bad example for your workforce. If they see you doing this, they may assume that they can follow in your footsteps. 

If there’s something you need, don’t bring it to the office and then take it back home with you. 

Sleeping on the Job

It’s something you may consider almost every day of the week, but don’t make this mistake. Sleeping on the job is looked at in the same manner as stealing. The only difference is that you’re stealing time as opposed to physical goods.

A break room is a place to take a break. It’s not a place to sleep. And the same holds true for every other part of your office.

Once again, there’s no one to tell you to stop, but as a business owner you must draw the line between right and wrong. If you make it a habit to nap on the clock, some of your workers may do the same. 

Note: if you’re willing to make exceptions, which is often the case with companies that have separate “relaxation rooms,” set clear rules. 

What to Do if You’re in Trouble

If you make one or more of the mistakes above — among any others — it’s critical that you do a few things. 

• Find out what type of trouble you’re facing and the impact it’ll have on your small business
• Obtain legal help, if necessary
• Share your side of the story with anyone who needs to be informed
• Start planning for the future, such as formulating a strategy for rebuilding your personal brand

It goes without saying that some types of trouble are more serious than others. But regardless of what situation you’ve put yourself in, it could put your small business at risk.

Everyone makes mistakes, so you’re not likely to be the first person in your position. In fact, your employees may have dealt with a similar situation in the past.

Your goal is to minimize the impact of your mistake on your small business, as well as the rest of your life. You may not get the outcome you’re searching for, but at least you can look back and realize that you’ve done everything you can. 

Final Thoughts

On the surface, it’s easy to believe that you’ll never make any of these mistakes. However, you never know what could happen. It only takes one moment when you’re not thinking clearly to bring trouble into your life.

If you want to protect your small business, don’t let any of these mistakes into your day-to-day life. 

The post These Mistakes Can Put Your Business at Risk appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Because these are the main stumbling blocks for SMBs, you’re probably already aware of these common pitfalls.  However, you might not be as mindful about underlying safety measures that can help stabilize your business even during the rockiest of times.  Here are some fundamental ways to cover your assets for your SMB that can help keep your business thriving into that 6th-year mark and beyond.

Tips to Safeguard Your Business

B2B (Business to Business) Background Checks:  Picture it..you’ve got a brilliant idea for a new product line and reach out to (what seems like) a reliable source for materials. Yet you find yourself left holding the bag and unable to fill orders because your source has failed to deliver. It’s a common and tragic tale told among small business owners. Save yourself, your customers, and your business a ton of heartache by doing intense background checks on businesses you’re considering working with to supply services or materials for your products or services. Doing this will save your bacon in the long run.

Bank Accounts: If you’ve been running your SMB for a while, you probably already have a separate bank account devoted to your business. However, it’s common for many startups to keep everything in a personal account at the beginning of their endeavors for various reasons. If this is you, and you’re starting to see an influx of business income, it’s time to make distinctions between personal and professional bank accounts. Take steps to separate credit cards and bank accounts into specific business products at your bank. Establishing a business bank account can also give you extra security for your finances, and other perks such as automatic alerts, online bill payments, flexible overdraft protection, and even the potential to receive a line of credit.  The benefits to a business bank account are contingent upon your bank’s policies, but segregating your personal money from business income is crucial to staying successful.

Business Insurance: This is a polarizing security option when it comes to small business protection. Some startups feel they don’t have enough money to pay for insurance when they’re taking all precautions to avoid incidents to begin with. After all…that monthly insurance payment feels like a lot to part with if you never use it.  That’s an understandable viewpoint, however, what if something does go wrong? Then what? If you don’t have enough money for business insurance, then delay opening your doors until you do. Insurance for your company can be a godsend in terms of protecting your assets, your customers, and your investments. It’s true, nothing is foolproof and insurance won’t keep your business in an impenetrable bubble, but it can protect you from fraud, theft, and much more.

Cybersecurity: Perhaps the most critical and integral precaution you can take for your SMB is ensuring your tech is safe. These days, this might seem like an obvious security measure, but the life of a small business owner is hectic, and sometimes these essential details might escape our busy minds. Do yourself and your business a huge favor by dropping everything and do a business cybersecurity check on your computers and networks now.  Be sure you have a top-notch firewall installed and it’s updated to protect your business information. Also make sure your antivirus software is current, functioning correctly, and able to detect security breaches at the drop of a hat. Change passwords often and make sure these passwords are hard to crack. As an extra measure of protection, consider getting an external data storage system and backing up all your business’s information on this backup drive.  You may not ever have a hacker crisis or a system shutdown, but if you do, these steps can save you and your business from tremendous trauma.

Employee: If you have employees, you’re probably hyper-vigilant about their safety and wellbeing.  You also need to get serious about protecting your SMB assets from accidental or purposeful theft or damage. You can gain peace of mind for your small business by providing digital badges to your employees. This gives you the control over who has access to various areas. You can also adjust permissions in the event of an employee termination. This protects your company’s equipment and data from all manner of pitfalls and security breaches. 

Furthermore, you’ve got to protect your employees from harm in order to protect your business from litigious actions. Nothing can slam an SMB down faster than an employee injury (or worse, death) while on the job at your business.  Even if an injury is minor, there may still be a threat of lawsuits.  That’s why your best course of action is to check for hazards around the office and/or warehouse facilities.  You can double your efforts to protect yourself and your employees by getting an OSHA certification. Occupational Safety and Health Awareness courses provide you with vital training and resources that enhance your awareness about job-site safety. This, in turn, protects your employees and your assets. It also paves the way to a happier, safer work environment and long-term business success.

Hire an Accountant: If you’re great with numbers, or even have an accounting background, doing your own small business taxes might seem the most ideal solution for you. However, running your business can be consuming, and big details can get missed while filing company taxes.  Plus, are you up-to-date with all the new regulations and codes? Do you know what kind of write-offs and deductions you can take for your SMB?  Whether you are a crackerjack at crunching numbers or not, consider getting a CPA who is devoted to your business’s success. This will save you loads of time and give you peace of mind.  While we’re on the subject, think about investing in accounting software to make your life easier too.  The extra money to hire an accountant or get accounting software may give you pause, but please remember, one false accounting entry can get the IRS sniffing up your assets which means audits and potential troubles for your SMB.

Cover Your Assets and Leave Nothing to Chance

At the end of the day, preparedness is the best way to assure success.  Think about all the long hours, hard work, and money you’ve poured into your SMB.  And then think about one small twist of fate flushing that all down the drain.  Now consider these preventative tips that are solid steps towards keeping your business, customers, and employees safe and preventing disasters on your company’s upward trajectory. When it comes to staying on top, you can’t leave anything to chance, that’s why taking precautions is essential to your growth and sealing your SMB success for many years to come.

The post ­­­­­­6 Critical Ways to Cover Your SMB Assets appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Here are some of the countries where you need a VPN:

China

You may have heard of the “Great Firewall of China.” It refers to the country’s strict internet censorship. Internet censorship in China seeks to limit access to popular foreign websites and regulate domestic internet consumption. Some of the sites you cannot access in china include Google sites, Twitter, Wikipedia, and Facebook.

Although internet censorship in China has contributed to the development of a separate heavily-controlled internet ecosystem, you might need a robust VPN if you are traveling to China. You must also double-check to ensure the VPN solution will work in China.

Russia

The Russian government highly enforces internet censorship by progressively blocking sites and services it does not approve of. Sites such as LinkedIn and Telegram are blocked in the country. Although you might still use a VPN in Russia, the government is closing in with restrictive laws on VPNs, including fines for non-approved VPN providers.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia maintains a lengthy list of blocked sites, especially immoral or politically dissident sites. Saudi Arabia censors websites and services on a rotating list of sites criticizing their government. The country routes all traffic through the main hub and filters it by IP, domain, and keyword.

All international traffic is routed through King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, where inappropriate information is filtered. The country filters different topics, including pornography, drug use, gambling, criticism of the government, and LGBTQ rights.

Iran

Internet censorship in Iran has grown as more people in the country continue to access the internet. Most of the world’s popular websites are blocked in the county permanently, including Twitter, Facebook, Google, WordPress, and Twitter. Pornography and gambling sites are forbidden in the country.

In addition to blocking certain websites that do not conform to the country’s political, social, and religious ideals, Iran exercises speed throttling which ensures reduced internet access during politically uncertain periods.

VPN services are a popular way to circumvent government sponsorship in Iran, although the government sometimes blocks these VPNs.

Vietnam

Vietnam reads its internet censorship script from China with its Bamboo firewall, which censors anti-communist and any other content critical of the government. Luckily, if you are traveling to Vietnam and still want to enjoy internet access, you  can to use a robust and reliable VPN. You must ensure that the VPN you use is reliable since bypassing internet restrictions in Vietnam is a serious offense with severe consequences.

Pakistan

Pakistan exercises partial internet filtering. The Pakistani government could block certain ‘blasphemous’, religiously immoral, political, or sexual content. Social media, for instance, is restricted in Pakistan, as are sites such as YouTube and Twitter.

Using a VPN in Pakistan is crucial if you intend to have free access to the internet and protect your data. Although it is legal to use a VPN in Pakistan, the government often blocks unregistered VPN service providers.

Bypassing Internet Censorship

The freedom of speech, expression, and information may be restricted in certain countries that are intolerant of political criticism or content that violates religious or social principles. You should install a robust and reliable VPN solution before traveling to a country with internet censorship if you still want your online freedom .

Check for solutions that are proven to work for the country you are visiting to ensure you are safe. In addition to using a VPN, look at the local laws before accessing the internet from these countries.  

The post 6 Countries You Need a VPN to Bypass Censorship While Traveling on Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

All of these vendor relationships pose a certain level of risk to your organization. There’s no getting around the fact that sometimes, a vendor will drop the ball. Maybe it won’t even be their fault — no one can predict the next natural disaster — but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to be prepared for it. By managing third-party risk appropriately, you can forestall many of the predictable risks that plague vendor relationships, like data and security breaches.

A Single Risk Management Assessment Isn’t Enough

These days, it’s just not enough to do your due diligence once and trust a vendor to be on the up and up throughout the rest of your relationship. In today’s landscape, security risks can evolve quickly, and you need to maintain continuous monitoring of vendor risk to identify data breaches and other risks as they appear. 

The risk of a vendor-related data breach alone is enormous. Forty-four percent of significant data breaches are caused by a vendor, whether as a result of human error, malware, or stolen passwords. And a mere 15 percent of firms report having been notified by a vendor that a breach has occurred. 

So you may not be able to trust a vendor to keep you up to date on vendor risks. You need to rely on yourself to monitor for all kinds of risks in your vendor relationships.

Vendor Risks Take Many Forms

To put together a successful third-party risk management program, you need to understand the many forms that vendor risk can take. If a vendor is supplying services or technology that is central to your business, you could face an operational risk if those services are interrupted. For example, if a cyber attack shuts down an SaaS service your company relies on, business could grind to a halt until it is returned. You risk losing money for the hours or days you can’t operate as a result. How are your vendor’s cyber security protocols? 

Of course, data breaches and cyber attacks aren’t the only third-party risks your company could face. Your organization could suffer reputational damage if, for example, it’s discovered that one of your third-party vendors has poor environmental practices or a poor social justice record. You could face strategic risks if you and your vendors aren’t collaborating seamlessly toward a common goal. 

When vendors have a direct impact on your revenue, you could take a financial hit if they fail to hold up their contractual obligations. Supply chain issues, insolvency, and even staffing problems can all contribute to these kinds of risks. Sometimes, vendors may experience setbacks that impact both of you financially, like extreme weather events or disease outbreaks. Even vendor systems that are used to track your company’s sales could create security risks for your organization. 

Compliance risk is another biggie for many organizations operating under strict regulatory guidance. If a vendor doesn’t comply with applicable regulations, your company could be held just as responsible as if you’d broken the rules yourselves. In situations where regulatory requirements are a factor, it’s vital to not only assess a vendor’s compliance protocols prior to onboarding, but to monitor them with close oversight throughout the vendor relationship.

Third-party risk management can make or break your business, because it can be what protects you from that devastating data breach or regulatory nightmare — or not. With the right vendor risk management tools and strategies in place, you can make the most of your third-party relationships, and work together with your vendors to mitigate risks and meet common goals.

The post Why Third-Party Risk Management Is Important appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Monitoring your employees can come with a plethora of advantages. And not just for the employers. As a business owner, you can’t have an eye on everything around the office. Naturally, it makes more sense to have an employee monitoring system to keep everything in check.

So why is digital monitoring necessary?

You See Mistakes as They Happen

Having a keen eye on your employee’s digital routine, where most of the productivity takes place, has its perks. And first and foremost is that you get to see mistakes that take place during the day.

Such a system can serve as a robust evidence-gathering tool as well. Employee feedback is crucial and this is one of the ways to do it. What you choose to record or observe can help the employee not make the mistake next time.

Whatever approach you choose is your bidding. Digital monitoring gives you the chance to prevent or cure. Deploying apps such as XNSPY can go a long way in catching these mistakes.

If you’re a business that deals with transportation or door-to-door sales, there are location tracking apps that can help. The apps inform you when an employee enters or leaves a particular geographic location. You can also set up alerts to notify you on-the-go as well.

Develop Better Employer-Employee Relationships

Since digital monitoring offers a robust way to provide feedback, it gives you the onus to develop better relations with your employees.

And when that happens, you have the chance to get in touch with the employee immediately so that they don’t go through with it. Or you can file it in your notes and get in touch with them at a later day and age, instead of pinpointing it at the spot.

You can mark “productivity score” as you wish by gathering evidence for good employee practices using XNSPY. And you don’t need to watch it as it happens, the app can store the data on a remote server for you to access when needed.

The act of pouncing on the one-off error may inspire a “helicopter employee” feeling and may make the employee self-conscious. And in the worst-case may cause resentment in employees.

You Find Out Employee Strengths

While the err and the feedback part of digital monitoring is good, there is another side to using such apps, i.e., playing to your employee’s strength.

As a business owner, not only do you want to know what your employees are doing right, you may also want to know what they’re doing just right. Knowing your key players and top performers is also crucial.

And nothing gets an employee’s attention like you acknowledging their work. With a monitoring system, you can take screenshots of their official chats where they go above and beyond what is required of them.

Rewarding Good Performance

If you’re able to see what your employees are excelling at, it allows you to recognize their good work. Backed by the evidence gathered from a digital monitoring solution, employees will recognize that their efforts are rewarded from the same system that monitors them. Thus employees will have fewer trust issues with being monitored.

It is pertinent that your employees know that such apps and the policy behind digital monitoring systems are not to their detriment.

With the right combination of stick and carrot, employees are more likely to understand and accept the idea of being monitored.

It Serves As Your Insurance

Employees are prone to breaking safety regulations, on purpose or otherwise. And sometimes breaking such regulations may lead to their detriment or your business’. Either way, such acts are unacceptable and it may get even worse if it opens you up to a slew of lawsuits.

For regulation purposes, such digital monitoring systems may serve as insurance for your business. And if such an act is committed where your employees are callous with their errors, it can be dealt with discreetly without creating many hues on the client-side. For the mounting legal costs that come with a lawsuit, you can save yourself heaps in expenses.

Apps such as XNSPY allow you to filter keywords, deploy key logging, and set alerts on certain keywords so that you are always one step ahead of any potential disasters. Live screenshots can also be taken by the app so that you can disassociate your business from a potentially liable action and pinpoint the actual perpetrator.

It Helps Improve Productivity

The way your employees spend their time and efforts while being in the office will ultimately affect your bottom line. By effectively monitoring your resources, you can judge what they do with their time and help figure out ways where they can be more productive.

One of the many examples is wasteful internet usage. If you observe that an employee is streaming content whilst on company time or spending too much time on their socials, then they can be called for an explanation. Impressing upon your employees that they dedicate time and effort to your business during work hours is important. In XNSPY, you can measure productivity from your dashboard by looking at the stats for social media usage, content streaming, online searches, and more.

The simple fact that employees know that they are getting monitored might be a good enough reason for them to be on their toes when it comes to productivity. Being kept in check by the management for loss of focus or distractions improves the overall productivity of your business.

However, do not go overboard with digital monitoring.

Overbearing Might Lead to Employee Resentment or Lawsuits

Keep in mind that you cannot monitor everything your employees do, everywhere. And neither are you allowed to. Although rules and regulations vary from state to state, unlimited monitoring or without getting explicit consent is against the law. If you persist, you might be in for legal consequences.

Use a digital monitoring software that allows you to set limits as to what can be observed. Just like XNSPY allows you to single out the features you want to use on a device. Employees can then be informed that their email, social media usage, or any other pertinent feature is under monitoring for productivity purposes. An informed employee is less likely to be disgruntled or demoralized over claims of over-surveillance.

The post Monitoring Your Business Digitally Can Help to Safeguard your Privacy appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

In the case of small businesses, their less secure networks make it easy to breach the data. Also, lack of expertise for proper security, low budgets, lack of awareness of the risk, imperfect employee training, and failure to update security programs are a few more elements that pose risks.

Common Cyber Attacks That May Target Your Business

Cybercriminals use new forms of cyber attacks every day, but there are common ways your small business could get breached.

• Phishing Emails or Business Email Compromise Scams

Verizon’s 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report suggests that around 22% of breaches in 2019 were caused by phishing. Consequently, 86% of organizations experienced business email compromise (BEC) attempts. Phishing attacks harm both individuals and organizations. 

For BEC scams, hackers generally use subject lines that include words like request, urgent, payment, attention, and important. With these subject lines, cybercriminals encourage email recipients like you to open a malicious attachment or a malware-laden website. Specifically, they want you to open one that could download ransomware.

• Watering Hole Attack

Hackers look for genuine websites in which targets show interest, and then they turn the site into a malicious website. When the user clicks on a link, downloads a file, or discloses any information on that attacker’s site containing malware, the cyberattack is successful. 

These kinds of cyberattacks are not common. However, they pose a significant threat for you because they are very tricky to detect.

• Drive-by Download Attack

Here, a malicious website tries to install software or code on your computer without your permission. Such an unintended download, even without clicking anything, leads to a cyberattack. 

These attacks happen when your operating system is outdated. They can also happen when proper security systems are not followed on your business’s devices. 

Key Cybersecurity Tips for Your Small Business

You can achieve cybersecurity for your small business with the best practices. To stay away from being a victim of a cyberattack, you should try to employ the following cybersecurity practices for your business.

1. Educate and train your employees with cybersecurity practices.

Train all your employees who access the network on your company’s digital security best practices and security policies. For example, you should emphasize the need for strong passwords, the regular updates on the latest protocols, etc. 

Also, you should strictly employ security policies such as appropriate internet usage and the handling of vital data, like customer information. Get a document signed by each of your employees that states you have informed them about the security policy. Then, they will be accountable and pay the penalties if they violate the rules. 

2. Provide firewall software and support for your internet connection.

A firewall is the first important element when it comes to preventing cyberattacks in your business. This set of related programs acts as a barrier between your data (on your network) and outsiders or cybercriminals. Enable the operating system’s firewall, install standard firewall software, or even go for an internal firewall for additional safety. You should also make sure that the home network, for remote employees, is protected by a firewall as well. 

3. Install anti-malware and antivirus software for your business’s protection. 

Even though your employees know they should never open phishing emails, it does happen accidentally. Phishing attacks invite malware on your employee’s computer when the link gets clicked. Therefore, you should install anti-malware software on every device and your network. Also, make sure your anti-virus software performs a scan after you install each update. Furthermore, you should install software updates as soon as they are needed.

4. Be ready with a plan for your mobile devices.

You should implement a BYOD policy that focuses on security precautions, if you allow BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). Your policy should also include wireless wearables such as smartwatches or fitness trackers. 

You need to prioritize imperative security norms for your business. This is especially the case if mobile devices have confidential information and are accessing corporate networks. Your employees should password-protect their mobiles, follow your company’s password policy, encrypt data, and set up automatic security updates. Additionally, you should encourage them to set up security apps. This will help prevent breaches while accessing the public networks. 

5. Regularly backup your key business data and information.

It is recommended that you require regular backup of the crucial data on all your computers. This is vital to prevent the losses of cyberattacks. Your company data, such as your word processing documents, your databases, your electronic spreadsheets, your financial files, your accounts receivable/payable files, and your human resources files, contain critical information you can’t afford to lose. You can choose to do automatic data backups. But, if you don’t, you should at least do it weekly. Also, backup data is stored in the cloud. You should store your backups in a separate location to be on the safer side in case of natural disasters. 

6. You should use strong and unique passwords.

Make sure that employees use unique passwords and regularly change them after three months. Try to use numbers, upper-case letters, lowercase letters, as well as symbols to create a strong password. Verizon’s 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report suggested that 63% of data breaches occurred because of lost or weak passwords. 

7. Implement multi-factor authentication on your devices.

The multi-factor authentication provides you extra protection, and you should apply it on major network and email products. This is in addition to your employees’ password. Your employees’ cell numbers are a good option. This is because it is hard for a hacker to get both the PIN and the password. 

Conclusion:

As cybercriminals are getting smarter every day, your small business shouldn’t skimp over any of the above best practices for cybersecurity. All of your employees should make it a top priority. Protecting your data is mainly in your hands!

The post Cybersecurity for Your Small Businesses appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Right after Thanksgiving, Small Business Saturday kicks off the busiest shopping season of the year. As the shopping holiday rapidly approaches, businesses everywhere are doing everything they can to prepare for and contend with the ongoing challenges brought on by the pandemic.

This year, Small Business Saturday is a chance to support and champion businesses hit hardest during 2020. Brick-and-mortar small businesses rely on foot traffic and in-person customer interactions. This year, they have already had to pivot, change, and transform their business models to meet customers where they are now — at home. Small businesses have increased their website capabilities, adopted curb-side pick ups, or partnered with larger delivery services to connect to their customers. 

As these new business avenues have been adopted, additional marketing and customer engagement programs have been set in motion. Local shops have expanded their online presence with email marketing campaigns, created larger online presences and experimented with increased digital advertising. With these adaptations, there are also greater risks for being a cyber crime target. For a smart small business, preparing for the holiday shopping season also means reassessing and reaffirming cybersecurity posture. 

Phishing scams during the holiday shopping season are almost a given. Phishing emails can range from a fraudulent email sent by a business owner to an employee asking for personal data verification or a malicious email disguised as a promotional offer to customers. These emails often include small clues like misspelled email addresses or mismatching url destinations. 

While it can be tempting to look at cyber crime as a distant problem or one that is more likely to happen to a larger enterprise, the reality is that small businesses are as frequently the target of cyber crime. This can wreak havoc in a number of ways from leaking customer data and damaging customer trust to even debilitating critical business operations. Phishing attacks are just one of the most common and simple ways that a potential bad actor could cripple an otherwise healthy business.

Phishing attacks can generally be spotted with some fundamental “basics” on what to look out for that can significantly help businesses, their employees, and their customers identify fake emails and questionable notices in their inbox. Businesses should always be encouraging a security-oriented workforce, but for employees in customer-facing roles during the busiest time of year, it can pay to be especially vigilant. Some of the most important clues to watch out for are:  

• Email address comes from a “trustworthy” source: Phishing emails often appeal to a sense of authority. These emails can often attempt to trick small business owners by imitating the address of a government agency or financial service, but can even imitate common companies, most especially Google and Amazon.

• Makes an urgent appeal: Does the email make reference to an emergency? Does it call for immediate, quick action or a set of tasks? Demanding requests are created to distract the reader. Making the task seem necessary is designed to cast doubt for preoccupied readers who may have otherwise noticed the signs of a false email.

• Uncommon internal requests: Is this email coming from someone you do not normally work with, especially an executive? Employees should be trained to be vigilant for emails like this, which can imitate the business owner to hide the email’s true intentions and make an employee reluctant to refuse to comply. Small businesses can alleviate this by making clear to their employees the usual chain of command in everyday operations.

• Random misspellings of common words: One subtle sign of a suspicious email is the tendency to use words which are commonly misspelled, to give the phishing email a human touch.
  

Small Business Saturday is a great way to encourage communities to shop locally or with specialized online retailers, especially this year as small businesses have been hit the hardest with the coronavirus pandemic. As small businesses are working to meet the demands of their customers, and reach new customers with online advertising and partnerships, they must be aware of cyber criminals lurking in the dark. Preparing employees to quickly identify and report suspicious emails can go a long way to support other network security policies in place. 

With the proper tools in place to defend the network and a strong culture of cybersecurity at the individual employee level, small businesses can drastically reduce their risk of attack and be better prepared to expand their online operations for a healthy and secure holiday season. 

The post Safeguarding Your Network in Preparation for Small Business Saturday appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Your IT department is probably having palpitations with their inability to control policies and procedures in today’s #WFH reality. At work you are on a corporate network. Regardless of whether it’s a VPN, cloud repositories, on-premise secure network storage locations or your own drive, it’s all set up. Companies have tested and proven their networks to ensure that everyone complies. And if they don’t, IT is right there to help.

Now your office has moved into your home. And while you are probably still connecting via VPN or other secure technologies to access your company servers, you are accessing it from your own home network. Additionally, we all have a desire to collaborate, so we are heavily reliant upon third party platforms to connect us and share our data. This is where vulnerabilities to security begins to reveal itself.

IT Hates Scattered Data – You Should Too.

At home, you are using your computer and your own home network, but what else is connected to that network? Your wife’s computer? Your kids’ gaming system? Your home entertainment music or movie streaming devices? Not only does this impact speed of connectivity, but it also compromises the security of the network.

We don’t have enough hours in the day to work, make sure the kids are online doing their classes, and  troubleshoot IT issues. So we make band-aid decisions to keep our workflows going when things go haywire. Internet searches have taken the role of IT. 

How many times have you had the need to put a file on a stick and use your spouse’s computer and send it out due to an IT or connectivity problem? How many times have you uploaded corporate information to your personal Google drives because the VPN went haywire and you couldn’t connect? Every time it happens we think, “just this once”. While no one thinks that Aunt Betty is going to reveal trade secrets, suddenly you have sensitive information out there in the open. 

Even worse, you now have the root file, the copy on your zip drive, the one in the Google Drive, and the one that is now in the recipient’s inbox. It doesn’t take a mathematician to see how that issue compounds itself into multiple copies. Before you know it, the root file is no longer the only copy, but it is also no longer the most current.

On a Call Together Doesn’t Equal Working Together

So, what are we to do? #WFH appears to be here for at least the near term and we need to find ways to stay connected—both to our data stores and to one another. In recent months, we’ve all gotten very comfortable with video conference call technologies to keep us connected. Sure, these provide a way for us to talk to one another (and see the cat who has taken up residence on our co-worker’s keyboard), but there is still no way to collaborate beyond the limits of screen sharing. 

While that may have been a great band-aid in the early stages of WFH, companies now must look to innovative technologies that do more than just put people on the same computer screen and phone line. Technologies such as Vizetto’s Reactiv SUITE go beyond that by enabling coworkers to simultaneously collaborate and participate as if they were sitting across the conference room table from one another, regardless of their physical locations. 

Participants can not only share video and audio, but seamlessly share files and even interact, ink and move or edit content—at the same time, live, during your meeting. Think of it as your “Digital Table,” where multiple remote users can simultaneously access, push and manipulate any type of content as if it were a piece of paper on your desk or ideation on your conference room whiteboard.

This creates a work-from-home situation that actually works for the long haul.

The Best News? Connectivity Does NOT Have to Come at the Expense of Security

When looking for the best solutions to keep your colleagues connected, make sure the product(s) offer the following benefits: 

• Agnostic to where data is stored
  Look for solutions that don’t host content and are not cloud-based. You want a solution that seamlessly integrates with your cloud repositories, or servers, so your employees can access data where IT prefers it to be stored.
• Archives back to root file
  Make sure that all work is automatically synchronized and archived back to the root folder and file to help eliminate version control issues and ensure that all the data your workforce needs to access is contained in one consistent source. You cannot rely on individuals to be doing this regularly.
• Allows a simplified workflow
  Keep an eye toward how the solution can streamline workflow for your employees who are now wearing many different hats during the day as they get into the groove of WFH. If you can eliminate the need to download attachments, saving, reattaching and re-sending files and replace it with a simple click-and-drag action, imagine how much time (and frustration) will be saved each day. 

Work-from-home may be easier on the commute, but it is much harder for companies to keep employees connected to one another and to their careers. Closing that distance and replicating the in-office, collaborative experience is key to ensuring the quality, productivity and profitability of our work, as well as the overall happiness of our workforce. Just like we have all had to adjust to the work-from-home reality, we need to adjust what technologies we need to have at our fingertips that will enable us to keep working—from wherever that may be.

The post Keeping Corporate Files Safe While Working-From-Home appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

They are clearly still worried about trusting a third party with their valuable data. So what are the
specific fears SMBs have with cloud storage and what can they do about it?

Unauthorized access becomes harder to spot

One of the biggest cloud security worries is the detection of unauthorized access to sensitive files and folders.

When valuable data is stored on on-premise file servers, organizations are assured that it is ‘relatively’ secure from unauthorized access because of the need to be physically present in the office to access these servers. Even with employees and third-party partners using VPNs, the IT team can restrict access to only specific devices, so the data remains relatively secure.

However, when data is stored in the cloud, the chance of unauthorized access is much higher. It makes it really hard for IT teams to detect misuse, thus causing major security concerns. Without the right access controls in place, an attacker using stolen credentials could, in theory, gain access to sensitive files and folders from anywhere in the world using any device.

To counter this fear, 21% of SMBs said they keep their most valuable data stored on on-premise infrastructure because they don’t trust the security in the cloud. Organizations are worried that the information will end up in the wrong hands because they don’t have visibility of who is accessing these files.

Leaving employees stealing data is harder to prevent

It is hard for security teams to stop employees who are leaving your organization from stealing
sensitive data.

With on-premise storage and just a desktop computer, there’s that much more risk of getting noticed (through prying eyes) if someone tries to steal sensitive information. But with data stored in the cloud, it can be accessed from anywhere in the world, using any device. It then becomes much easier for ex-employees to steal information before they leave and harder for IT teams to spot it.

Hybrid storage environments are complex and harder to manage

56% of SMBs say that it’s difficult managing the security of data living in hybrid infrastructures.

This issue is naturally linked to the first two — and one can argue that complex hybrid environments make the other two issues much worse.

Many organizations have hybrid storage environments nowadays— a mix of cloud storage providers and a mix of on-premise servers. While this approach is good for productivity, it makes managing the security of the data stored across multiple environments very challenging.

Each cloud provider manages security differently, and if you don’t actively monitor access to each platform on an ongoing basis, it’s difficult to detect any malicious behavior and stop data theft.

The mentality about sensitive data needs to change

We found that 21% keep their sensitive data on premise because they don’t trust its security in the cloud.

But then, we asked them what constitutes sensitive data, and 74% of them said their corporate credit card data was sensitive, 71% said their employees’ personal information was sensitive, 62% said client contact details were sensitive, and more worryingly, only 53% stated their clients’ data was sensitive!

SMBs need some help understanding what sensitive data it.

More and more companies choose their suppliers based on the strength of their cybersecurity strategy. When it comes to business, it’s very important to demonstrate you have an effective cyber-posture because it can be the difference between winning and losing new clients, as well as retaining old clients.

What can SMBs do about it?

The best way to ensure your data is protected (whether in the cloud or on a mixture of on-premise and cloud) is to invest in technology. It needs to proactively track, audit, and report on all access to files and folders, and alert IT teams on suspicious file activity the moment it occurs.

What you need is a monitoring solution in place that provides a consistent and unique view of the security of your data across all your storage servers (whether on-premise or on a third-party cloud system). You can then rest assured that if someone other than an authorized employee tries to access your data, you’ll be the first to know about it, and you’ll be able to do something about it.

The post Why Do SMBs Believe Their Data is Unsafe in the Cloud? appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Damages average about $200,000 per instance, and a blow this size can cripple many small enterprises with 60% of victimized small businesses closing permanently within six months of the attack.

For businesses operating any part of their business online, robust cybersecurity is a must. And yet, few small enterprises have taken serious preparations. Despite being the target of 43% of all hacker attacks, only 14% of small businesses have adequate defenses against them.

In many cases, cost (or perceived cost) prevent business owners from investing in needed protection. However, with many companies one bad blow away from insolvency, many are stumbling upon a surprising solution.

Managed IT Service Firms Offer One-Stop Tech Shopping For SMEs    

The math couldn’t be clearer – at the best of times, IT employees are a budget-busting expense. If you’re a small company, hiring a two-person IT department will run you, on average, about $233,000.

These days, revenues are under extreme strain, while expenses remain constant. And so, the pressure has been on to cut the fat. However, you can’t just scan your balance sheet for the biggest expenditures and start slashing away. As pricey as IT employees are, they are essential to the operation of any 21st-century business.

You can’t do away with IT, but you can outsource many tech responsibilities. For example, this award-winning firm charges its customers in Washington, DC, no more than $100 per user per month for IT support. If you have a team of 30, that means you’ll spend about $36,000 per year on outsourced IT. 

Here’s the kicker – with a managed IT services firm, you’re not just paying for an outsourced help desk. They cover most (if not all) of the bases that your in-house team currently does. To be specific, they also handle areas like network management, on-site equipment installation, and cybersecurity. 

Managed IT Service Firms: World-Class Cybersecurity at a Fair Price

That last one is a huge deal. Of all the functions that in-house IT departments handle, cybersecurity is by far the most complex. Online threats are sophisticated and ever-evolving – to protect against them, you need a team that’s one step ahead. Proactive Data IT solutions can provide you best IT services.
As a small enterprise, it’s tough to afford a standalone cybersecurity expert. In DC, entry-level hires, at a minimum, command high five-figure salaries. As such, many firms task an IT generalist or help desk employee with stringing together a security solution. Given that about 60% of small businesses get hacked annually, it appears this strategy isn’t working out.

That’s why outsourced cybersecurity is a fantastic opportunity for many small businesses. As we mentioned above, managed IT service companies often offer cybersecurity coverage. For less than half the cost of an entry-level cybersecurity employee, DC businesses can protect themselves from cybercriminals.

What Threats Can Outsourced IT Firms Protect Against?

What cyber threats could a managed services IT firm protect your business against? We reviewed a top provider of outsourced IT services in the Washington, DC, area – here’s what we found:

• Brute Force Attacks

  This is the simplest, and thus, one of the most common cyberattacks out there. Experts estimate that more than 80% of Americans use weak passwords – 10% use the top 25 worst passwords. Even more worrying, 80% of Americans use the same password on more than one site. As a result, novice hackers can easily break into the average small enterprise server using a dictionary script. Managed IT service firms combat this by implementing two-factor authentication. In addition to a password, users must input a one-time code (often sent by SMS) to log in. Additionally, many firms will conduct a seminar on optimal password hygiene (e.g., using complex passwords).

• More Sophisticated Network Attacks

  Your network has other, less apparent vulnerabilities than your login client. From poorly-configured firewalls to SQL injections, the list is intimidatingly long. Hire a managed IT services firm, and they’ll find weaknesses others may miss. On top of this, they have monitoring systems that alert them to in-progress attacks. That way, countermeasures can be taken to defend your data.

• Phishing/Social Engineering Training

  All the monitoring systems in the world won’t help you if an unaware employee lets the bad guys in. These days, phishing e-mails look more legit than ever. As if that wasn’t bad enough, silver-tongued hackers have gotten really good at impersonating officials over the phone. Outsourced IT firms can set up seminars where they brief all employees on what they need to be watching out for. From weird URLs to “bank CSRs” attempting to “verify” sensitive information, knowing the signs can protect your business from a breach. 

Don’t Let A Cybercriminal Put You Out Of Business

We’ve been through a lot this year – don’t let some two-bit hacker put you out of commission. Invest some cash in outsourced cybersecurity solutions – that way, you’ll be more likely to stick around for 2021 and beyond.

The post How Secure Is Your Network? Why Companies Are Outsourcing IT Support appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

With the economy beginning to contract, many small businesses may be struggling to find the funds or staff to address evolving cybersecurity concerns. Small businesses already make up 43 percent of cyber crime targets in the U.S., and in 2019, data breaches cost small businesses an average of $200,000, with 60 percent of those attacked going out of business within six months. 

Improving cyber security might cost some money, but it’ll surely be worth keeping your business afloat — and it might even be cheaper than the cost of a data breach. Protecting yourself is often as simple as implementing a few smart policies, and using the right security tools.

Update Your Policies to Address the Realities of Remote Work

If you have employees working remotely during the crisis, you need to implement some policies that acknowledge the unique security risks of working from home. First of all, employees won’t be behind a company firewall, and might not have company security software running on their systems.

Require that employees access company data over a private network — anyone who doesn’t have access to a home network should be required to work onsite, where they can access a secure connection. Public connections, like those in coffee shops or libraries, might not be available anyway, and if they are, they’re not safe — hackers can jump on them to access your data. Clarify that employees shouldn’t save company data to their personal devices, including storage like flash drives, personal cloud storage, or personal email. All of these are insecure places to store data. 

Use the Right Tools

Software solutions are available to give you and your employees the tools you need to stay secure while working in a challenging situation. Employees can use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to access your company’s internal network and even use a virtual desktop there, which provides both storage solutions and an extra layer of security.

Employees will also need endpoint security, including anti-malware protection and firewall protection. Advanced threat protection will include security for endpoints and other network devices and email, as well as malware protection. The best advanced threat protection offers real-time monitoring to catch breaches and other attacks before they do too much damage.

Train Your Employees

Of course, employees will need regular security check-ins to make sure their security features are optimized. However, they’ll also need additional training in cybersecurity, especially as everyone is on-edge and stressed-out at the moment — in other words, employees are more likely than ever before to be in the perfect state of mind to fall for a phishing email or other social engineering tactic. Regular training, even if it’s just videos and online quizzes, will help keep employees on their toes, and will maybe help you single out individuals who need further attention.

Supply Devices

If you can, it’s safest to supply your employees the devices they need to work from home. It’s more fair to the employees, who may otherwise have to use old or underpowered equipment, or scramble to come up with what they need on their own. But it’s not just about fairness — you have much more control over what happens on company devices, and you can, at least in theory, keep employees from using them for personal stuff. This can help keep hackers from compromising your company data, since you don’t know what emails your employees are answering in their downtime, or which questionable websites they might be visiting. Their personal devices could already be compromised.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been dangerous in all kinds of ways, some more predictable than others. Make sure your company is aware of the dangers COVID-19 poses for your cyber security, so you protect yourself on every front.

The post Small Business Cybersecurity in a Post-COVID World appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Here are five crucial practices for business password management. By mastering these practices, you’ll create better passwords and better overall security for your business as a whole. You can never have too much security, especially when it comes to your online accounts and sensitive business data! 

1. Limit Password Sharing

Password sharing is both dangerous and irresponsible at a business and personal level. Why? Because the more people that know a secret, the more likely it is that the secret will be revealed. That includes your passwords. If you share just one password, you could be giving the wrong person access to more than just your work email or login credentials, especially if you’re someone who reuses passwords. By the way, never reuse passwords for any reason. Every login should have its own unique credentials for maximum security. 

As if this wasn’t enough, here’s a disturbing fact: About 27% of office workers said they would sell their login credentials for the right amount of money. That means nearly a third of your workforce would (potentially) sell their login credentials for cash and jeopardize your entire operation. 

This isn’t meant to make you distrust your employees, but rather provide a sobering look at the reality of password theft and compromise. 

2. Use A Password Manager 

Password management for business is made easier with today’s password managers. Featuring secure, easy to use interfaces, end-to-end encryption, two-step authentication, and even private VPNs, password managers have never been more powerful or secure. 

There are hundreds of password management options available, some of which are even free to use. You’re not risking anything by trying one out, and you’re potentially providing a more secure way to generate, store, and manage company passwords and credentials. 

Many businesses still store their passwords in a word document or spreadsheet. Just how secure do you think that spreadsheet really is should a hacker come looking? One thing’s for certain: it’s nowhere near as secure as a password management tool. 

3. MFA 

Multi-factor authentication is an excellent way to prevent unauthorized access. This extra layer of defense goes beyond the simple password and provides a locked gate to anyone trying to access accounts they’re not supposed to be in. 

MFA can be a secret question, a security token, a biometric scan, GPS authentication, and time verification along with a password. PINs are another popular form of MFA; anything that makes your login more unique and requires an extra step to deter hackers from easy access. 

4. Biometrics 

Biometrics are becoming more and more popular as technology advances. In fact, the laptop I’m currently using can only be accessed by my right index fingerprint (or my personal PIN, should my fingerprint scanner not cooperate). Biometrics are almost impossible to duplicate; especially something like a fingerprint or iris scan. 

Fingerprint or iris scans can offer a level of security that is almost unbreachable, but like anything connected to the internet, there’s still a small chance they can be hacked. 

Your phone may already be equipped with biometrics security. Do you unlock your phone by showing it your face, or pressing your fingerprint on the screen? It would be pretty difficult for someone who isn’t you to replicate this authentication method. 

5. Better Passwords 

Let’s not forget that we can simply create better passwords for our businesses to help deter breaches. Using personal or company information in passwords is negligent at best, especially when there are tools specifically designed to create better passwords. 

Good passwords should contain an upper and lowercase letter or group of letters (that don’t relate to you or the business), at least one symbol and at least one number. For example, a good password looks like this: $c0d3w0rD#9>r

The password is 13 characters long, the recommended length by security experts, contains all of the above requirements, and doesn’t have a 1, 2, or 0 at the end of it. This would be considered a good password and would be very difficult to crack.

Let’s look at another password to see if you can spot the problem(s): ClearwaterRoofing011

Not only is the name of the company clearly displayed in the password, it contains no symbols, and uses both 1’s and 0’s at the end. This would be considered a poor password.

The above tips may seem like a hassle to implement, but it’s far less the hassle than if you were to have your system breached.

The post 5 Crucial Practices for Business Password Management appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

The typical small business might not seem likely to suffer a break-in. But because small business leaders often have fewer cybersecurity protocols in place, hackers often see them as “low-hanging fruit” opportunities. 

Security information and event management (SIEM) systems have become affordable enough for many small businesses. Despite issues with false positives, modern ones are good at identifying signs of intrusion. In most cases, however, SIEM systems can’t confront threats themselves.

To actually stop threats, businesses are turning to SOAR security. But what, exactly, is SOAR, and why does it make more sense than manual incident response?

What is SOAR?

SOAR is a combination of software programs that work together to stop cyber threats. SOAR stands for “Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response.”

To understand SOAR, it helps to think through some of the challenges that cybersecurity teams face. Three are particularly relevant to SOAR:

1. Monitoring data stored on and transmitted by networks, devices, and third-party software is a massive undertaking. 
2. Every company has more vulnerabilities than it can possibly deal with. As a result, teams prioritize fixing a few glaring ones.
3. Patching vulnerabilities takes time because the process is complex and, in some cases, teams lack the internal expertise.

Some companies address those issues by hiring more staff, but cybersecurity talent is difficult to find and expensive to employ. The obvious solution is to accept that you can’t fix every vulnerability or check every file, and instead focus on stopping threats. 

That’s exactly what SOAR seeks to do. Let’s look at how it works: 

• Security Orchestration

Every company’s network consists of multiple software and hardware components. Security Orchestration makes sure all of these technologies are “talking” to one another. 

• Automation

Only when network technologies communicate can security processes be automated. SOAR systems use a combination of pre-set and customized automations to deal with certain security risks. This reduces response times and the general burden on the IT team.

• Response

SOAR systems’ ability to respond in real time is what makes them uniquely valuable. A lot of cybersecurity solutions can describe the threat, but they can’t actually do anything to stop it. SOAR responds using its programmed automations by, for example, isolating devices or interrupting transfers.

Why Do Companies Use SOAR?

It’s true that a trained information security team can do most or all of what a SOAR system can do. So why would a company invest in one? Three reasons stand out:

1. SOAR Improves Efficiency

The most obvious advantage to SOAR is how much it improves efficiency. The bottom line is, companies that use SOAR stop more security issues in less time. 

A good analogy is email automation. Sure, marketers can type out every email newsletter to every customer. But that takes an awful lot of time and creates opportunities for human error. Like email automation tools do for marketers, security automation systems help IT teams work faster and make fewer mistakes. 

With SOAR, security staff can automate recurring tasks that humans do not need to oversee. These automations are refined over time, progressively reducing the IT team’s workload.

What’s more, SOAR orchestrates systems that may have previously been managed by multiple departments. That further improves efficiency and reduces errors by minimizing cross-team communication. 

2. SOAR Is Flexible

Another plus of SOAR systems is how adaptable they are. Whether you run a small business or a global enterprise — which face different types of threats, and in different proportions — SOAR can improve your security posture. 

You add or remove networks from SOAR as your company’s technology landscape shifts. No matter how many different tools you use, you can analyze and protect them from a single dashboard.

SOAR systems are also flexible in terms of automations. If you discover a certain one is doing more harm than good, you can modify or delete it. And if you realize your team is doing certain tasks repeatedly, you can add new automations. 

Every company has different challenges and goals. Security automation systems cannot be one-size-fits-all. 

3. SOAR Is Affordable

Because SOAR is flexible and boosts productivity, it saves companies money. Not only is hiring security staff expensive, but the average cost of a data breach — including soft costs, such as reputational damage — is nearly $4 million. 

SOAR let businesses do more with their current security staff. And because a SOAR system can prevent certain breaches from happening in the first place, it can pay for itself by stopping even a single attack.

The fact of the matter is, cyberattacks will only increase in regularity and complexity. The best time to implement a SOAR system was when you started storing sensitive data; the second best time is today.

The post What Is SOAR? (And Why You Should Care) appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

In the past five years, more than 14.7 billion records have been lost or stolen due to data breaches.

Deploy Strong Security Technology

Cyber security needs to be a top priority in any business handling sensitive data or personally identifiable data. Traditional security such as firewalls, anti-virus software, and intrusion protection provide a base level of protection, but it’s only the start. A layered security approach using real-time monitoring and alerting is critical.

Less than 5% of the data exposed in breaches over the past five years was encrypted. Encryption done by professional IT support teams dramatically decreases your exposure from both a technical and legal standpoint. Military-grade encryption can prevent the data from being read even if cyber criminals manage to breach your systems and get it, that’s why it’s important to have managed it. If you need a new software to help you manage your data, then consider using this free nosql database.

Breaches can occur when software hasn’t been patched or updated regularly. The breach at Equifax that exposed credit card records happened when attackers exploited a known flaw in the company’s Apache-Struts web application software. The breach happened months after the software manufacturer reported the problem and offered a patch. Equifax hadn’t gotten around to installing it. If they had, the breach likely would never have happened. There are many things that you can check at melodyeotvos.

You need constant monitoring for intrusions and unusual activity.

Train Employees on Security

According to New Jersey IT services, 93% of data breaches begin with phishing attempts. Cyber criminals send legitimate-looking emails in an attempt to obtain login credentials, passwords, and sensitive information. While software solutions can help filter email phishing attempts, employees need to be trained to recognize them to avoid falling victim. You can have the best security systems, but if an employee gives up their login and password, cyber thieves may be able to bypass your security.

Your employees are your weakest links. Cloud-based storage, mobile devices, and more employees mixing company-owned and personal devices for business open up more potential access points. Employees need to know how to detect threats and avoid data leakage by using tools like ExpressVPN when connecting to any unsecured WiFi location. This can even be a threat when working from home while using some TV apps like kodi on firestick without first connecting to a VPN tool to encrypt their connection. Hackers have been known to access home networks this way.

Companies should have clearly defined security policies.

Maintain Strict Compliance

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) governs security protocols and standards for anyone handling credit card information, including use and access. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulates access to personally-identifiable health and medical records.  Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) deals with controls on financial data by corporations.

There may be additional standards within your particular industry. Compliance may include security measures and reporting, but each sets measurable standards for protection, for this, we highly recommend using it consulting services.

Pay Attention To Emerging Regulations

“Security breaches are bad enough, especially if your company handles patient information. Handling of this data is regulated by the federal government, so to avoid them you should trust this data to Medical Coding Solutions help to prevent breaches of sensitive information. New privacy laws are increasing the responsibilities for data protection and increasing the penalties for when breaches happen. In some cases, they mandate pro-active actions you must take to ensure security and actions you must take immediately on discovery of a breach.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) enacted in the European Union impact companies located in the EU as well as companies doing business with EU residents. Several U.S. companies have already been fined for failing to comply with strict regulations on privacy and data protection.

California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) provides additional consumer protection and privacy rights. It takes effect in 2020.

New legislation is being proposed regularly that makes the penalties for non-compliance high and may affect your IT policies, procedures, and staffing.

Conduct Security Audits

According to New Jersey IT support, it’s important to regularly stress tests your systems. At a minimum, you should conduct security audits to make sure you are maintaining your established level of protection. Many companies conduct penetration tests with outside agencies to find weaknesses in their security.

Other companies use security audits in their training by identifying weaknesses and putting their team through the paces to identify and fix security threats while managing the business impact.

Develop A Disaster Response Plan

Every company that handles sensitive data or personally identifiable data needs to have a pre-established data breach response plan as per the experts on managed it services over the world. Roles and responsibilities should be spelled out in case you ever have to manage a breach.

It should include all levels of company management and not just IT professionals. In addition to repairing the damage to your systems, you also need people that will be responsible for managing your company’s reputation and business impacts.

This plan may be part of complying with regulations. It’s part of the GDPR, which has formal procedures you will need to enact within 72 hours of detecting a breach. This includes notifying the appropriate government authorities and informing all of those affected.

The post IT Management Best Practices to Protect Your Business from Data Breaches appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

The Internet has grown exponentially over the past decade, and this trend isn’t showing signs of slowing down. In 2014, the Internet saw a record billionth number of websites. Today, there are over 1.5 billion. In just five years, we reached half the number of total websites that had ever existed by 2014. With such a high demand for Web real estate, and the acceleration of technology, the future will see advancements in Web hosting, too.

If you aren’t familiar with the term “Web hosting”, in layman’s terms, this refers to the data centers/computers that store all of your website’s information. When a user visits your site, they are essentially downloading the data that’s stored by that external, third-party computer. Today, hosting is much more streamlined than it used to be. And in the future, there are two hosting concepts that will continue to grow: cloud hosting and decentralized hosting.

The Emergence of Cloud Hosting

Cloud computing is a major component of the future of Web hosting. Cloud hosting is the on-demand delivery of computing services, using a pay-as-you-go model. It offers on-demand access to a wide variety of computing resources (networks, applications, servers, etc) with minimal monitoring or service provider interaction, and provides a very high level of flexibility.

Google cloud direct connect services can get you online fast. This is a great option for businesses who need to scale quickly, or who don’t require as much storage. As a user, you’re always paying for exactly what you use, ensuring you aren’t shelling out dollars for unused resources. You can see examples of cloud computing all around you: from your Gmail inbox to your backed-up cloud photos in iCloud and DropBox. Everyone from gaming companies like Origin to video streaming services like Netflix revolves around cloud computing as per this Cloud Contact Center Services explained for our article.

“SADA Systems recently surveyed 200+ IT managers and found that 84% of them are using public cloud infrastructure today, as opposed to corporate data centers,” says Brian Jackson, the director of inbound marketing at Kinsta. “Cloud [computing providers] have all seen huge growth quarter after quarter as they compete for the same piece of the pie. Ten years from now there won’t be any need for businesses to use corporate data centers or in-house infrastructure for web hosting.”

For now, however, cloud computing is the stronghold of the Web. The infrastructure needed to support cloud computing alone comprises more than one-third of all IT spending in the entire world. Other research predicts that one-third of enterprise IT spending will be on cloud services and hosting.

Decentralized Hosting

Once upon a time, hosting was highly centralized. And to some degree, that’s how it is today. Whenever a user visits a web page, they connect to a single server and that content is downloaded. However, this isn’t realistically convenient or scalable long-term. Website owners circumvent this problem by implementing content delivery networks that make it easy to access content from anywhere in the World, even if the user is far from servers where that website’s data is stored depending on the Cloud Storage Provider you choose.

The decentralized web is referred to as Web 3.0. With a decentralized system, building hosting services do not depend on one central organization. However, decentralized hosting is a new concept, and fairly undeveloped. In its current form, technology limits this concept, and it looks very much like cloud hosting. However, server hosting is essentially a major transformation of the existing computing models today. Blockchain technology will power the ability to use decentralized processes, like data storage, computing, and operating. In this case, instead of a major hosting company assuming the bulk of the responsibility, it would be shared with multiple servers, or by using a peer-to-peer model of distribution.

Today, WordPress alone powers one-third of all existing websites. If you already have a successful website, and have put hundreds of hours into avoiding WordPress blog mistakes and cultivating a following, the idea of decentralized hosting might seem scary to you: after all, you rely on your host and don’t want your host to have to rely on others. However, many people believe that decentralized hosting could bring people together and force them to act in a fair way towards one another, with benefits for everyone involved. Decentralized hosting could increase Web performance up to 600% according to some tests, and reduce server crashes and hacks.

Either way, it’s imperative that you research WordPress hosting plans and see what suites your needs best.

Published in partnership with DreamHost.

The post The Future of Web Hosting: Cloud Hosting vs. Decentralized Hosting appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

In fact, 43% of cyber-attacks target small business purposely.

That means that small businesses need to prepare for the threats on the horizon. Cyber security is no joke, and it’s not something that comes with little consequences, that’s why it’s important to have cyber intelligence training in your security systems.

60% of small businesses close up shop within six months of a cyber-attack. That’s thanks to a detrimental loss of data, revenue, resources, and reputation.

Here are 5 tips from the experts to protect your data, secure your servers and promote safety across the web.

Hiring a private investigator Columbia SC can help your business with a full range of technical and surveillance equipment, including specialized cameras, audio equipment, GPS tracking devices and counter-surveillance detection equipment.

5 Quick Tips to Boost Your Small Business Cyber Security Plan

1. Educate All Employees on Cyber Security Threats and Best Practices

The first thing your business needs to do is educate your employees. These are the individuals that will be working on your network and exposing your data to threat. Therefore, they need to know what to do and what not to do.

For example, not everyone knows the difference between malware and ransomware. So you need to educate them.

This ensures that everyone on the team is on the same page and is moving towards the same goal of data protection.

2. Always Use a VPN — And Make Sure Employees are Too

Another best practice to follow — both for small businesses and large corporations — is the use of a virtual private network (VPN), if you still do not have one visit this page https://gizlilikveguvenlik.com/, this is a secure channel or network used to promote private, protected internet access. This encrypted tunnel secures your data and interactions online, making it impossible for hackers to decode and gain access.

As BestVPN.com President, Peter Zaborszky, explains, “Once they [hackers] get hold of your personal information, they stand to make money by selling your personal information to such as passwords, bank account numbers, and any other personal information you may harbor in your device. A more dedicated hacker may decide to use your personal information to gain access to your client’s network, damaging your reputation.”

Everyone should use a VPN. This way, you have less to worry about when it comes to external threats because no one can trace it back to you.

3. Monitor and Restrict Software and Hardware Usage

One in four data breaches comes from an internal threat.

Therefore, it’s important that you keep a close eye on the websites your employees visit as well as the software they download and use.

The best way to control these factors is to limit your employees’ ability to alter, download or use certain hardware and software by accident or on purpose.

4. Back Up Your Data

A smart habit to start getting into as a small business is backing up your data. There are many platforms and services available today that let you backup your data to an external drive, the cloud or another storage device.

This is important — because if you’re attacked, you can’t risk the time, energy and resources required to get all of that information back.

The best part about these data backup services is that they don’t just back up data — but customizations, functionalities, operating systems and more. If you need Security Training on this page you can learn how to become a licensed Security Officer, Aviation Protection Officer, Private Investigator, move up to security supervising, tackle cyber security threats, or specialize in government operations.

So you can get back up and running as if nothing happened.

5. Invest in Antivirus and Anti-malware Software

This one really is a no-brainer. The first thing your business should do is integrate antivirus and anti-malware software onto all devices — computers, tablets, smartphones and beyond.

Hackers can gain access to all kinds of devices these days — including smart TVs and voice-controlled systems. That’s why you need a first line of defense.

The Importance of Cyber Security in a Digital Age

Cyber criminals aren’t going away, and neither are the methods they use to destroy your business.

Luckily, these tips will put brands on the path to cyber security success.

The post 5 Small Business Cyber Security Tips from the Experts appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Keep an Eye on Internal Threats

When we think of the malicious actors in the world of cyber security, we usually think of hackers or other external threats. It’s critical, of course, that companies monitor against such threats, but they shouldn’t forget to watch for internal threats as well. An internal threat is someone within the company, such as an employee, who has access to company servers and data. The truth is that internal threats, not external, make up the majority of security breaches.

According to a 2018 report by CA Technologies, 90 percent of organizations feel vulnerable to inside attacks. Such attacks can be deliberate–as when a Tesla employee deliberately stole and sabotaged company data–but they are often unintentional. Risk factors for insider attacks often lie within the structure of the company itself–for example, excessive privileges given to users, too many devices with access to sensitive data, and complicated information technology. These threats can be reduced with improved employee security training and a clear company policy about who has excess to which data or devices.

Set Clear Employee Security Training Standards

Your company should adopt a clear set of security guidelines and should educate employees in matters such as how to appropriately handle confidential information and how to respond to suspicious signs or behavior.

There are several steps employees can take in preventing both internal and external breaches. Employees should be taught to lock up sensitive information when they step away from their computer; to avoid downloading emailed files or clicking on links that are unexpected or that don’t come from a trusted source; to use strong passwords; and to always keep devices close at hand when outside the office. Training employees in these matters should be a core part of basic employee onboarding.

 Adopt a Unified Security Policy for All Data

Data, both structured and unstructured, ends up everywhere–in databases, files, mainframes, the cloud, and more. Because of this enormous amount of data, bits and pieces of it can become forgotten. Keeping your company secure means not just protecting the biggest files and databases, but also protecting every little bit of company data–even that unstructured data that easily slips through the cracks.

To guarantee wide-reaching data security within your company, it’s essential to have a single cyber security strategy for all your data, no matter the location. This will ensure that you won’t have to monitor your data separately, that you won’t leave any data unnoticed or undetected, and that you receive and respond to threat alerts right away.

Encrypt All Company Data

Data is particularly vulnerable when it’s not encrypted, because it’s easily readable by hackers and other malicious actors. Encrypting your data, on the other hand, ensures that even when malicious actors do get their hands on your data, they won’t be able to read it–and, therefore, won’t be able to access sensitive information.

Companies should not only ensure encryption within the office, but should also make sure employees encrypt data when working outside the office or when connecting to other company systems remotely. As part of employee security awareness training, your company should teach users to go through a secure tunnel such as a VPN.

Comply with Security and Privacy Regulations

Compliance with privacy regulations is certainly beneficial to consumers, but it helps your company as well. Regulations like GDPR force companies to prioritize compliance–and, with it, data security–more than ever before.

Setting aside a dedicated team to check for compliance will also help ensure your company finds weak areas of security of that it can make the necessary adjustments. Constantly monitoring and making improvements to your security strategy, rather than passively leaving a security solution in place, is core part of protecting your company’s data.

Summary

Creating a solid cyber security strategy is just as much a priority as developing and marketing your company’s product. Watch out for internal and external threats, engage and train employees in security awareness, and keep a team on hand to follow up on crucial security compliance regulation. Make sure to have a single security strategy that reaches all your data, and keep data encrypted as a second defense against a breach. By taking these steps, you can ensure a more secure–and successful–company.

Written in partnership with Imperva.

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According to the 2018 Verizon Data Breach Report, phishing attacks were at the heart of 93% of data breaches.  In fact, the FBI’s 2017 Internet Crime Report indicates that business email compromise (BEC) and phishing drive 48% of ALL internet crime-driven loss — more than all other business-related internet crime combined.  And with $12B lost globally, it’s proving extremely effective.

While these facts indicate defending against phishing attacks need to be a priority for all organizations, many small businesses (SMBs) often underestimate their risk level. “Why would I be a target – I don’t have anything worth stealing?” Unfortunately, that mindset could cripple a small business.   

Why Small Businesses Are Targets

Small businesses are targets simply because they exist. The cybercriminal marketplace, combined with attack automation, makes organizations of all sizes easy targets. Add in the preponderance of readily available information from numerous social media channels, and crafting legitimate-looking phishing email is child’s play. All of which create an environment where unsuspecting (multitasking, overwhelmed, distracted?) users unwittingly fall prey to the latest phishing email. If a cybercriminal can target thousands of organizations with a single campaign, varying the attack just enough to bypass traditional email security technologies, then any business can be a target.

Small businesses need to stop thinking “I’m not a target” and realize that everyone is a target.    

In more advanced scenarios, cybercriminals use small businesses as a gateway to much larger prizes.

With minimal security in place, small businesses are often the entry point to gain access to larger businesses with which they do business.

The massive data breach at a US-based retailer a few years ago is a good example. Through a phishing attack, cybercriminals gained a foothold in a third-party vendor that supplied services to the retailer and used that entry point to get into the IT environment. They went unnoticed for months and exfiltrated enormous amounts of customer data. While the direct financial impact on the small business may have been minimal, the effect on broader relationships could be insurmountable.    

What SMBs Can Do to Protect Themselves from Phishing Attacks

SMBs don’t need large budgets to effectively defend against phishing attacks. However, they need to change their mindset and recognize that it’s no longer if you will be attacked, but when.  

A good starting point is:

1. Understanding the threat landscape
2. Knowing where your sensitive data resides
3. Knowing what could likely cause your business harm

Most successful phishing campaigns tend to be very targeted (Spear Phishing and BEC), going after specific job functions in the organization that have access to or manage critical data and finances – C-level, HR, IT, Accounting and Finance. This is where cybercriminals pull emotional levers like trust and fear to get employees to take the bait.  Focus on securing those areas of the business as an initial priority, yet don’t stop there. Successful anti-phishing programs need to touch all employees through cyber intelligence training. 

SMBs should focus on three key areas to help defend against phishing attacks:

• Understanding the nature of phishing email
• Building a cybersecurity-aware corporate culture
• Deploying relevant anti-phishing security technologies and tools

Understanding the Nature of Phishing Emails

• Always be on your guard. While obvious issues like grammatical errors and spelling mistakes still exist, modern phishing emails look very legitimate. Treat anything from the internet as suspicious.    
• Be cautious of individuals or organizations that ask for personal information or transferring of funds. Don’t click on any links – verify directly with the company itself to avoid any potential issues.
• Take a close look at the sender’s email address (not the display name – this can be easily spoofed) when checking the legitimacy of an email. Would your CEO truly send you an email from their “personal” account asking you to transfer money?
• Don’t be frightened or intimidated by messages that have an alarmist or urgent tone.  Contact the company or individual directly if they are uncertain about the status of their accounts or the request.

Building a Cyber Aware Corporate Culture  

• Leverage free resources like the FTC’s Cybersecurity for Small Business and get educated.
• Make cybersecurity a priority for all employees, not just the IT team, and provide a written cybersecurity policy that all employees must read and acknowledge.
• If your business works with third parties and systems are integrated (e.g. retail POS), make it a policy to ensure their applications are secure – ask them about their security policies before deploying.
• Set formal, explicit security policies to stop BEC or CEO Fraud. For example, all wire transfers or movement of company funds requires verbal and written approval.  

Deploying Relevant Technologies and Tools

• Deploy a multi-layered email security posture including email gateway, anti-phishing and incident response technologies like EdgeWave’s Email Security
• Utilize two-factor authentication to access critical applications and systems
• If you have the budget, consider periodic security audits to identify security gaps

While small businesses tend to be more vulnerable to phishing, there are steps they can take to help protect their organization.  Although there is no silver bullet, a combination of employee education, formal cybersecurity policies and anti-phishing technologies can drastically reduce the risk of falling for a phish.

Authored by:

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All too often, people keep passwords for important sites in places like sticky notes, Excel files, or in the Notepad app on their phones. Many don’t even record their passwords at all because they use simple ones that are easy to memorize.

Make Digital Security a Priority

I was lucky enough to sit down with Katie Petrillo, Product Marketing Team Lead for LastPass at LogMeIn. According to Katie, 

‘Password management is the key to keeping your personal, business, financial, and private details secure.’

LastPass is a part of LogMeIn and not only stores your passwords for safekeeping, but it adds an extra layer of security.

Expect the Unexpected

Think about this: as a small business, you have one person who holds access to all those accounts. What if something happened to the person who has all these passwords?

Of course, we don’t want to think about it– but tragedy can strike. LastPass can be used to protect businesses from tragedies and act as a backup plan when the figurative keyholder can no longer open doors.

Petrillo describes LastPass as a “safety deposit box online” so information is not lost in the cloud when tragedy strikes. And, while this may not be the most comfortable topic to discuss, it is important for businesses as well as for individuals.

How does LastPass work?

By using LastPass, your passwords can all be unique and strong and stored in one secure location. Small business owners can trust that their unique passwords add an extra layer of difficulty for hackers.

This may all sound too good to be true, but it really works. If you have an account with LastPass, it is helpful to add a person who can have access when you cannot. But, LastPass does not just give away access. You can customize:

• who has access,
• what they have access to,
• and how long they can have access before it is revoked.

While the backdoor is important to maintain the status quo, LastPass has worked vital multi-factor authentication (MFA) into your password security.

Making Holiday Shopping Easier

Are you a big online shopper? Or does your boss have you looking for holiday gifts for clients? When you have a LastPass account, you can arrange your credit card information and shipping details to immediately populate online forms. Then, all you have to do is click and the transaction happens. If you are busy buying multiple gifts for your friends, family, and colleagues, this feature can save serious amounts of time.

What can you do to protect your digital information?

LastPass and other password protectors are simply too important to ignore. Security comes from strong passwords. Petrillo understands this and shared two important tips: never reuse passwords and use multi-factor authentication (MFA) in all of your important online accounts. It might take a little extra time each time you log in, but it is better than the time you have to spend reinstating your identity, chasing stolen money, or opening new social media accounts if you are hacked.

The post Beyond the Grave – How To Protect Your Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

These tracking techniques bypass online privacy rights by hiding terms of agreement discretely in the site’s footer – with a visit used to trigger consent. The grouping of your personal data also exposes you to a high level of risk in the event those tracking tools and/or companies experience a data breach.

If you’re wondering how safe your information is, Google, Facebook, Target, Macy’s, Adidas, Sears, Kmart, Best Buy, Panera Bread, Sonic, Whole Foods, and Arby’s have all been hacked – the majority in the last year – exposing the personal information of their customers.

While it may seem like your personal data is doomed to fall into the wrong hands, there are a few ways you can cover your tracks and protect your privacy. Here are three ways to hide your digital fingerprints:

1. Regularly clear your cookies and browsing history

A ‘cookie’ is a message that web servers send to your web browser when you visit a site. Your browser stores that message until you go to a new page then sends it back to the server. Think of it as a nosy neighbor reporting on where you’ve been. While traditional tracking relies on browser cookies that are tied to a single device, today’s tracking technology can identify you across multiple devices. Clearing your cookies and browsing history on a regular basis only protects you from older tracking tools, but leaves you exposed to the more modern and powerful tracking threats being used today.

When you clear your browser cookies and history, you delete this information from your browser – like shutting the windows and locking the door so that neighbor can’t see what you’re doing. These tend to build up over time, so (added bonus) clearing can also sometimes increase the speed of your browsing.

2. Browse private or ‘Incognito’

For additional privacy protection, use private browsing mode, available on all popular web browsers (Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Internet Explorer). Private browsing mode will allow you to browse the web without storing any cookies or history data after you close the browser window, which can cover your tracks on the front end and help save a few clicks later.

3. Use a privacy tool

Some modern tracking tools are so advanced that clearing your browser history and cookies doesn’t protect you. These tools use a technique called ‘device fingerprinting’ to track and match your behavior from different devices – so they know it’s you whether you’re using your phone, your laptop, or your tablet.

The good news is that tools like TrackOFF now exist to hide you from being tracked and targeted. These tools use state of the art algorithms to alter your digital fingerprints in real-time so that you look like a different user every time you visit a website. That helps keep your information safe from being profiled and easily found in the event of another major hack.

Protect your information from being gathered and falling into the wrong hands by taking advantage of browser settings and privacy tools. That way when the next major breach happens, you don’t have to worry.

Authored By:

Chandler Givens is the CEO & Co-founder of TrackOFF, a data privacy company that offers the most advanced protection against the newest online tracking threats.

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With the internet of things rapidly on the rise, I think it’s important for businesses to turn to web application firewalls (WAFs) for safeguarding their websites, that’s why you should always hire  legal firm security. Fortunately, services such as Sucuri and Cloudflare provide the required protection against cross-site scripting (XXS) vulnerabilities, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and other online threats. according to great managed it services equally imperative is keeping real-time backups of all important information. – Derek Robinson, Top Notch Dezigns

3. Create Strict Password Protocols

Password protocols are an easy first step to improving an organization’s data security. These protocols encompass things like the frequency of password changes, the complexity requirements of the passwords, the number of password-protected programs, levels of access, etc. If you need to improve security, then the first step is to look at how your organization manages passwords. – Baruch Labunski, Rank Secure

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One shared lesson is the need for planning and some measure of structure. Companies of any size should have marketing and overall business plans with the mexico shelter services that provide a roadmap for statutory accounting and growth. They should also have a plan for protecting data, which is typically a firm’s most important asset (besides people.) The modern small business runs on data. Whether your company produces candles and knick-knacks or offers custom software, data is essential. Protecting this data warrants the creation of a data management and recovery plan, you can even contact this iphone data recovery service for professional assistance.

Create a formal plan.

first step is to admit that you need a plan and to then devote time to a formal written plan. Adding some formality to the process means you and your team take it seriously and holds you accountable to the plan’s requirements. Set an aggressive deadline for the first draft of the plan, and involve everyone in the organization to help you put the plan into motion. Even if you’re a one-person shop you still need a plan to protect your data, especially if you grow quickly and pull in new and more complex data sets, this is why we recommend to check this website HTTPS://WWW.VENYU.COM/CLOUD/.

Gather and collect.

A core part of your plan must detail how you’ll collect and then organize all of the company’s relevant data. Don’t overlook data sources that can prove invaluable, and consider deleting data that you are sure is no longer needed. Pay special attention to customer data, especially any that contains identifying personal information such as addresses, SSNs, or payment data. You want data from every platform and device, including your email contact system, digital camera content, and everything in between. Standardize how data should move from creation to storage, and centralize and segment the data in a way that makes sense to how your business functions.

Ask everyone on the team to provide their data to a centralized location, ideally a secure cloud service. Cloud storage is exceedingly cheap, and provides your team with remote access to information, and removes your data from site-specific risks such as floods or fires.

Manage the people and their access.

Most data breaches happen because of people-related flaws, not technology lapses. A staff member might use the old “1234” password to log in to the network and make it simple for a hacker. Or they could fall for a phishing scheme that exposes your business to ransomware. Maybe you have a disgruntled employee who decides to steal your prospect list or sends disparaging messages to one of our key clients. To prevent such occurrences you need to manage how people access, store, and send your data. As your company grows you need access monitoring and management tools so you can receive alerts when people attempt to pull sensitive data. Use such tools to shield financial data from the graphics department team, and to manage the logins of outside vendors.

Find a recovery expert. 

Despite your best efforts, things do happen. A staff member might spill coffee on their computer that contained thousands of customer email addresses. A power surge from a lightning storm might fry everyone’s laptops. When you experience these types of data losses, you need an expert in data recovery. Your data management plan should include a section on data recovery with the name of a reputable recovery firm. Do some research to find a company that offers superior customer service and has experience with a wide range of devices and data loss situations.

A complete data management and recovery plan is an important step for small business owners. It shows you understand your protection of data and the success of your business are linked together. Proactive data management planning is your best way to stop worrying about data loss and instead concentrate on growth.

Authored By: 

David Zimmerman has been in the hardware/software industry for over 30 years, specifically in the data recovery software market for 20 years. During this period, he has been involved in the creation; marketing and support of the earlier drive recovery software products to enter the PC market and successfully marketed them both nationally and internationally. His company makes data recovery products for some of the largest storage device manufacturers as well as for most of his competitors. His experience in the market has made him uniquely familiar with the data recovery business.

LC Technology International, Inc.  is a global leader in data recovery, file system utilities and data security technology. Clients include original equipment manufacturers, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, corporate security specialists and IT consultants, among others. Available worldwide and published in more than 24 different languages, LC Technology products are available direct or through several major manufacturers of flash memory products. Founded in 1997, LC Technology is based in Clearwater, Florida.

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Cybersecurity issues at small businesses (SMBs) are comparable to the elevator scene. Everyone’s personal devices carry vulnerabilities (aka germs). Some lack passwords, others have downloaded malicious apps; some run on very outdated software. Now, it’s very easy to imagine an employee joining free, public Wi-Fi while waiting for a friend at a coffee shop. Unbeknownst to that employee is that his device has several vulnerabilities, and simply by connecting to a network that he thought was secure (but wasn’t), he inadvertently opened up his entire company to attack.

The outdated software on the device is similar to an immune system. Because it wasn’t properly taken care of, it was prone to infection, and because most people don’t practice the most secure and technological hygienic practices with their personal devices, an SMB is at higher risk of a small incident growing into a much larger problem.  

The World in the Palm of Your Hand, and All the Problems with It

The technology we own and use every day has allowed us to make great advances in both personal knowledge and productivity. It has even enabled small businesses to skirt costly overhead by avoiding the need to provide employees with phones and computers. Those savings, however, do not come without risks.

Today, SMB employees occasionally sign technology policies, but they are rarely enforced. And if employees use a personal phone for work, which most small business workers do, you can bet that even the most well-intentioned rule-followers aren’t thinking of device policy at night or over the weekend; instead they connect to any public Wi-Fi with a signal and often fail to update operating systems and apps with any sense of urgency. Small business leaders aren’t naïve that such activity or lack thereof is taking place, but they look the other way to keep costs down and productivity high.

Trading security for convenience is the top risk factor when it comes to personal devices, so it’s no wonder that we keep hearing about data and network breaches. Unfortunately, smart devices hold more information about us than we want to acknowledge. Between payment information, and emails with personal identifying information, to the occasional picture of a driver’s license, and the access to networks and cloud-apps, devices carry a plethora of valuable information of interest to attackers.

Why It’s a Big Deal for a Small Business?

Two recent reports identified both the most cyber insecure cities and airports in the United States, each highlighting just how many active threats exist at a given time. For example, if an employee joins a copycat Wi-Fi network (known as an Evil Twin) at the airport instead of the airport’s official network, it’s not just their phone that’s affected, it’s potentially his entire company’s data, cloud-apps, and devices, too.

Specifically, there are several threats that SMB employees using their own devices are prone to. For one, many people are slow to apply critical updates to their devices that often include security patches. This lack of or outdated anti-malware and firewall protection leaves devices wide-open to malicious code. Even more common, employees’ personal devices lack strong password protection protocols – such as a password written down in their Notes apps; the same password used for everything; or worse, no password at all. Some employees may even “jailbreak” their personal devices, meaning they bypass the original manufacturing software restrictions to install previously prohibited software and/or applications. Once the original operating system is no longer supported, remediation in the event of incidents is impossible.

SMBs are not equipped, both technically and financially, to handle the fallout of a successful attack. According to an Accenture study, the average cost of cyber-crime over three years was more than $3.5 million, for the smallest companies it studied. That kind of fallout from a cyber attack will shut down most small businesses and for those that do survive, the lost time and reputation damage will have lasting effects. Some SMBs may have cyber insurance, but depending on how the incident occurred, generally phishing, most policies won’t cover the claim.

What SMBs Can Do to Mitigate Risk

Half the battle of cybersecurity is education. Invest time and money in programs that can teach employees to recognize and report threats, especially if they are using their personal devices for work. SMBs should also develop and enforce a device policy, or even set up a device management software to identify risks. Currently, there are easy to use platforms that can secure users, devices and SaaS applications. Platforms like these can provide SMBs with the ability to monitor devices and networks and control which are compliant or not. Knowledge is power, and these tools give your IT administrators – whether internal or outsourced – the insight into problems before they affect your whole company.

In this hyperconnected world, cyber threats will continue to rise both in frequency and complexity. For SMBs, the lack of resources can create risks that for large enterprises do not even register. To level the playing field, SMBs must educate their employees and find the solutions that bolster defenses without breaking the bank. After all, with a strong immune system, a body can fight off the flu. And with the proper cybersecurity in place, a company can mitigate threats.

Dror Liwer is the co-founder and CISO of Coronet, a data breach protection provider for companies that use the cloud.

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Protect your business from cyber attacks

As you grow your business, it is important to find a local IT consultant who specializes in security. But, before you commit to one, there are a few things that you can do to protect your business from cyber attacks:

1. Use complex passwords that are not easy to predict.
2. Change your passwords on a regular basis, like on the 10th of every month.
3. Use different passwords for each account.
4. Hire employees that you trust.
5. Be alert to unusual activity on your accounts.
6. Only use private WiFi for sensitive transactions.

Secure your computers and data

Small business owners should secure their computers, data, and financial information from potential cybercrime. One place small business owners can turn is Kaspersky Lab and their new Kaspersky Small Office Security solution. This easy solution offers several features that small business owners appreciate. They include:

• Protection against crypto-miners and ransomware that can invade servers
• Support for Microsoft Windows during updates and reboots
• Updated notifications for product alerts, so customers have fewer interruptions
• Upgraded console that is easier to use than previous versions

Are you protected?

According to Kaspersky Lab, nearly one-third of small businesses, especially those with 50 or fewer employees are not properly protected from cybercrimes. This gives cybercriminals a relatively good chance of attacking vulnerable businesses. Those businesses without proper security often rely on an employee to provide the security, even though the employee may not have any training in cybersecurity.

Those small businesses without cyber-protection no longer need to worry, because Kaspersky Small Office Security offers an affordable option for businesses with five to 50 employees. Along with providing outstanding security against the latest types of cybercrimes like crypto-mining and ransomware, it also keeps businesses safe while employees are surfing the net. Small businesses can trust that they will not become victims of phishing and spamming through private browsing features. Kaspersky also included a feature they call “Safe Money” that keeps financial transactions safe while making payments online.

About Kaspersky Lab

Kaspersky Lab provides cybersecurity on a global scale and they have been doing that for over 20 years. The company has a portfolio that includes over 400 million users and 270,000 businesses. Kaspersky Lab provides sophisticated services that are constantly evolving against digital threats for businesses of all sizes.

The post Kapersky’s New Solution for Small Business Security appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

7. Change Passwords Frequently

9. Write a Simple Security Policy

10. Consider Hiring a Cybersecurity Consultant

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Real or simulated, what lessons can your business learn from this example?

Phishing tests are designed to help your users decipher good email from bad. While there is still some debate on the long-term efficacy of this approach, one thing that is vital is that the entire security organization be aware of the test and respond accordingly. In the case of the DNC “false alarm”, it appears there was a distinct lack of communication with the affected groups, leading to the false alarm. Not only will a phishing test challenge your users, it should also challenge your security organization and their response processes. As a simulation, the security personnel must respond accordingly, including knowing when to “stop” the defined response processes.
We should absolutely give credit to the various DNC groups for responding as though this was an actual attack. But a little communication goes a long way and could have allayed a good amount of concern (let alone the media attention).

By some accounts, over 90% of breaches start with a phishing email. Why? Because phishing works.

While organizations have had email security solutions in place for 20 years, they have taken a back seat to more sexy solutions like Endpoint Detection and Response or next-gen AV. Email security has achieved “good enough” status while security time and budget is spent searching for the latest holy grail. The cybercriminal underground knows this and continue finding ways to adapt phishing to bypass the latest email security defenses. It’s a game of one-upmanship where the bad guys only have one task – to bypass email security defenses – while the internal security team must defend on multiple fronts.

Phishing tests have become the defense du jour to help train user’s ability to identify malicious email. What phishing testing has also done is started down the path of adopting defense-in-depth for email security. Defense-in-depth is a long-established security strategy designed to protect your organization across all potential attack fronts. Normally organizations have a single solution at each layer (web security, email security, endpoint security, etc.). But as attacks have become more advanced, security teams are learning the hard way that a single solution does not always mean a “layer” is adequately protected. Phishing tests were an understandable reaction to the “I can’t stop everything at my email security gateway” reality. Since the next step in this layered approach was the Inbox (i.e. end users), it only made sense to involve the end users somehow.

And yet, phishing still works. Whether the goal is ransomware, crypto mining or business email compromise, there are no signs that phishing volume is declining. So, how does a small business respond in a world of, seemingly, never-ending attacks and a high likelihood of breach?

• Accept the high likelihood of being breached Identify your valuable assets (aka cybercriminal targets).
• Enhance your phishing defenses to include postdelivery detection.

First, and foremost, accept the reality that you will very likely be breached.

Just because you are not a Fortune 50 organization does not mean you are not a target. The cybercriminal underground has a flourishing market that sells everything necessary to attack almost any organization. The world of opportunistic attacks, where a broad swath of entities is attacked at once, is now the world of targeted opportunistic attacks. Even the smallest amount of information collected from social media (much of it already for sale on the dark web) can be turned in to targeted attacks generated using an opportunistic attack framework. In other words, thousands of organizations can be attacked at once (opportunistic) using very low volume, targeted phishing email.

In this new reality, preparation is vital. Identify your most important assets, the value to your organization if they are “stolen”, and the cost to adequately protect them. I have talked with some organizations that determined the “value” as very low, so their risk tolerance was high meaning their preparation was more closely aligned with “notification and clean-up” rather than rapid response. If, on the other hand, your assets have extremely high value (i.e. low-risk tolerance) then you must prepare for rapid detection and response (with a healthy dose of data redundancy for good measure).

But what about phishing, you ask? Defense-in-depth is your key. As more organizations move to hosted email server platforms like Microsoft Office365 and Google G Suite, new levels of integration are available to apply email security post-delivery (after the email security gateway). If we revisit involving end-users, phishing training is asking them to decide good from bad. There are now post-delivery solutions that simply ask the end user to submit the message to experienced email security analysts and let them decide. Defense-in-depth to a whole new level.

Authored By: John Randall, Vice President of Product Management, Edgewave

Mr. Randall brings over 25 years of cybersecurity and technology experience. As the Vice President of Product Management, Mr. Randall is responsible for developing both product

The post The Cautionary Tale of The DNC’s False Phishing Alarm appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

In an annual test of cybersecurity in corporations around the world, Kaspersky Lab found that nearly three-quarters of the tested networks were not protected properly. The cybersecurity giant conducts perimeter penetration tests annually to provide information to IT departments regarding the safety of their online data. Without proper protection, corporations and all of the organizations connected to them can have major issues that can lead to financial and operational problems that can be damaging to their reputations.

Kaspersky Lab provides cybersecurity for business and residential customers. This company has been providing cybersecurity to companies around the world for over 20 years. As the world of cybersecurity changes, Kaspersky Lab constantly monitors and updates their security protocols to continue to keep up with people who try to infiltrate businesses, government agencies, and other organizations around the world. According to Kaspersky Lab’s website, the company has over 400 million customers.

It is a wise business move for a company like Kaspersky Lab to conduct studies that show how important its services are. In order to provide strong cyber protection, Kaspersky Lab needs to understand how to break into networks. And, cybersecurity experts clearly know how to break into IT systems. Kaspersky Lab was able to use weak credentials to gain access to one-third of the administrative-level areas of the companies they tested. This gave them access to entire systems, including servers, individual employee workstations, and other vital systems.

They were able to access even more corporate internal networks. With their mock attacks, they found that almost all of the systems they analyzed had underwhelming security. In most cases, Kaspersky was able to access the highest administrative levels using only two or three attack steps.

This should be concerning for business owners because once a cyber-attacker gains access to the administrative levels of a system, they can get to everything. By showcasing these weaknesses, Kaspersky Lab proves how important their services are and how important it is for businesses to invest in Kaspersky Lab’s products.

Interestingly, instead of using the findings of the cyber-attack study to sell products. Kaspersky Lab made recommendations which can be implemented by IT administrators without needing to contact Kaspersky. The recommendations included basic security steps like monitoring firewalls and updating software on a regular basis. It also included educating and encouraging employees to use strong passwords. IT administrators should also conduct security tests and develop a real strategy for finding and responding to cyber attacks.

Kaspersky Lab shared their findings in a PDF file filled with thorough information. It included the steps they took to gain access to so many vital systems and where the weaknesses exist. This PDF file provides a wake-up call to businesses that may not take their cyber-security seriously. It seems as if too many businesses do not think that their businesses can be attacked, but it is clear that an excessive amount of businesses are seriously vulnerable. And, while this 28-page PDF full of information is accessible to business owners and their IT administrators, it is also readily available to the people who make their living hacking. This should put some fear into the business owners who do not invest properly in cybersecurity.

Authored by: Kristen Bentley, reporter, Smallbiztechnology.com

The post Kaspersky Lab Releases Shocking Results of Corporate Cybersecurity Tests appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

It is a fact of life that death is inevitable. Though it’s an unpleasant issue, it must be faced and be prepared for. In the maximum amount as death is an emotional issue filled with intense emotion, grief, and unpleasantness altogether actuality, people should a minimum of attempt to do something to be prepared for it.People should have Accendo Medicare Supplement Plans which are good from the health perspective.

Life insurance is a type of insurance that offers financial security to people and their families in case of unexpected death of the earner. The insured or the policy owner is required to make periodic fixed payments, to the insurance company to keep the policy in force. These payments are known as the insurance premium and are decided by the insurance company on the basis of several factors. Life insurance agents approach such potential customers who require life insurance for various purposes. Medical Malpractice Insurance have good experience to serve people or businesses for insurance.  To find out these potential customers, insurance agents rely on the leads generation process. These leads can be bought from companies who are solely dedicated to building up a database of prospective customers. Life insurance agents usually do not sell their policies by knocking on every door in the area. They use various methods of marketing and advertising to conduct their business. They generate leads through different sources and are on the look out for prospective customers all the time who compare life insurance on these sources as they are potentially planning to buy insurance. This involves a lot of hard work and dedication towards the chosen industry. The Internet is a great way for advertising their services as well as for generating leads. Many life insurance agents today have their own websites, where they provide all the information about insurance. You can Calculate your Life Insurance needs online here.  These websites also generate online quotes for customers without any charge. The quotes are usually provided to them instantly. However, agents compile the list of people, who have requested for these quotes and send them customized and detailed information. This increases the chances of a potential customer buying the policy. To get more information regarding to life insurance, you could check here.

Once prospective customers buy the life insurance policy, the lead is considered as a successful conversion. Life insurance agents become a part of the family of the policy owner once they become their clients. This is because, after sale customer service is essential for the insurance agents, to build their own and their company’s reputation. Satisfied customers helps generate more leads, as they recommend their life insurance agent to their friends and family. As with everything in life, financial worries have always been looming around, expecting the kill. During this case, it’s your death. In many cases, people aren’t always prepared whenever something happens to their relations . From hospitalization to burial expenses, financial worries have always been known to happen . Among the various sorts of insurance available within the market nowadays, Best Medicare Advantage plans 2021 has become one among the foremost important sorts of insurance policies a private must obtain.

As in most cases, death often comes when it’s least expected. If you would like to possess some say on what is going to happen during your cremation and ease the burden a minimum of financially and grief off your family during these times of sorrow, then, for this reason, Cremation insurance has been known to ease the financial burden of death.

Cremation insurance cover may be a sort of life assurance policy that involves a minimum “face amount” to be used on memorial services and burial expenses. an honest cremation policy may help cover cremation and burial expenses at the smallest amount . However, not all Cremation insurance plan policies were created equal, that’s why there’s a requirement to understand the proper way on the way to choose the simplest burial insurance which will best work for you.

A good thanks to compare cremation insurance quotes is thru the web . There are many good cremation policy quotes that an individual can find on the web . One can even use a free online tool that allows you to compare multiple online insurance quotes within minutes, letting you compare rates and coverage for the simplest option. There also are websites that allow you to match insurance rates quickly and confidentially. they will provide you with insurance rate tables which will save time and money by immediately eliminating insurance companies that aren’t low cost to you. By comparing two or more insurance companies online, you’ll tend an opportunity to seek out the cremation insurance quote which may be a great value for your money.

As getting the best cremation insurance cover quotes and comparing them might be quite confusing, the web also can be how to urge various reviews from the people that have tried the actual insurance companies you’re considering. during this way, you’ll learn each firm’s good and bad points supported what the reviews said.

Now, that you simply know that the simplest thanks to get and compare cremation cover quotes is to try to to it online because it saves you precious time and money, then here are some tips and things that you simply must consider while checking out cremation policy quotes online:

• Do some research first about cremation insurance policies. during this way, you’ll be ready to get the simplest quotes, check on the simplest and most reliable insurance companies, and seek the simplest service available for the cremation cover.
• Remember that cremation insurance policies are patterned before the requirements of a selected individual. note that the services which will be included within the policy are categorized and included consistent with the requirements of the policyholder. Thus, getting the simplest cremation cover will depend upon the alternatives that you simply make and on the knowledge you’ve got gathered including your state’s present laws regarding Cremation insurance plan policies.
• Find out your state’s laws on pre need insurance.
• Prior to buying a Cremation policy, have a discussion of your options together with your family and lawyer to form sure it’s according to your will and estate planning.
• Take note that premiums can only get higher as you grow old . to save lots of a touch cash, don’t wait too long, and act now.
• Ask and determine what proportion of the plan value you’ll actually receive in death benefits. confirm that your cremation cover is sufficient to hide all of your cremation expenses.
• Learn and determine if your policy is an instantaneous benefit cremation policy or graded – which may delay payout of the complete benefit.
• If you decide to shop for burial insurance through a cremation parlor , it is vital that they’re not the named beneficiary.
• Investigate the corporate . Verify the license of the agent, mortician or company, and company’s registration before doing business.
• Take advantage of any “free look” laws your state may need to review your policy before you’re locked in. The Federal Trade Commission requires cremation homes to offer you a written list of obtainable goods and services.
• Never accept any documents that haven’t been completely filled in and signed in your presence. Be wary of prearranged forms. Never comply with any files or certificates that are prearranged or are filled up without your presence.
• Read the contract. determine the following:
• Location of the gravesite it should be spelled out by section, row and plot number.
• Type of outer burial container you’ve got purchased (example, grave liner vs. a vault, and what it’s made of) the policy should specify them the kind of marker you’ve got purchased, including size, material, and style, preferably with a sketch the policy should specify them if opening, closing and marker-installation costs are included (the costs of digging and filling a grave aren’t generally included within the cost of the plot).
• If there are extra fees if you purchase a marker from a monument dealer rather than the cemetery.
• What happens if the cemetery ownership changes hands if your chosen cemetery runs out of burial space, and what recourse you’ve got if the cemetery runs out of cash and defaults on your arrangement.
• Do a survey of your required cemetery to ascertain how well the maintenance is, particularly after a snowstorm.
• The contingencies if the things you’ve got selected will not be available at the time of the cremation.
• What happens if you opt to cancel your policy.

The post Future File: Nobody Plans For Death. But Maybe People Should. appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

These answers are provided by Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs.

1. Two-Factor Authentication

Having people log in with their mobile phones is a great way to ensure that systems are well protected. It’s a key that most people will always have with them and not something easy to hack or duplicate. – Nicole Munoz, Start Ranking Now

2. Transparency

Make sure the communication with your online users is short and simple to understand. An overcomplicated message generates confusion and concern. Tell your customers in a clear way what the data is used for and how you are protecting it. – Duran Inci, Optimum7

3. Whitepapers

One way would be to create and publish a whitepaper on the topic. Make it complete and comprehensive, including how privacy is approached, what you’re specifically doing to protect consumer info, as well as how you’re complying with current regulations. – Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance

4. Social Engineering Prevention

The most common cause of data breaches isn’t actually software exploits. More often than not, hackers use social engineering to trick unassuming supervisors to share information. In order to avoid this, and in order to indicate to your clients that you avoid this, it’s important to make sure access to login information is as limited as possible. If you can, try to keep everything in-house. – Bryce Welker, Crush The LSAT

5. Website and Data Security Communication

Your brand should be synonymous with privacy and security. One way to go about doing this is to encrypt your website with a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate. Browsers like Google Chrome will begin marking sites that have no SSL encryption as ‘not secure’ in the address bar of the browser. You do not want to be ‘that guy’ and lose business by telling visitors that their data isn’t secure. – Jared Weitz, United Capital Source Inc.

6. Data Collection Assurance

As a rule, any time a company asks customers for their information online, that company should disclose how that information will be used and protected. Wherever data is retrieved via a website is an opportunity to assure customers their data is secure. – Sean Harper, Kin Insurance

7. Communication

Your businesses philosophy about data protection should be cohesive with your overall business ethos. This should be clearly communicated in easily understood language in your ‘about’ section. At a high level, it should be pretty clear to users if and why their information would be shared, how it’s being protected and whether this is a high priority for your organization. – Baruch Labunski, Rank Secure

8. Proactive Messaging and Action

Announcing security concerns periodically, and taking proactive measures to communicate actual security investments and actions can go a long way to increase customer comfort. If your clients first hear of a vulnerability or breach from your company, and in the same message you indicate what steps you have taken, or they can take, to remedy the situation, it builds trust. – Joe Beccalori, Interact Marketing

9. GDPR Regulations

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) recently went into effect, imposing strict new regulations on the use of sensitive customer data and the responsibilities of business in the event of a breach. Follow the lead of Microsoft: adopt these principles for customers worldwide. Share with customers how their information is being used and protected. Use compliance with GDPR to build trust with your customers. – Thomas Smale, FE International

The post Nine Better Ways to Communicate Your Commitment to Data Privacy appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

“. . . Equifax has confirmed that attackers entered its system in mid-May through a web-application vulnerability that had a patch available in March. In other words, the credit-reporting giant had more than two months to take precautions that would have defended the personal data of [147] million people from being exposed. It didn’t.”

Unfortunately, as reckless and negligent as this seems, this type of behavior is par for the course for many of today’s businesses. Particularly when we consider the situation surrounding Spectre and Meltdown:

“. . . research revealed that nearly every computer chip manufactured in the last 20 years contains fundamental security flaws. . . and while software patches are available, they may have impacts on system performance. . . the flaws are so fundamental and widespread that security researchers are calling them catastrophic.”

With critical vulnerabilities exponentially rising, small and medium-sized business needs to learn how to implement an effective patch management process as a means to avoid joining the long list of data breaches in 2018 (so far).

Here are 6 steps for enforcing a strong patch management process.

#1: Make Patch Management a Priority

IT employees are the ones who manage the patching process. However, business managers often split these resources across a variety of demands and requests.

To effectively maintain network security, company leaders need to hold patching as a pinnacle priority by allocating the appropriate time, resources, and manpower to the effort; and doing so in routine fashion.

The most effective strategy is to hold team members and managers accountable for ensuring this process is handled and maintained in a timely fashion. If you need a way to help manage all of your documents, then consider using ediscovery.

#2: Appoint Ownership

The IT department tends to tout a myriad of members who apply patches regularly. This is a mistake as the task is then owned by no single individual. Without crystalline accountability for who oversees what, the chain of command and communication channels can quickly break down.

If your organization’s size warrants it, consider talking higher-ups into hiring a full-time patch management and validation specialist. While some might view it as extremes, the imperativeness of this position should be clear given the plethora of security breaches in the last 10 years.

If a dedicated patch specialist simply isn’t an option for your company, then opt to hire a consultant to assist your brand with security patch revision validation and deployment.

No matter which route you go, it is imperative to possess a powerful patch management software that can help to automate the process, manage the company’s security infrastructure, and bring new tools to a department.

#3: Accurately Assess Your Inventory

IT needs to be keenly aware of every system operating within a company’s ecosystem to effectively identify which patches are necessary as vendors release them. After all, you can’t patch what you don’t know is there.

While some of you at larger organizations might be thinking this is impossible, consider the fact that the 2017 Trustwave Global Security Report revealed that 99.7% of web applications include at least one vulnerability.

If IT and security managers fail to take the entirety of the company’s system into consideration – including proprietary systems and third-party apps, services, platforms, libraries, and devices – threats and vulnerabilities are multiplying by the day.

Review the threats of all your systems facets and aspects, asses the risks, establish priority, and begin securing your network.

#4: Promote a Testing Procedure

Before deploying a patch, it is necessary to look at all your company’s systems to ensure that the patch won’t break anything. To safeguard from such an event, you need to test the patch and move through all the trial and verification steps necessary to verify that there will be no adverse consequences from its deployment.

The best way to do this is to create a testing lab that mimics your system environment. While this approach is costly and time-consuming, it is far less costly than having a patch break a vital system.

#5: Be Committed

Patching is an incredibly complicated and delicate matter within modern IT stacks that feature various points of integration, customized components, add-ons, mobile endpoints, and a multitude of other variables.

With that in mind, business owners and IT managers need to accept that there will be some issues that can be resolved, and those that can’t. When certain issues cannot be patched, they need to be documented.

For many organizations, these exceptions – even if written down – will never be revisited. To maintain a secure environment, it is necessary to regularly go back and reassess these exceptions to review if a new solution has emerged and that it is not introducing new risks that were originally unforeseen.

#6: Archive and Analyze

In addition to archiving system inventory information, brands need to closely monitor and document patches that have been released from vendors, scheduled patch testing, and deployment dates, and patch completion times dates.

To manage all this information in an effective and streamlined way, it’s wise to develop or employ a dashboard that creates visibility on the entirety of your patch management initiatives. This will also help IT gain a greater understanding of where vulnerabilities have been patched and where they still exist.

Additionally, monitoring metrics such as percent or number of systems up-to-date, number of patches failed, etc. are all critical to track to fully understand the health of an organization’s digital ecosystem.

The easiest way to create such a system with this information is to employ one of the many patch management platforms on the market.

People tend not to care about patch management until something goes wrong; Equifax’s breach is a prime example. Don’t practice the same low-security standards. Employ these six patch management best practices to avoid becoming the next company to make the news because it was hacked.

The post How Patch Management Can Save You from an It Security Breach appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Despite the risk, many small businesses are behind the curve when it comes to defense against fraud. Only 33% of small businesses reported they had purchased security software, and only 25% believed they were in compliance with the Payment Card Industry’s Data Security Standards (PCI Data Security Standards), which ensure that a business accepts, processes and stores credit card valid cvv number as securely as possible. Nearly one in six admitted to having done nothing to protect their data.

The financial and reputational setbacks from a breach can be extensive—and some businesses may not survive the blow. Here’s a look at some of the costs of a breach, along with what small businesses can do to prevent one.

Financial and reputational costs

Among the small businesses Bank of America Merchant Services surveyed, 31% that experienced a customer data breach in the last two years spent more than $50,000 to resolve the issue. This cost includes fees paid to forensic investigators who determine the source of the breach, as well as legal counsel and public relations advisers to help repair reputational damage. Check out this website link to get complete details on how to find private investigator or professional surveillance.

What’s more, businesses that aren’t compliant with PCI Data Security Standards may face non-compliance fines, and may have to reimburse credit card companies for each compromised card the company must monitor or replace.

In addition to absorbing the direct costs of addressing a data breach, small businesses must contend with less tangible costs, such as lost business from wary customers. Consumers report that they are unlikely to trust small businesses that experience a data breach. Consider, too, that 20% of customers who had their banking or personal information stolen said they would no longer shop at the small business where the breach occurred. Protecting customers’ data is essential to building loyalty and avoiding the harmful effects of lost customers and brand damage.

Room to improve

Despite both the real and intangible costs of a data breach, many small businesses don’t put enough emphasis on proper security measures to protect customer data. Three-quarters of small businesses don’t feel that conducting regular security audits is critical. What’s more, about two-thirds don’t consider blocking unsecure internet sites a priority, nor do they require employees to follow strict data security policies.

Yet some small businesses are starting to take note of the importance of protecting their customers’ data. Over the last two years, 45% of small businesses updated their point-of-sale hardware, including adding EMV chip card payment capabilities. A slightly smaller number of businesses (36%) invested in training employees to properly collect payment details from customers.

Shoring up data defenses

Merchants must make personal data security a priority to protect themselves and their customers, and to maintain consumer confidence. In particular, small businesses should make sure they comply with PCI Data Security Standards, which differ depending on how a merchant processes credit card transactions. In general, businesses must have a secure data network, protect their cardholder information, and regularly maintain and monitor their systems.

In addition to adhering to the PCI Data Security Standards, small businesses should consider adding secure technology solutions, including EMV-capable credit card terminals, point-to-point encryption (P2PE) and tokenization.

EMV-capable terminals allow small businesses to accept chip cards, which are more secure than traditional magnetic stripe cards. P2PE encrypts credit card data when it is used at a point-of-sale, and the card information remains encrypted throughout the authorization process.

Further steps to protect card information can be taken by using tokenization, which replaces the actual credit card number with a “token” that is used to retrieve account information and authorization. This token can be used for accounting purposes, but if stolen, it does not contain actual account information that can be used by bad actors.

While adopting EMV is an important step, it is not a cure-all when it comes to protecting against fraud. Small business owners should also train employees to monitor credit card terminals for skimming devices that can steal customer information. Employees should also be trained to gather complete payment details, such as the security code found on the back of credit cards. It’s particularly important to get this information during online transactions, where chip cards can’t be used. In addition, small businesses should adopt data security protocols such as strong password protection, blocking unsecure websites and performing regular security audits.

With the proper data security precautions, small businesses can reduce the likelihood of data breaches and avoid the financial liabilities that come with it. That lets them get back to doing what they do best: building customer loyalty and growing sales.

Author

Larry Brennan serves as the Senior Vice President of Merchant Data Security and Cybersecurity Director for Bank of America Merchant Services, responsible for ensuring that the company’s clients and associates are provided the tools and resources to prevent or react in the event of a data breach or cybersecurity attack.

The post Small Merchants Must Take Data Protection Seriously Says Bank Exec and Survey appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Launched more recently is Microsoft 365 which combines the online office suite, Windows 10 and Microsoft security solutions.

Microsoft writes, in a blog – To further protect SMBs from cyberthreats and safeguard sensitive information, today we’re announcing the addition of advanced security features in Microsoft 365 Business, which gives businesses with up to 300 employees an affordable, comprehensive solution for empowering employees and safeguarding business data. Microsoft 365 Business includes Office 365 for productivity and collaboration, plus device management and security capabilities to protect company information across the devices people use for work. Now we’re adding new ways to protect against phishing and ransomware and prevent unintentional leaks of business data.

CEO of Solace IT Solutions, Chris Oakman, works with SMBs to help them get up and running with the right technology. He says it doesn’t have to be complicated and expensive to keep your team productive and your business data secure.

“I work with a lot of small businesses that have historically had to pay for individual security services like spam filtering and anti-phishing,” said Oakman. “For these businesses, Microsoft 365 Business could save them up to $3,000 per year while including these and many other data protection capabilities in a more integrated way.”

With the addition of these new capabilities, Microsoft 365 Business offers your business a complete solution for productivity, security, and device management. Watch this video to learn how iSalon Software, a U.K.–based developer of software solutions for hair salons, uses Microsoft 365 Business to be more productive and secure.

Read the full blog post here.

The post Microsoft 365 Adds Enhanced Security in a New Update appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and, it does exactly what it sounds like – it keeps your connection private, encrypted and anonymous.

While there are a lot of different uses of a VPN, a regular, online business entrepreneur might think: why do I need a business VPN?

A VPN masks your IP (your real IP provided by your ISP), get one here https://diadiktiokaiasfalia.com/ and this will make you safe from DDoS attacks, cybercriminals, and hacking attempts.

The first thing you should do as an online business is to run a secure site (HTTPS). This level of security will protect people visiting your online business’ website from spying, hacking attempts, etc. This should be a primary concern for you as a business owner.

However, with less than 50% of the businesses looking forward to upgrade their business systems, hackers and black hats can scheme against your businesses and launch a deadly attack your business anytime.

Whether you’re an online advertising company, journalist/blogger, e-commerce business or a remote worker, a VPN will keep you secure on the web and provide you the added functionality you need in today’s time.

Moreover, with more than 400 Businesses targeted by a BEC scam every day, it’s high time that SMEs deploy a business VPN as part of their online security plan.

Benefits of a Business VPN

Whether your business is small-scale, medium or big, a business VPN will go a long way in protecting your online business by providing online security and giving you ultimate functionality. With a business VPN, you have the ability to:

1. Limit and Control Access to Corporate Assets

With dedicated IPs, you can limit access to corporate assets and add another layer of security to accessibility. Besides the normal combination of an authentic username and password, only allowing specific IPs access to your servers, databases, etc. give you greater control over who gets to access what, and also makes it that much more difficult for hackers to break in.

2. Support Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) to Work Culture

Since PureVPN Business supports almost all internet-enabled devices (Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS), members of your workforce who are connected to the corporate network on their own devices will be secured by a VPN against all sorts of malicious entities, online hacks and cybercriminals.

This in turns supports BYOD culture without having the need of you (as a business) to develop an infrastructure and manage a self-controlled network for security purposes. A business VPN eliminates your online worries and risks, allowing your employees to work on whatever internet-enabled device they want, from wherever they want, as long as they are connected to the VPN network.

3. Stealth Research

As an online business, you’re continuously researching on multiple domains. Your research can vary from local region to international, based on your needs. However, when you’re researching online, you leave a digital footprint of your online activities on numerous websites. Those websites can look you up through your IP and know what you have been up to, and then might sell this data to your competitors. You can use beste vpn that is a secure private network that encrypts and transmits data.

Why let anyone look you up and know what you’re doing online? And as a business, your competitors shouldn’t have access to your online activities any way. With a business VPN, you can carry on with your online business activities as your real IP gets disguised with a virtual IP – which you can choose from a huge pool of 88,000 IPs. You can look up Free Geo API and, you can play around with their services.

4. Digital Marketing in Other Regions

As a business, you’re going to have to market your product/services to thrive in the market. Being an online business, you can carry on with your digital marketing activities by connecting to the IP of a specific country where you’re marketing your offerings.

This will allow you to get a local feel (from competitor offerings, ads, etc.) as well as a whitelisted IP which go a long way in promoting your product.

5. Secure Private Servers

To strengthen the servers’ capabilities, most reputed business VPN services provide AES-256 bit military-grade encryption as standard along with robust security protocols that make you hack-proof on the web. When connected, any and all of your internet related activities are secured at all times and will avoid any third party members to access your information. If you want to make sure your business is secured, then you can contact Avaro for professional help.

With increasing online attacks on businesses nowadays, it’s only wise to adapt necessary measures.

Moreover, with a business VPN, you can make use of:

1. Sensitive Data Protection

A reliable business VPN deploy advanced 256-bit military-grade encryption to any and all online traffic you send and receive on your VPN connected device.

As an online business, you might have remote workers in different countries. A VPN will not only protect their device but will also encrypt the data being sent and received by their devices. The most simple definition of privacy is that you are free of people who observe or intrude uninvited. When you have privacy, you can feel comfortable knowing that no one is watching or disturbing you. It also means being free from public eyes and attention. This means that no one discloses your personal information or activities to others without first having your permission. That’s why I thought about https://internetbeskyttelse.dk/ the best VPN to keep safe online.

2. Ultimate Online Security on Public Wi-Fi

Your employees might be using a public Wi-Fi or an unsecured Wi-Fi network to connect to the corporate network, without realizing that public networks are littered with cybercriminals and hackers.

If such evildoers get a hold of your online businesses’ data (login details, customers financial and personal information, location, cookies, etc.), they can blackmail you for ransom or just hack your customers’ credit cards.

3. Complete Secure Online Financial Transactions

Using a VPN comes with added benefit of not only masking your real IP but the ability to conduct secure financial transactions with the help of encryption and strong protocols.

Having a PayPal account associated with your Amazon or eBay store is normal and you might be paying salaries to your employees or clearing the bills of your vendors via your PayPal account. The only way to secure these financial transactions is through a VPN for business. With a business privacy en bescherming VPN, every online payment you make is protected with 256-bit encryption pooled with the strongest security protocols.

Final Words:
What’s important for online businesses is online security. A VPN completely encrypts your data which makes it almost impossible to hack into your data, computer or internet connection. Make sure you deploy a reliable business VPN whenever you are conducting online transactions or even dealing with your employees and stakeholders online.

Author

Mustaali Marvi, a digital privacy advocate, works as a digital marketing associate at PureVPN Business. For over 7 years, he has from working for startups and incubators to managing top 21 of the Forbes 500 million-dollar brands, to writing a book, “14 Ps of Modern Marketing”, and winning a couple of National Awards, he has done it all. He is an avid reader and a freelance writer specializing in areas such as Digital Parenting, Cyber Security, Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Everything, and contributes regularly to forums, such as Business.com.

The post 8 Reasons to Use a Business VPN for Your Online Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Host employee training

You want to train your employees – that’s how they learn what is expected of them. An employee training on cyber security is a must and will give you the chance to explain the importance of protecting computer systems from theft and damage. Informed employees are the best employees – this is why more and more companies are cultivating work culture through motivation and leadership.

Post simple online safety tips in view

Take some time to post actionable online safety tips in the break room, on the doors to the restrooms and in the company newsletter. These tips will act as reminders to make smart choices to maintain cyber security. One of the most important steps in setting up a business is taking steps to make sure your business not only gets off the ground, but that it has a solid foundation and well-trained employees to keep it alive and thriving.

Create complex passwords

You’ve probably heard this tip before, but you need to create strong passwords for your critical accounts – unique passwords are the best way to ensure your information stays safe to avoid widespread corporate hacks. If you reuse your passwords for multiple accounts, a hacker can utilize the leaked data from one attack to login to the other accounts. If you can’t keep track of your passwords, use a password manager to help you store the passwords for the various accounts.

Invest in VPN software

Once your logins are safer, it’s time to make sure that your connections are secure. Never underestimate the importance of secure Virtual Private Network (VPN). This software provides online safety so you can login from any location with complete anonymity. Choose a company with great security, high upload and download speeds, and 24-hour customer service. Check out the various software available with the help of the Internet and read about the company to learn more about what they offer. An expressvpn review can inform you of what a good VPN software company will do for you.

Use a firewall

Protect yourself with a secure network, but go ahead and use a firewall too. A firewall is an electronic barrier that blocks unauthorized access to your devices and computers. It’s sometimes included with comprehensive security software. The use of a firewall ensures that all devices connected to your network are secured – even security cameras and smart thermostats. It’s important to secure there devices; many of them are not equipped with any security measures, so hackers have a point of entry to your entire network if you fail to use a firewall.

A culture of privacy in the workplace is ideal – your employees need to know and understand what privacy means to your organization. Give your employees the tools they need to make sure privacy is both achieved and maintained and you will empower them to do their part to keep your business safe.

The post 5 Ways to Encourage Cyber Security in the Workplace appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

With the ubiquity of data connections, Internet-of-Things, connected workflows, and social networks, small and medium businesses are increasingly becoming capable in collecting data from customers, operations and the Internet at large. The increasing ease with which data can be acquired means there is also a need to ensure its security and integrity for them as well.

With rich data under an organization’s care, there is always the danger of malicious entities that intend to scrape their deep webs. These can include hackers wanting to sell your data or keep it hostage. Or, it can also involve competitors looking to take a deeper look into your organization, customers or products.

Why Does Data Scraping Matter

A 2015 study by IBM and the Ponemon Institute found that the business cost incurred from losing each record averages $154 in the year, up 6 percent from the previous year’s $145. Such a cost grows proportionally depending on an enterprise’s scale. Small businesses, meanwhile, risk losing a lot more, in terms of customer trust.

The key trends in data leak prevention (DLP) today have shifted from keeping track of data flows and network resources towards ensuring encryption on data objects themselves, says Charles Foley, CEO of Watchful Software. “Between 2016 and 2020, DLP technologies will admit that they can’t block the flow of information and as a result they will disregard attempts to stop/block transmission,” he says on Digital Guardian. “Instead, they’ll employ an increasingly powerful schema for encryption tied to authorization and credentials for use.”

Cyber security expert and author Joseph Steinberg adds that due to the prevalence of the cloud and distributed systems, it’s becoming more and more difficult to mitigate risks from potential leaks arising from data exchange. “[Infrastructure] will need to be improved or supplemented in order to address the risk that emanates primarily from employee and customer personal accounts used on personal devices rather than from corporate controlled systems,” he shares.

Scraping comes in many forms, although the common denominator is that bots crawl and parse a website or database in order to collect data. It can be as simple as content scraping, in which the content on your consumer-facing website is reposted elsewhere. It can go deeper, however, and bots can scrape your database in some form, either through brute force (different combinations of queries), or by finding loopholes and security flaws.

Any of these could lead to serious repercussions. For example, a competitor could use ingenious methods to extract pricing data on your products. While any potential customer can do this on an individual basis, a smartly engineered bot can extract the data in its entirety, bit by bit.

How to Deal With Data Scraping?

Hardening one’s infrastructure against the possibility of such data extraction should therefore be the priority. However, simply encrypting data might not always be the most effective method, especially if such data can be accessible on clearnet through customer-facing interfaces.

One possible solution is by filtering and blocking these potential scrapers at several levels, which prevents these from even reaching your front end. Incapsula’s Nabeel Hasan Saed, writes a four-step solution for blocking potentially harmful scrapers. He stresses the importance of blocking harmful bots, while still providing adequate access for those that are actually helpful, such as Google search crawlers. This involves analytics, taking a challenge-based approach, watching out for bot behavior and shielding your site from scrapers through robots.txt.

Incapsula’s own solutions can also define your network topology through reverse proxying, such that scraping (and other attacks) can be blocked on edge. While the main intent of such services is to prevent overloading and network outages, an added benefit is that reverse proxy can also secure infrastructures by acting as the middleman for traffic—thus filtering out potentially harmful bots, while letting legitimate traffic through.

On the need to be Proactive

Juniper Research estimates that cybercrime will cost organizations $2.1 trillion by 2019, and this will come from attacks and data breaches perpetrated or orchestrated by organized cyber crime groups and state-sponsored hackers. Increased enterprise mobility exposes even more endpoints to potential attacks. And it is becoming more and more profitable for cyber criminals to hold user data ransom, among other shady business models.

Given these potential risks, the key takeaway here is that no organization should have to passively wait for an attack to occur and then take action on a reactive basis. Rather, protecting one’s deep web assets will require proactive measures, including hardening one’s infrastructure, filtering out potentially malicious network traffic, and establishing policies and procedures for ensuring data integrity.

The post Why Small Businesses Need to Exert Serious Efforts against Data Scraping appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

1. Do an Annual Security Check

Work with a security advisor to do an annual check for vulnerabilities to determine the best place to make an investment in new technology. This can help small-business owners get the most for the money they invest in security and uncover areas they didn’t realize were vulnerable. – Murray Newlands, Sighted 

2. Implement Standards Early

Developing and implementing a strong password procedure for your company early will save you a very big headache down the road. From our experience, it’s worth the time and effort to find a password policy that works best for your team. Use an app (like 1Password) to make adoption universal and to assist in ensuring your policy is maintained consistently with each user. – Blair Thomas, eMerchantBroker

3. Talk to Your Employees About It

Cybersecurity is as strong as your weakest link. We had invested tons of money into designing solutions to keep our systems safe, until one day we learned that a team member had lost their phone. They did not have a code to unlock it. Invest your time in speaking to your employees about the importance of keeping their systems safe. They are the gatekeepers in safeguarding your data. – Diego Orjuela, Cables & Sensors 

From hardware and software set-up and optimization to system monitoring and performance assessments to 24/7 technical services and managed SOC, Computer Support Service provide all the services you need to maintain the security, health and efficiency of your network. You will get latest updates on pruittvillefarms .

4. Make Sure the Plan Is Being Followed

Establish password standards (or implement a password manager) and code development best practices (and ensure they are followed). Make sure everyone who has access to your company’s tech, data and infrastructure adheres to your standards. Proper planning only works if the plan is followed. – Shawn Schulze, CallerCenter.com 

5. Use Two-Factor Authentication

We require that everyone on our team has two-factor authentication enabled on all business-critical accounts, such as code repos and e-mail, etc. This isn’t a foolproof system, but it is a big step in the right direction to avoid falling into the trap of stolen passwords that have become far too common these days. – James Simpson, GoldFire Studios 

6. Look Into a Password Management Utility

Using a password management utility can substantially strengthen small-business owners in the face of cybersecurity threats. Password management apps can help the organization ensure passwords are both difficult to hack and easy to remember. By centralizing the password process, these apps ensure passwords, which are the first and most significant line of defense, are properly protected. – Robby Berthume, Bull & Beard

7. Stay Up to Date On Vulnerabilities and Security Issues

Knowledge about what type of security issues are happening, new compliance and regulations, and security solutions are the best weapons and they don’t necessarily cost money. It’s about due diligence, and well worth the effort to educate yourself through significant online content about cybersecurity on numerous sites like Medium, Business Insider, TechCrunch and more. – Andrew O’Connor, American Addiction Centers 

8. Update Systems Regularly

As a cloud hosting provider, we’re on the frontline of the fight against online crime, including the recent waves of ransomware. Almost every ransomware attack could have been avoided if the victims had updated their machines regularly. The same is true of many other types of attacks. Updates bring security patches and without those patches, servers and PCs are wide open to exploitation. – Justin Blanchard, ServerMania Inc. 

9. Have a Plan for Mobile-Device Issues

Mobile devices pose significant security risks, one that few employers are addressing. Require employees to encrypt their data and install security apps to protect from information theft on public networks. Set up protocols for lost or stolen devices, as personal phones increasingly contain critical business information. – Marcela De Vivo, Brilliance 

10. Secure Your Wi-Fi Network

Many small business do not pay attention to Wi-Fi network security. To hide your Wi-Fi network, set up your wireless access point or router so it does not broadcast the network name, known as the service set identifier. Password protect access to the router. – Piyush Jain, SIMpalm 

11. Install a Firewall

Installing a firewall will help you reduce, and potentially eliminate, takeover attempts by third parties. If you pair it up with the right anti-virus or malware software, you should experience very few problems.- Karl Kangur, MRR Media 

12. Always Have a Backup

As the saying goes, “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.” One compromise and all of your precious data is gone. Having a backup will save you and your team time and money. Depending on what kind of business you’re operating, you should back up your data on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. – Patrick Barnhill, Specialist ID, Inc. 

13. Keep Asking ‘What Else Can We Do?’

I’ve heard many business owners say their business is compliant and their data is secured. At the same time, most of the security breaches happen to those compliant businesses that got too comfortable with their safety checks. Cybersecurity should be a part of every company DNA, not just tech and data startups. Change the mindset of “we need to do five things and we’re safe” to “what else can we do?” – Andrey Kudievskiy, Distillery 

The post 13 Steps Small Businesses Can Take to Improve Their Cybersecurity appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Hackers’ break-in attempts will never stop, so you need to create a culture of security in your startup. Security must be central to your business because when hackers succeed, 60% of companies fail within six months.

1. Poor Network Security

People are the enemy of security because everyone takes shortcuts and is lazy at times.

Passwords are the first line of defense in any computer network. Employees using the same network password as they use elsewhere is a major cause for concern. Any data breach in the other network also means that the employee’s access password to your secure network is compromised. You can get around this by enforcing monthly password changes.

Employees write down random passwords on paper or on their phones, negating their effectiveness as a security tool. One workaround is to implement letter/number/symbol combinations, but let employees choose passwords that they can remember.

If employees log on to the company network using their own unprotected devices it exposes every connected machine to attack. The best way around this is to provide employees with phones and tablets for work-related use with random inspections to check for games and non-business data.

2. Data Theft

BYOD is a major source of data breaches and you should consider whether the savings are worth the risk.

Many individuals are lax about the security on their phones and tablets which will expose any company data to public scrutiny on the wireless networks those people use.

Then there is the added risk of an employee leaving the phone on a train or other public place, which could lead to a data breach that you might not even be told about for fear of a reprimand. If there is one thing worse than losing your company data, it’s losing it and not knowing your customers’ credit card details and addresses have been lost.

3. Poor Website Security

If you have a WordPress site then install a security plugin such as iThemes Security.

The screenshot above of an iThemes Security installation shows all the free options available in the dashboard. The pro version gives you even more security settings you can change.

A second aspect of web security is theft of your web copy. The Internet is full of webmasters who think it is legal to clone your page or copy your images. These thieves rely on the immense nature of the Internet and know you are unlikely ever to find them.

You can invest in any of a multitude of web scraping tools to continually check the Web for copies of your proprietary images, data, and text. When you find clones, you can issue DMCA take down requests, which will prevent any cloned site from outranking you in Google.

4. Burglary

Physical security in the form of an alarm system and locked doors is always going to be an unavoidable expense.

Burglars target buildings that are empty at night or weekends and offices are particularly tempting because of the high-value printers, computers and ancillary equipment they contain.

Losing your $1,000 computer or laser printer is always going to be a financial blow, but if your customer data is stored on that machine, it is a disaster. If your passwords to your website or bank account are stored on the device, or written on a note on the screen, then your troubles are magnified ten-fold; that’s just one of many examples about why you may want explain to your children why they should not share their personal information online

The best system will alert you to any unusual activity detected by external cameras before any damage is done. You can then inform the police while the criminals are still on-site.

5. Loose Lips

Every company has secrets their opposition would pay for and every employee you take on is an added security risk. Ensure every new hire signs a non-disclosure agreement and have a lawyer draw up a contract that protects you in the event of your employee deciding to leave.

You can reduce the chances of someone talking to the opposition by supporting staff members in their personal development and having a good atmosphere where everyone’s contribution is valued.

In Brief

If you are not stressing security-awareness in your employees, then your business is headed for disaster because a data breach will destroy you.

You can reduce the chance of a data breach if you have good systems in place, but constant awareness is necessary to thwart the never-ending stream of hacker attacks every business is exposed to.

The post 5 Ways Poor Security Could Destroy Your Small Startup appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

We’ll have more about Garner Foods coming up on SmartHustle.com

Amongst other initiatives, Microsoft will continue its focus on artificial intelligence to make day to day work even faster and smarter for professionals.

Microsoft announced the launch of Windows 365 which brings together Office 365, Windows 10 and enterprise security. See the full announcement here.

Furthermore, Microsoft is strengthening its focus on leveraging partners to implement technology solutions and Microsoft spoke quite a bit about Azure – its cloud platform.

Watch my interview with Garner Food, makers of hot sauce and other sauces,  here or below. See how they’re using technology to grow their business, be more productive and be more secure.

Watch my interview with Microsoft GM Catherine Boeger about how Windows 365 brings together, in one place, Microsoft’s offerings for business.

The post How A Hot Sauce Company Is Using Windows 365 for a Modern Workplace appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Now, with this influx of credit card breaches, however, hackers are dedicating a lot of time for small profits on the dark web. Researchers estimate U.S.-based credit card data can be sold for $5-$30 depending on the data. Why so little? It’s basically supply-and-demand fundamentals. Data breaches become more prevalent and, thus, the market for stolen credit cards is flooded… therefore driving the price down.

Carding web security threat in which attackers use multiple, parallel attempts to authorize stolen credit card credentials. Carding is performed by bots, software used to perform automated operations over the Internet. The objective of carding is to identify which card numbers or details can be used to perform purchases.

Besides the damage caused to card owners, a carding attack can negatively affect businesses whose websites are used to authorize stolen credit cards. Carding typically results in chargebacks – these are disputed transactions that result in a merchant reversing the transaction and refunding the purchaser’s money. Carding forums used to share stolen credit card data, and discuss techniques for obtaining credit card data, validating it and using it for criminal activity

Chargebacks can happen for legitimate reasons (for example an erroneous purchase or a clerical error), but are very often the result of fraud techniques like carding. Every chargeback hurts a business’s reputation with credit card processors. Carding executed against a website can lead to poor merchant history and chargeback penalties.

So what’s to stop the POS malware trend from turning into the potentially devastating threat of POS ransomware? If retailers don’t protect themselves properly, this isn’t much of a stretch. Malware takes months to siphon credit card data from infected systems. Rather than gain access to a national chain’s POS to exfiltrate credit cards, cyber criminals could deploy ransomware that shuts down the POS systems… effectively bringing the business and all revenue to a screeching halt. This would likely prompt stores to pay the ransom right away, allowing the threat actors to profit within minutes. And with the impressive success of the global WannaCry outbreak, cybercriminals are taking notice of what works.

It’s no secret that major retailers and small businesses alike need to protect against malware and, now, ransomware threats to protect their customers’ data, as well as their brand and reputation. If customers lose trust, business suffers. So what can retailers do better to prevent these attacks from occurring, let alone reoccurring, in the first place?

How Can Retailers Protect Themselves?

Start by deploying a managed firewall across all locations, which can be done quickly and easily. These firewalls monitor payment card processing activity to ensure that malware is not entering and sensitive data is not exiting the network. The most important feature to look out for when selecting a firewall is the ability to control outbound network traffic—that way stores can prevent payment data from being sent to suspect sites and countries.

The latest string of breaches, however, reiterates that multi-location retail security requires a new approach, beyond the absolute minimums of maintaining PCI compliance and implementing a managed firewall. For a comprehensive toolbelt to stop cyber criminals before they do real damage, retailers should consider implementing the following technologies:

• File integrity monitoring (to tell you when files have changed that weren’t supposed to change)
• Unified threat management appliances (used to integrate security features such as firewall, gateway antivirus, and intrusion detection)
• Security information and event management, ideally with dormant malware hunting capabilities (used to centrally collect, store, and analyze log data and other data from various systems to provide a single point of view from which to be alerted to potential issues)
• Managed detection and response (brings advanced threat detection and response specifically to the POS systems to reduce malware detection gap and incident response times)
• Next-generation endpoint security solutions (used to stop attacks on the endpoint computers and servers before they can wreak havoc on other systems)

Merchants should also remember that being compliant may not be (and is usually not) the same thing as being secure. It’s one thing to do basically the bare minimum to meet compliance mandates, but it’s completely another thing to do IT security properly. Properly locked down systems take a willingness to bring in experts that have ‘been there, done that’ and know how to lock payment terminals down to where they can only operate as payment terminals and not as general use computers. While there are many tools available to help with many required tasks, the basic concept of proper security starts with an understanding that doing it right takes time, patience, and yes, at times, it will take money.

Netsurion, for example, offers managed security services to help highly distributed businesses achieve enterprise-level security. With its managed network security, these businesses can defend payment and other critical data from cyberthreats with 24/7 firewall uptime monitoring. PCI compliance support relieves the stress with on-on-one merchant support and an intuitive management portal. In addition, Netsurion subsidiary EventTracker’s security information and event management (SIEM) technology has made SIEM-at-the-Edge a reality. It is an advanced threat detection tool with log analysis, awareness, detection, and incident response that is effective and affordable.

EMV Implementation was Active During Breach

Regarding the most recent breach discussed above, it’s important to note that all of this brand’s stores did have EMV-capable credit card terminals. But not all banks have provided their customers with chip-enabled cards just yet, leaving those customers that used magnetic stripe cards more vulnerable to counterfeit fraud.

To minimize the damage hackers inflict on retail companies and their customers, retailers not only need to bolster network security, but the entire payments industry must work together to further the EMV migration and adoption of point-to-point encryption technology.

Lessons Learned

Hackers are after something– credit cards, personally identifiable information, bank credentials, or anything else that they can use to steal or sell for money. It is difficult and expensive for retailers, especially smaller ones or branch locations, to hire and retain an IT security team to combat these threats. For optimal success, security, and growth, advanced tools, including SIEM, should ideally be outsourced to a managed security firm that specializes in this type of service, which includes having expert threat researchers that are constantly looking for new activity that could point to a hacker trying to steal data from your systems. These tips should enable retailers to expand their businesses while keeping their customers’ data secure and loyalty strong.

The post POS Malware, Ransomware Threats are on the Rise. How Can Retailers Protect Themselves? appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Always Running

When you download a top quality antivirus, you can rest assure that your device is pro-tected. Antivirus programs are run silently in the background, to make sure your device is never at risk of getting an infection from a malware, spyware, or a virus of some type. By protecting your phone or tablet at all times, you can safely browse the internet, watch videos, or even use your social media accounts without hesitation. Dangerous apps and sites are everywhere and they can download a virus to your mo-bile device before you even know what has happened. By installing this app on your phone or tablet, you can protect yourself at all times. You never know when a hacker is going to strike, that is why you need a around-the-clock mobile security tool, to steer you away from malicious links and overall cybercrime traps.

Get the Best

When it comes to protecting your mobile devices, it is important to ensure that you have the top Droid antivirus available. You want a mobile app that is easy to use, protects your device whether it is present with you or not, and is easily installed and ready to go. AVG’s app has a very friendly user interface and runs smoothly without much mainte-nance from the user. Make sure you take a look at the ratings of antivirus options before downloading, luckily AVG is highly reviewed and has over 100 million downloads and a very reputable history in the industry! You want to ensure that the app you are using is going to protect your device, and your information. There are so many ways to become susceptible to outside threats, whether it is unsecured Wi-Fi, vulnerabilities in operating systems, or faulty email links, it is important to have a one-stop shop antivirus mobile application. A recent example of how hackers send out phishing emails was just discussed on NBC. Hackers are finding more and more creative ways to trick innocent users into scams, such as the one discussed in that article.

The best part about AVG’s app is that they offer you a free 30-day trial of their Pro ver-sion, which has a ton off awesome and helpful features.

Some of the features you can expect to find:

• Anti – Theft Phone Tracker – Locate and track your lost phone or tablet on Google Maps. Simply access their Anti – Theft website and begin the search.
• App Lock – Lock down your privacy with a PIN code. Take preventative measures and disable others from snooping around your phone. PIN can be used to lock apps, documents, messages, pictures, etc.
• Camera Trap – This tool will make someone feel sorry for ever trying to mess with your phone. Camera trap snaps a photo of whoever is using your phone after three at-tempts of unlacing your phone. The photo and location of the culprit is then sent to your email.
• Device Lock – Auto – locks true mobile if SIM is replaced. This feature ensures that your phone will be useless to whomever tries to steal it by automatically locking itself when the SIM is removed.
• App Backup – This feature goes beyond mobile security and focuses on helping you recover your data, such as apps installed, in the case you lose your phone.

Take advantage of the free download today and take one step closer towards fighting cybercrime and protecting yourselves. As i previously mentioned, there have been many recent cases of hackers sending out phishing emails in attempt to steal your per-sonal information. Take initiative and download the proper antivirus, it will make a hack-ers life more difficult, they won’t think twice about trying to bother you when you have the right mobile security in your hands.

The post Why you Need a Top of the Line Antivirus for Your Mobile Device appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

The seventh annual Shred-it Information Security Tracker Survey, conducted by Ipsos, reveals that with the move towards a “paperless” office, U.S. businesses are not prioritizing the management of confidential information in all forms.

Their press release reads…

Even with the evolution of a mobile and increasingly digital workforce, paper documents continue to be a core component of office life. According to the 2017 Security Tracker survey, 39 percent of C-Suite Executives (C-Suites) anticipate an increase in the volume of paper their organization will use over the next year and 52 percent of Small Business Owners (SBOs) anticipate the volume of paper to stay relatively the same. Despite this, SBOs demonstrate a lack of understanding of the vulnerabilities a lingering paper trail can create within their organization.

“Whether it be on lingering paper documents or electronic devices, properly disposing of or securing sensitive information is the best way for a business to protect their customers, their reputation and their people,” says Kevin Pollack, Senior Vice President, Shred-it. “Companies of all sizes need to start taking proactive measures to ensure their employees are trained on destruction procedures, that sensitive information is stored securely, and that they’re mitigating information security threats by disposing of paper and electronic devices in a timely fashion.”

The Security Tracker survey reveals that 32 percent of SBOs believe that the loss or theft of documents would cause no damage to their organization and 31 percent think a data breach wouldn’t significantly impact their business. Their actions reflect a lack of concern – 39 percent of SBOs have no policy in place for storing and disposing of confidential paper documents and just under half (49 percent) shred all documents, regardless of whether considered confidential or not. Additionally, only a small percentage (13 percent) have a locked console in the office and use a professional shredding service to destroy confidential documents.

Unlike their smaller counterparts, most larger U.S. organizations have implemented policies that address confidential data in all forms. However, their practices continue to leave the door open for fraud, especially when it comes to the secure storage and destruction of electronic devices and hard drives. Although 96 percent of large businesses have a policy in place to store and destroy electronic devices, fewer C-Suites than ever before are disposing of electronic devices on a regular basis. The percentage of C-Suite respondents who dispose of electronic devices, including hard drives, on a quarterly basis or more frequently has gone down from 76 percent in 2016 to 57 percent in 2017.

Ultimately, these security shortfalls have led to a lack of confidence in both small and large businesses. Confidence in current secure destruction systems for both paper and electronic media is low, with 43 percent of C-Suites and 46 percent of SBOs reporting that they feel less than very confident. Additional factors contributing to low confidence may include a lack of employee knowledge of the legal requirements in their industry, or a lack of training on company policies for the disposal, destruction, and storage of confidential and non-confidential information. In fact, only about half of all C-Suites (51 percent) train their employees on legal requirements at least twice a year and 36 percent of SBOs never train their employees at all – highlighting the need for more robust training within businesses both large and small.

The post News: U.S. Businesses Neglect a Major Information Security Risk appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

No matter how careful you are about protecting your personal information, practice shows that no one is completely safe from user identity theft. Skilled thieves have many ways (both low-tech and high-tech) to get hold of your sensitive data and use it for their own benefit. Here are the top three ways identities can be stolen:

• John Smith is an accounting clerk who regularly uses an ATM nearby his office to withdraw cash for small purchases. Bad luck — one afternoon he urgently needed some cash, but a skimming device had been installed on the machine that same morning. As soon as he inserted his card into the ATM and typed his PIN, he fell victim to a common form of fraud.Even as identity theft methods become more sophisticated, good old card skimming remains one of the most common scenarios. In fact, the growing popularity of contactless card readers opens new opportunities for skimmers.To protect customer data, merchants should consider purchasing tamper-resistant terminals and using tamper-evident controls to help prevent identity theft by making hackers’ jobs more difficult.

• One day Sarah Johnson, a financial worker, received an email from her CFO asking for an urgent transfer of funds. Of course, this is not something that you should ignore. Unfortunately, she was not aware that CFO’s email had been compromised and the request was fake, and the funds were transferred to a criminal.Unlike traditional phishing, this form of attack — known as a business email compromise (BEC) or whaling attack — is more targeted and looks extremely convincing to a victim. According to the FBI, BEC has reached epidemic proportions, with more than 20,000 reported cases in just the last three years, at a cost of $3.1 billion.

  To combat phishing attacks. organizations need to provide employees with IT security training to raise awareness about whaling attacks and encourage reporting of suspicious emails. They also need to carefully monitor both inbound and outbound network activity, verify all large transactions, and use digital signatures.

• Physical theft or loss. Jim Richardson uses his laptop to access corporate email and work remotely during business trips and vacations or outside of working hours. One day he accidentally left his laptop in a cafe, which turned to be a complete disaster. Someone took Jim’s device and managed to log in to his account, which enabled the intruder to browse corporate data and gain access to several business-critical files.Lost or stolen devices are a huge pain for the IT guys. Although this is not something that can be prevented, there are ways to ensure basic data protection. Full disk encryption on all mobile devices and removable media are standard measures. Tokenization — the replacement of sensitive data with a unique identifier that is meaningless to anyone other than the intended recipient (such as a payment processor) — has also proven to be effective.

Many organizations are selling services that claim to protect your identity. But none of them can definitively prevent sensitive information from being stolen and used. The tricky thing about user identity theft is that it is extremely hard to notice: Sometimes one can hardly distinguish unauthorized activity from typical IT changes. However, there are certain scenarios that indicate that something suspicious is going on in the IT environment. For example, a single user logging on from multiple endpoints within a short period of time, accounts being deleted soon after creation, temporary users becoming members of privileged security groups, and suspicious actions performed by previously inactive users can be signs of intruders attempting to compromise your systems and hide their malicious activity.

To protect themselves, organizations have to critically evaluate their IT environments and quickly identify the vulnerabilities that represent the biggest risks. Visibility into critical changes, configurations and user activity will help organizations promptly spot abnormal behavior and react to any warning signs of user identity theft.

The post Top Three Ways Your Identity Can Be Stolen appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Attendees interacted with cutting-edge technology related to music, video, and gaming, and listened to thought-provoking sessions like “How VR Could Change the Way We Do Everything,” “You’re Secure but Is Your Workplace?” and “What It Means to Build an Open Source Culture.” But the real treat for small business owners was the ability to connect with Dell representatives to learn how technology can help them grow.

Interview with @Erik_M_Day at the 2017 @SXSW @Dell Experience: #tech advice for #smallbiz.
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At The Experience, I caught up with Erik Day, Vice President & GM, North America Small Business at Dell Technologies. He spoke about the excitement of being able to connect with customers at SXSW and the fact that Dell is much more than just products.

“The great thing about Dell is that we really are an end-to-end solution provider for customers,” said Erik.

As always, you can access the full interview by clicking Play below.

Before I said goodbye to explore other parts of SXSW (more video interviews and articles to come!) I asked Erik to share his advice for small business owners. Here are his tips:

(1) No question is a dumb question.

At Dell, they understand that technology isn’t what keeps you up at night as you focus on getting the next customer and creating the next product. Their team is ready to answer ANY technology questions you might have.

(2) Move forward with the cloud.

The cloud is a big buzz word right now, although some may not even know what it is. That’s okay! Not only can they answer your questions (see point #1), they can help you with everything you need to create a cloud computing environment and explain what it means to the future of your business.

(3) Security is important.

The backbone of your company is your customer base. Keeping your customer data protected is a vital part of business growth.

(4) Financing is available.

Dell works with customers to provide financing and lines of credit so your technology needs are covered, and your capital can go to finding the next customer, product, or innovation.

To learn more about Erik, Dell, and The Experience, watch the video above…and stay tuned for  more SXSW coverage in the days and weeks to come.

The post The Experience: Dell Showcases the Power of Technology at SXSW 2017 appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

In the last decade, commerce has moved online – and not just for big guys like Amazon, but for millions of smaller companies selling their wares and capabilities. At the same time, these business owners have also seen an increase in the options available for how they host and manage their mission critical sites and in the number of hosting providers in the marketplace. Without the benefit of in-house technical expertise, overwhelmed by the options available and frazzled by time constraints, many small business owners struggle to find the best unlimited hosting provider. Check this list for Canada before choosing a provider that is often viewed as a necessary evil rather than a strategic partnering decision and as a result their business could likely suffer for it.

In a recent study conducted by Liquid Web, nearly 80 percent of small and medium business owners responded that they expect their business to be even more reliant on the web and cloud technologies five years from now. These business email domain understand that having a strong web presence is necessary if they want their businesses to succeed.

Astonishingly, the survey revealed that 86 percent of respondents believe that selecting the right hosting provider like Knownhost will affect a company’s competitiveness. With the potential for web presence to make or break a business, hosting is now part of the foundation for producing better business results.

While business owners want a hosting partner who can help their business succeed, more than 1 in 5 respondents reported that the state of their business limits their selection. This is most prevalent in organizations without internal IT staff or who cannot afford third party expertise to assist in the selection. Most web hosting services charge once for domain registration and you have to annually renew this domain. But all prefer that can allow to pay once for the domain as long as you use their hosting services. To know the best web host you can check the 28Msec website. The 28 Msec reviewed a lot of web hosts to help the people.

With an increasing number of businesses betting their success on their web presence and cloud reliant technologies, it is troubling to see the percentage that make this critical business decision based on price alone. It can be a costly mistake, especially for businesses that can’t afford downtime, slow site performance or security breaches. Instead, ask a hosting provider:

• What is their track record on uptime? What service level agreements are in place in the event of an outage?
• Do they own their own infrastructure and are they on-site with the servers 24x7x365?
• Does a cheaper price mean that they utilize older or refurbished hardware?
• Do customers have around the clock access to highly- trained, certified technicians?
• What do current customers say about them? Ask for data.

Business owners must also ensure their hosting provider can support their potential for growth. For example, Infoplum AFP needed to insure their application would withstand billions of global requests during the FIFA World Cup without interruption. Since 2008, Liquid Web’s Cloud Sites platform helped them serve 4.1 billion requests or 153 million hits per day and over 100 million pageviews.

And CrazyEngineers, an online outlet and forum for professional engineers and engineering students, switched its host provider to fastcomet coupon, after multiple issues with the previous host. As the CrazyEngineers site grew in popularity, Liquid Web was able to upgrade its server to withstand this large influx of web traffic easily handling a 70 percent increase in traffic that occurred over less than three months.

Businesses need a hosting partner they can trust. Three factors top owners’ concerns when choosing a hosting provider:

1. Security

1. • In Liquid Web’s survey, 88 percent of respondents considered security one of the most important criteria when selecting a hosting provider. Unlike large corporations, most small businesses lack the advanced tech support and funds to recover from a security breach. Owners want a provider that has built in security at the network, platform and application level. Ask about the provider’s security expertise and proactive monitoring. A good hosting provider is constantly blocking malicious activity, offering security solutions and helping with compliance needs.

1. Reliability

1. • Almost half of respondents have experienced technical issues with their hosting company in the past 12 months. From the survey, the average number of technical issues is 4.5 – an unacceptable figure when even one technical issue could be detrimental for a business that is web-dependent. Not surprising, reliability is considered one of the most important criteria when selecting a provider according to 89 percent of respondents. Web-dependent businesses deserve 100 percent power and network uptime. While every provider may promote great service and high availability, ask them what they do when it doesn’t happen. With a hosting partner, owners should expect service level agreements that guarantee everything from response times and hardware replacement to compensation for downtime.

1. Support
   • When choosing a hosting provider, it is important to dig deep on the expertise of support personnel. Not every company offers 24x7x365 service and a tiered support model can cause delays in finding and addressing any hosting issues. Insure that the hosting provider offers access to experts around the clock and on the first contact – consulting on the product that is best for each business, helping if the site or application is slow and proactively flagging any issues. Having certified experts on-site and near the servers means if there is an issue, it will be fixed quickly. No middleman. No finger pointing.

The Liquid Web survey revealed that businesses are often held back from choosing a better hosting partner by the “what-if” situation migration presents. Nearly a quarter of consumers who aren’t switching to a new provider cited too much work for the migration as the biggest reason for maintaining the status quo. The right partner will have dedicated teams who can provide advice and expertise that can deliver a smooth migration experience.

If web presence fuels a business, then the site is mission-critical. Pick a partner – not a price. Think of hosting partners as part of the solution, not the problem.

The post The impact of web hosting on small business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

You look in cupboards and behind doors in a desperate search for a machine that was the heart of your business.

Slowly you start to accept your computer has been stolen, along with all your software, passwords and customer data.

You wish you had got around to that data backup plan and you wonder where to start your business recovery program.

This scenario is all too real, and companies go bust as a result.

Insurance

Insurance might pay for replacement computers, but you won’t get a new machine tomorrow, and there are many forms to fill and hoops to jump through before your stolen computers are replaced.

Preventing theft is the only way. It will cost money, but spending a few hundred dollars on improving security could be the difference between your business surviving or going down the tubes.

Security Systems

For most people, the safety of their residence and workplace is of prime importance to which there’s just no substitute. Commercial establishments and the other institutions are open during the day when people are working and clients are coming in. this suggests that doors would need to be hospitable allow people in. But some doors should allow only passage of permissible individuals. this is often why there are access control systems, which are purposely installed to sift incoming persons. The Access Control companies provide mechanism are often physical or electronic. Doors are often locked manually to stop outsiders from simply going inside a prohibited room. Computer systems could also be wont to activate electronic locking systems. There are tons of companies that provide services like installation of electronic lock and security systems, and there’s a security system that creates use of both physical and electronic activation/unlocking system. as an example , doors could also be opened using access control cards which are simply swiped through card readers. this type of access control that utilizes cards rather than keys is now becoming more common. In fact, this is often the foremost common sort of electronic door access that’s utilized in many establishments.

Security systems cost money and long-term monitoring contracts are a drain on your income. Installation of a wired system is particularly disruptive, and it is expensive to modify a hard-wired security system to accommodate changes in working patterns and use of space.

CCTV Installation Melbourne can create a top-notch security solution from a range of branded CCTV systems, are much more flexible, cost less and are easier to install. You can do the installation yourself without even touching a drill or screwdriver because components are lightweight and are held in position by sticky pads.

This Cnet review of the SimpliSafe wireless alarm is a good place to start your search for an affordable wireless alarm system. This particular system lets you set up alerts to your cell phone, as well as viewing a live camera feed, though you do still need a monitoring contract.

Simple Do-it-Yourself installation of a wire-free alarm gives you further savings and wireless also means you never need to pay an installer to repair wires if someone cuts a cable by mistake.

Theft of Equipment

The trend is for computing devices to become smaller. Smaller computers are easier to steal. A burglar no longer needs to run down the street with a computer tower system in his arms. Now he can fit it into a pocket.

You can never reduce the risk of burglary to zero, but if you increase visible security, a criminal is likely to look elsewhere.

Movement sensors, glass breakage sensors, and cameras can all be integrated into one simple system that is armed and disarmed by entering a code into an alarm panel.

Data Security

The worst thing that can happen to your business is if a break-in results in the data on your computer’s hard disk being stolen. If your confidential customer data is stored in the Cloud, you are safe, as long as your password was not on the stolen computer in a file named passwords.txt, or on a sticky yellow note the side of the computer.

Customer Data

If you lose customer contact and billing details, it is a multi-faceted disaster. If you have lost customers’ personal or financial data, you have to notify every affected customer and will lose their trust. You also face potential legal claims for damages that could take every cent you have ever earned.

Website Hacking

Many businesses update their websites and store access passwords on their computers. When your machine is stolen, the thieves then have access to your sites. Third-party hackers will pay for these website access codes, and your reputation takes a second hit, your Google ranking crashes and your visitors are offended by whatever the hackers do to your web pages.

You should forbid employees from storing access codes on your computers, in email or on sticky notes. Check the computer by typing the code into the search bar in the Start menu.

Your Options

Any risk assessment of your office security must have two considerations:

1. The probability of a security breach
2. The possible consequences

If you work in a low-crime area, the cost of office security might seem to be wasted money because the perceived risk of theft is low. However, the consequences are immeasurable but include loss of reputation, damages claims, your business folding, and you and your employees losing your income.

A low-cost, DIYwireless alarm system such as the SimpliSafe one can provide peace of mind and reduce your risk of being a victim of crime.

The post How to Reduce the Cost of Office Security appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

The unfortunate reality in many data breach cases is that human error is often the culprit. From accidentally emailing the wrong attachment to wrongly copying someone on an email thread, small business employees oftentimes unknowingly put themselves and their sensitive data in harm’s way because they are unaware of the risks and the proper preventative security measures to take.

2016 was the year of email hacks. The memories of how email hacks rocked the presidential election, DNC, John Podesta and Colin Powell are still fresh. Now is the time for organizations of all sizes to take a closer look at their corporate data security strategies and make any updates necessary.

Here’s some helpful advice for businesses looking to safeguard their companies, especially from the threats that their employees unsuspectingly pose.

Provide employee training and education.

Whether it’s emphasizing the use of strong passwords or explaining how to protect devices, employers should encourage employees to safeguard not only customer, but corporate information. For example, employees should be aware of and only use Wi-Fi networks they are familiar with, to avoid an information sharing mishap. Consider signing up for a security webinar or training session, so all employees can get up-to-speed on simple ways to protect themselves from data loss and theft.

Create a system for securely transferring data — no extra steps required.

To ensure employees adopt data-protecting habits, make sure it is as easy for them as possible. Consider a solution that works seamlessly with your company’s current devices and policies, so your employees can spend their time growing the business, instead of putting it at risk.

Protect employees from themselves with the right Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solution.

To reduce the risk of human error, set up software that will scan outbound email for possible red flags. If there’s a cause for concern, the solution, such as DLP, will quarantine the message and check in with the administrator to confirm they want this information delivered. That way, employers and employees can rest easy knowing sensitive information — like social security numbers, credit card information, etc. — is safe.

Regularly conduct internal testing.

Given phishing and social engineering are some of the biggest threats to companies, it’s important to make sure companies are conducting internal penetration testing. If a new wave of employees start, it’s worth testing them out after they have gone through some basic cybersecurity training to illustrate the threat and help them recognize any security issues.

If we’ve learned anything from past data breaches, it’s that employees can pose an unsuspecting cybersecurity threat. However, there are simple steps owners can take to prevent an accidental data leak. With the right safeguards, policies and education in place, your business can help keep your customers’ sensitive information where it belongs — out of the hands of cybercriminals.

The post Email Hacks Happen to Small Businesses Too – What Entrepreneurs Need to Know appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

What is Ransomware and How Does it Affect Small Businesses?

Ransomware is a type of malware that is able to hold digital files (e.g. documents, images) hostage until a sum of money is paid by a business to unlock them. As an entrepreneur, you have three options:

1. Pay up
2. Restore from a backup
3. Suffer the consequences of not being able to access your data

Since many businesses can’t afford downtime, they opt to pay up. Depending on what is being held hostage, this can cost from $200–$30,000 per incident. This strategy comes with its own risks because organizations have to trust that a cybercriminal will decrypt the files and not execute another attack in the future. In addition to money out of their pocket, small businesses can expect substantial damage to their reputation as the local and national media frequently write stories on ransomware attacks of all shapes and sizes.

How to Protect Your Business From Ransomware

The good news is that you actually don’t need a hefty security budget and dedicated security team to combat ransomware. Here are four best practices to protect your system from ransomware:

Email Safety Training

Phishing attacks via email are one of the most common ways ransomware gets in, so it’s a good idea to educate your company about the basics of email safety and phishing. Attackers are upping their game here, creating emails that are exact replicas of real emails, but laden with ransomware. Programs and products that teaches your company to spot the differences are the first step to making ransomware a non-event.

Proactively Manage Cybercriminals

Small businesses often take perimeter-based cybersecurity strategies that leaves data vulnerable when a hacker inevitably gains entry into the network. While businesses should still have the right tools in place to try to keep cybercriminals out, they also need a plan for when a breach occurs.

The reality is that, at some point, people will click malicious links or open strange attachments and malware will get in. This is why it is important that small businesses have security technologies in place that let them proactively manage cybercriminals and prevent ransomware from encrypting files.

Pack Your Own Parachute: Backups

You need to be able to ensure that if an attacker does try to hold your data ransom, you can continue business as usual. There are many options for backups, but the most important thing is to do it regularly (ideally daily) and follow the Rule of Three:

1. Have three copies of all important data
2. Keep copies in two formats (for example, local hard drive + Dropbox)
3. Store at least one copy offsite (yes, in the cloud counts)

The ransomware problem isn’t going away anytime soon. Cybersecurity researchers have found that cybercriminals are modifying their tactics and strategies to steal more money and information from small businesses. They are franchising ransomware kits and selling them on the Dark Web to amateur hackers, utilizing strong encryption to seize your files, and much more. With the right protections in place, however, small businesses can not only detect ransomware, but also investigate and eradicate threats—fast

The post How SMBs Can Conquer Ransomware appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Data breaches are a legitimate threat, and their effects are both lasting and devastating. Once a breach has occurred, you’ll find yourself shelling out money to ascertain the cause, make adjustments to prevent a future breach, and provide credit monitoring for affected customers. Furthermore, once customers lose faith that you can protect their sensitive information, it can be hard to convince them to do business with you again.

So, what can be done to avoid a disastrous breach, and how can you assure your clientele that their information is safe in your hands? Well, it starts with understanding just how data breaches occur.

How They Happen

Though we tend to think of data breaches as being vicious cyber-attacks carried out by hackers, that’s only one of the ways sensitive customer information can fall into the wrong hands. Let’s look at the full spectrum.

Inside Job

When considering security risks, few people regard employees as a potential source of leaked information. Insider threats come in the form of malicious and/or disgruntled employees who change or delete data, steal or sell corporate information, or purposely crash systems. Though most “inside job” data breaches don’t typically result in irreparable harm, they can cause you some major headaches. If you find an employee has used customer information in an unlawful way, you will need to undertake criminal proceedings.

Hardware Loss/Theft

One of the simplest ways a data breach occurs is when someone in your organization misplaces a device (laptop, external drive, etc.). Though technological innovations have greatly improved the way we do business, the cold hard fact is that having mobile platforms means there’s always possibility of loss or theft. For the most part, encryption on the device should make it extremely difficult for anyone to access customer records. However, if the person who has come across a lost device — or flat out stolen one — knows enough about coding and encryption, they can get to it.

Malware Attacks

The methods cyber-criminals use to gain access to information are becoming more advanced, and every year they are finding new ways to exploit software vulnerabilities and break into business systems. Failing to update antivirus and encryption software, falling prey to phishing attacks, and using inadequate passwords are all ways companies continue to find themselves the victim of malware attacks. In fact, Verizon’s 2015 Data Breach Investigations Report found that 76% of network intrusions were a result of weak credentials.

How to Prevent Them

Since your customers trust you to protect their personal information, doing everything in your power to prevent a data breach is one of your top responsibilities. You can go about this by:

• Keeping security software up-to-date. Make use of firewalls, anti-virus, and spyware software. Make sure they are updated weekly, if not daily.
• Encrypting data transmission. Require encryption of all data transmissions, and avoid using Wi-Fi networks as they may allow the interception of data.
• Ensuring password protection. Implement multifactor authentication, require use of regularly changed, robust passwords, and require re-logon after a period of inactivity.
• Restricting data access. Data access should only be allowed to employees on a need-to-know basis (i.e. established upon their job role and needs.)
• Educating your employees. Offer annual training on how to recognize phishing scams, and what their responsibilities are regarding customer data.
• Implementing a BYOD policy. Protect data on all mobile devices with encryption, and utilize software that allows you to remotely wipe data from a lost or stolen device. Train employees to never leave laptops, tablet, and phones unattended.
• Securing your POS system. Any device that is connected to the internet is vulnerable. Sophisticated point-of-sale attacks are a growing threat. Make sure your POS system is protected by the same encryption and antivirus software as other devices in your business.
• Policing third party access. Establish a clear set of policies to ensure that your business partners maintain the same level of security as you do. Only grant them access to relevant files and folders.
• Keeping only what you need. Scale down the amount of information you collect from customers, keep only what is necessary, and minimize the number of places you store it.
• Destroying it before you dispose of it. Cross-cut shred paper files, CDs, DVDs and other portable media before throwing them away. When disposing of hard drives, use software designed to permanently wipe the drive, or physically destroy it.

How to Market Your Security Measures

Once you know the risks and have done all you can to protect data against them, it’s time to turn your focus to marketing. You see, data security is more than a matter of risk management — it’s also a way to reassure your customers that the trust they’ve placed in your business is justified. With data breaches affecting giant corporations like Target and Home Depot, consumers are well versed in what can go wrong when simply swiping a payment card through reader. You can take advantage of this knowledge and set your business apart from competitors by building a solid reputation for strong data security practices.

Although 80% percent of customers are more likely to purchase from businesses that they believe are protective of their personal information, marketing to them in a way they will actually absorb it can be tricky. With most consumers barely glancing at privacy policies when purchasing products online, it’s necessary to display your security measures in as many places as possible. Include this information on the about page of your website, in pamphlets in-store, in your newsletter, and in advertising copy. Make sure they know that securing their private data is a top priority.

Cyber-criminals are getting smarter and human error is making it increasingly more difficult for companies to keep up with the threats posed. However, by knowing how data breaches occur, how you can prevent them, and advertising your efforts to your customers, you can protect yourself and establish a competitive edge at the same time. Two birds, one stone — that’s just smart business.

The post Data Breaches: Prevention & Marketing appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Public computers are found in a range of places, including libraries, schools and universities, cafes, and more. Free public Wi-Fi hotspots are also popping up all around us, including restaurants.

These public internet access points get used extensively and as per the Fifth Geek blog you should be carefully when using them if you have sensitive data.

In fact, in 2010 a national study found that 77 million people – that is one-third of the American population 14 and older – used a public library computer or wireless network to access the Internet within the past year. Researchers found that over 75 percent of these people had Internet access elsewhere but used the public computer for convenience.

That convenience comes with a price. Using a public computer can put your data at risk, including usernames, passwords, and other private information. Hackings of public computers frequently make the news, including just recently as the St. Louis Public Library system was hacked and held for ransom on January 19. 2017. And while there are no estimates of how often hacking occurs on public Wi-FI, we do know it is eerily simple for an experienced hacker.

This brings me to my latest Tech and Business video where I share four tips to keep your info safe when using a public computer, which can be fixed at whitcroft it. I will share the essential tips below, but please watch the video for more valuable information.

1. Don’t save your login information.
2. Use private browsing.
3. Be careful what you enter.
4. Choose technology that has security software built in.

The post 4 Tips for Staying Safe on a Public Computer appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

These stories, paradoxically, can numb people to cybersecurity risks. But that’s unfortunate for a couple reasons. First, security risks continue to grow. Second, and maybe more actionable, you can take concrete steps to dial down your cybersecurity risks.

Thе fіrѕt thing you’ll nееd tо dо bеfоrе you рurсhаѕе any еquірmеnt is tо mаkе ѕurе that the ѕуѕtеm you сhооѕе соmеѕ wіth an instruction mаnuаl. Nоt аll ѕесurіtу camera systems for hоmеs аnd buѕіnеѕѕеѕ соmе wіth uѕеr mаnuаls thаt wаlk уоu thrоugh hоw tо іnѕtаll your ѕуѕtеm. Alѕо it’s a good іdеа tо only purchase a саmеrа ѕуѕtеm that соmеѕ wіth frее unlimited technical ѕuрроrt in case уоu hаvе ԛuеѕtіоnѕ оr run іntо рrоblеmѕ. Nоt еvеrу соmраnу оffеrѕ free tесh support wіth the рurсhаѕе оf thеіr саmеrаѕ аnd саmеrа systems. Alѕо, сhесk to ѕее if іt comes with a hardware wаrrаntу. Consider, for example, the following actions:

Use a Secure Portal

You can use a standard, secure portal for moving digital data into and out of your firm’s company network and this should massively dial down the danger.

A standard secure portal—our firm uses Citrix ShareFile—largely eliminates the risks of using insecure data transfer methods like email and unencrypted attachments.

Just so there’s not a misunderstanding here: With a secure portal, clients use an Internet connection and standard “drag, drop and click” interfaces to upload and download digital items like pdfs of tax documents, backup copies of QuickBooks data files, and accounting work papers which might be for example Microsoft Excel workbooks.

A side note: Our firm works with clients all over the world. And we’re pretty confident we’ve had at least one hacked international client. He regularly works out of Africa and appears to have suffered a sophisticated attack and scheme which targeted his foreign bank accounts and, get this, employed Americans impersonating Secret Service agents. The relevant part of all this is that it now seems likely the attempt was at least in part enabled by the client’s decision to not use our portal and then his penchant for sending us “encrypted” pdf attachments.

Standardize Safety Practices

Another key cybersecurity component: You want to make sure employees get trained in how to use the technologies you’re employing. And you want to make sure that a firm’s operating practices reflect safe smart practices.

Simple tactics such as a good training program in the technology you’ll use make a big difference—and minimize learning curve mistakes.

Further, formal procedures should dial down human errors and risky behaviors. You might, for example, create policies such as,  “Our firm doesn’t email attachments …” and “We don’t use other data transfer methods …”

By the way, predictably clients tend to want us to use the approach (file sharing utilities like DropBox, Internet tools like FTP, or ad hoc approaches like virtual private networks) that they’re already accustomed to and comfortable with. But as both a practical matter and a security issue, we find we don’t really have the ability to learn, professionally assess, and then safely use every data transfer method a client, somewhere, wants to use.

And that nicely connects to another topic.

Train Your Clients Well

We’ve found training clients perhaps the biggest challenge but also a powerful way to dial down the danger.

Clients need to “learn” how to use the tools (like a secure portal) and then also buy in to the procedures required to keep their data safe.

Accordingly, you do want to coax and just generally push clients to think about data safety. (In our office, we’re very active and spirited in our pushing of this point of view. I mean, we’re polite. But we’re firm.)

Further, you want to make sure the technologies you use are really easy, so that a steep learning curve doesn’t turn people off.

We’ve tried a handful of portal solutions, for example—including one I won’t name but which was vertical market solution supplied with a platinum brand of professional tax software.

While probably all of the products we tried were very good technically, we found our first attempts didn’t work very well for clients. Here’s why: The products were often too complicated. And that’s ironic—really. Most of our clients are digital economy firms with very tech-savvy owners and managers.

Most of our clients, by the way, use our current portal’s simplest option, preferring to work with clickable links supplied via email messages to upload and download files.

Cybersecurity Enhances Onsite Data Security

One other data security issue merits mention. We think good cybersecurity enhances onsite data security too.

The connection here is pretty simple: Using a portal pushes a firm down the path of going paperless. (Once you’re getting lots of stuff in a digital form, for example, you’ll find it’s easy to keep it in a digital format as you move through the workflow.)

This business of going paperless has its own economic benefits. But in addition to those economic benefits, you may also enjoy security benefits. Compare the two following scenarios…

One small professional services firm accepts, passes around, and then stores paper personal and business financial documents including tax returns. In this scenario, the data can’t be electronically hacked, of course. But all those paper documents are vulnerable to physical theft and then even things like natural and manmade disasters: fires, floods, and so on.

The post Smart Cybersecurity Dials Down Danger appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Businesses in the auto repair industry have to field questions and concerns of this type as well. People are more wary of their personal information being taken without their knowledge and rightfully so; many recent cases from companies of all sorts of sizes have sprung up for years now. With auto repair some people are also afraid of leaving behind such a difficult to come by possession, this being their vehicle. Some people just may not want to go through the hassle of getting that replacement title, and that’s fine, there are ways to work around getting rid of your junk car without title in hand. The first is to sell your junk car via private bill of sale. If you can find a buyer, you can negotiate a private sale, describing the make, model, and year of the vehicle, the agreed-upon sale price, and legal signatures. Before going through with the sale, you will want to make check with an attorney to make sure that all of this paperwork is legit in the eyes of the law. Ending up in small claims court is a major hassle that can completely be avoided by doing your homework beforehand. Ottawa Scrap Car Services provide the best service in junk car scrap.

Connect your smartphone with Bluetooth or to a USB port and your rental car will begin reading and storing your information. Text messages, your phone call logs, and even the places you have visited may be viewed by others unless you delete that information before returning your car. Even then, according to Northside car hire, there is a risk that certain facts may stay behind. This is why they recommend that you keep your information protected in your rental sublease car with these simple precautions:

1. Avoid using Bluetooth. Long before other data services emerged, Bluetooth became the de facto way for people to connect their phones with their cars. Bluetooth streaming enables ease of syncing by using radio waves to achieve that connection. The trouble is, Bluetooth transfers your phonebook data and calling lists to the car, information that is subject to hacking.

2. Restrict your permissions. If the rental car’s infotainment system provides connectivity and allows you to choose your permissions, then do so. Restrict the system’s access to certain information — such as your music files — which effectively forbids access to your other files. Once you open the door for the infotainment system to read anything on your smartphone, you are vulnerable to a security breach.

3. Delete your personal information. If you must connect with the rental car, be sure to delete your personal information before returning it. Locate the car’s Bluetooth setup menu and remove your phone from the paired phone’s list. Ensure the call logs are removed too. You can also find the “clear private data” command or activate the factory reset button to remove that information.

4. Utilize Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Depending on the type of phone you own, you may be able to connect through Apple Car Play or Android Auto. If your rental car is compatible with either, then operate it without worry that your data can be read by others. Both systems are encrypted, and there is no risk of data exposure there.

5. Don’t plug into the USB port. Your data can be harvested even if you avoid Bluetooth: Connecting your smartphone via the USB port to charge your phone or use the infotainment system still puts you at risk (and may give you even less control as you would have with Bluetooth). Avoid connecting to the port at all and instead use your portable charger. A personal power source ensures that no data is exposed to hackers. You can also check where your gps is installed after you want to go connecting to the car’s GPS system with the Ascent Fleet Services.

Traveling for work or pleasure and renting a connected car can be a nice perk, with benefits that include convenience and efficiency. But there are many risks to consider, sometimes buying a car is your best option. Take these precautions and make sure that convenience is not undone by security breaches.

In recent times, the auto industry has boomed at an incredible pace and therefore the concepts of online Sell cars and buying of cars have too gained enough popularity. If we carefully analyze the present scenario, today the concept of online selling and buying automobiles as a business model within the auto industry has pulled the eye of the many auto dealers.

Market research has found that lately more auto dealers are logging on , and consumers are literally preferring to interact online early within the shopping experience. In fact, when it involves car shopping, many purchasers are using the online as an area to try to to research before heading to an actual dealership.In this car shopping Car Ninja is one of the trusted firm who helps a people a lot that is why car purchasing online is comfortable. Adding to the present , many consumers are even reluctant to affect auto dealers face to face even during the first stages of the car-buying or selling experience. No doubt, the words like “online selling” or “online buying” has emerged because the latest buzzwords within the Australian auto industry and lots of individuals are using the online as a perfect platform to sell their cars.

These days, one among the simplest ways to sell a car fast is on the web . Yes, you bought it right. With the assistance of the web , you’ll cash in of many potential car buyers. Every day, thousands and thousands of cars are sold online. However, you would like to know that today selling a car online may result in far more money than trading, then it are often beneficial if you spend a touch little bit of time and make use of online advertisements which will end in a better sale price on used cars. Advertising a car online is one among the simplest methods of attracting potential buyers. Though, there are other multitudes of advertising methods, selling a car online through online advertisements is one among the fastest and best ways of reaching the vast audience .

We аll knоw that the оbjесtіvе оf automobile manufacturers іѕ to dеѕіgn аnd buіld safe vehicles іnеxреnѕіvеlу thаt ѕuіt thе average driver. Wе еnthuѕіаѕtѕ, however, аrе аnуthіng but average. Wе knоw whаt wе wаnt from a vеhісlе аnd we knоw how to gеt іt. We wаnt immediate response, reduced bоdу rоll, іnсrеаѕеd ѕtаbіlіtу аnd enhanced соrnеrіng аbіlіtу. And wе wаnt thе look that comes with thоѕе сhаrасtеrіѕtісѕ – a lоwеr, mоrе muscular, more аthlеtіс stance. Thаt’ѕ what Eіbасh сlаіmѕ іt саn give uѕ wіth its lоwеrіng kіtѕ. Eibach promises thаt аѕ a drіvеr уоu wіll іmmеdіаtеlу fееl mоrе dіrесt hаndlіng аnd greater рrеdісtаbіlіtу. Yоu wіll nоtісе thаt nоѕе dіvе undеr braking аnd еxсеѕѕіvе bоdу roll in hard cornering are rеduсеd. Eіbасh says that іn аnу performance driving ѕіtuаtіоn, trасkіng-ѕtаbіlіtу аnd driver соnfіdеnсе will be grеаtlу enhanced. We are going tо install аn Eіbасh Prо-Kіt lоwеrіng ѕуѕtеm on аn 05 Rаm truсk аnd ѕее іf thоѕе claims bесоmе rеаlіtу fоr uѕ.  Click here to check new RAM truck for sale.

Eibach North Amеrіса is located in Cоrоnа, CA аnd hаѕ adopted thе ѕlоgаn, The Wіll to Wіn. Eibach ѕауѕ “It’ѕ thе drive іn аll of uѕ thаt mаkеѕ us work bеttеr, stay uр later, аnd push hаrdеr. It’ѕ what соmреlѕ uѕ to dо оur bеѕt tоdау – аnd tо dо еvеn bеttеr tоmоrrоw. It’ѕ what mаkеѕ us buіld thе wоrld’ѕ best ѕрrіngѕ, dampers, соіl-оvеrѕ, anti-roll bаrѕ аnd оthеr ѕuѕреnѕіоn components.” That attitude is whаt аllоwѕ Eіbасh tо stand bеhіnd its рrоduсtѕ wіth a Mіllіоn Mile Wаrrаntу.

Wе рісkеd оut a Pro-Kit thаt will lоwеr оur rіdе 1.4″ іn thе frоnt аnd 3.4″ in thе rеаr. That ѕhоuld level оur Ram out nісеlу. This kіt іnсludеѕ bоth rear lеаf ѕрrіngѕ, bоth rеаr bumрѕtорѕ, nеw hаrdwаrе fоr the rear іnѕtаllаtіоn, and both frоnt coil ѕрrіngѕ. Aѕ аlwауѕ, rіght after wе place our оrdеr the аntісіраtіоn begins. The оrdеr аrrіvеѕ and wе mаkе рlаnѕ for the іnѕtаllаtіоn party right аftеr work. I ѕhоuld nоtе hеrе thаt оur іnѕtаllеrѕ hаvе nеvеr dоnе thіѕ kit on thіѕ mоdеl truck bеfоrе.

Rеаr fіrѕt because that’s where wе are getting thе mоѕt сhаngе. Rеmоvе the rear wheels, ѕuрроrt thе аxlе with a jack, аnd remove the rear ѕhосkѕ. Uѕіng саutіоn, because thеу are under lоаd, rеmоvе thе U bоltѕ ѕесurіng thе fасtоrу leaf springs. Rеmоvе thе lеаf ѕрrіngѕ bеgіnnіng wіth the front bolt аnd trаnѕfеr thе ѕрrіng ѕаddlеѕ to thе nеw ѕрrіngѕ. Lосаtе thе nеw Eіbасh spring, bе sure thе label іѕ tоwаrd the rear of thе truсk, аnd роѕіtіоn, but dо nоt tіghtеn, thе frоnt thеn rear оf thе nеw leaf ѕрrіng. Position the rear аxlе аnd dоublе сhесk that the centering pin hоlе іѕ іn thе correct position. Sесurе the аxlе аnd swap the fасtоrу bumpstops fоr the new Eіbасh bumрѕtорѕ. Rеіnѕtаll the shocks and whееlѕ and tіrеѕ. The moment оf truth, rеmоvе thе jасk and аdmіrе. Aftеr the truсk is rеѕtіng оn the grоund tіghtеn thе frоnt аnd rear lеаf ѕрrіng bоltѕ. Wоw! I undеrѕtаnd whу Eibach is оnе оf the рrеmіеr aftermarket ѕuѕреnѕіоn соmраnіеѕ. The Rаm іѕ еxасtlу 3″ lоwеr іn thе rеаr thаn bеfоrе and іt lооkѕ аwеѕоmе in only аbоut an hоur and fifteen mіnutеѕ.

We аrе just іtсhіng tо gеt started оn thе frоnt ѕuѕреnѕіоn when wе discover оur first mіѕtаkе оn thіѕ іnѕtаll. It’ѕ classic because еvеrу оnе of us knоwѕ bеttеr. We dіdn’t сhесk thе расkіng before wе got started and hаvе nоw discovered thаt the instructions fоr thе frоnt роrtіоn of this install аrе mіѕѕіng. Wе hаvе a ѕhееt lіѕtіng ѕаfеtу tips аnd саutіоnѕ. But nоthіng thаt tells uѕ hоw tо gеt the nеw ѕрrіng in роѕіtіоn. Nо PDF instructions оn thеіr wеbѕіtе and, of course, no оnе wants to wаіt until tomorrow whеn wе саn саll аnd gеt them fаxеd frоm Eibach. We rеаѕоn thаt with our раѕt experience, we should be аblе tо fіgurе this оut and wе fоrgе оn. Wе rеmоvе thе frоnt wheels аnd tires аnd begin to study. Wе just hаvе tо get еvеrуthіng оut of thе wау. Rеmоvе brаkе line from caliper, rеlіеvе pressure frоm ѕhосk bу ѕuрроrtіng wіth a jасk and remove shock. Remove nut from ѕtаbіlіzеr bаr and rеmоvе upper A аrm bolts. Fоld A arm аnd rоtоr аwау frоm truсk аnd hold them while уоu rеасh in аnd remove thе соіl ѕрrіng. Replace with nеw Eіbасh ѕрrіng аnd make ѕurе іt іѕ рrореrlу seated. Nоw juѕt рut everything bасk tоgеthеr, make ѕurе it’s аll tight, and swing аrоund to thе оthеr side. Finally, get rіd оf thе jасkѕ аnd tооlѕ ѕо we саn stand back and admire. Amazing! Wе juѕt gave thіѕ Ram a whоlе nеw look аnd a lоt mоrе attitude. Our tоtаl іnѕtаll tіmе hаѕ bееn about three hоurѕ аnd оur cost wаѕ $415.00.

I саllеd Eіbасh thе following dау tо ѕее get a сору of thе іnѕtruсtіоnѕ fоr thе front coil spring іnѕtаll fоr thе рurроѕе оf thіѕ story. They dо not have wrіttеn іnѕtruсtіоnѕ аvаіlаblе for еvеrу application but whаt thеу hаvе is аlmоѕt bеttеr. When уоu call Eibach’s Tech Lіnе аt 1-800-507-2338 they hаvе humans thаt асtuаllу brеаthе and thіnk to answer the рhоnе. Thеу саn ѕtер уоu thrоugh every раrt of аnу іnѕtаllаtіоn 7 аm to 4 рm PST. Sо if уоu like thе ассоmрlіѕhmеnt оf dоіng ѕоmеthіng yourself, оrdеr Eibach аnd knоw that along wіth grеаt parts уоu are gеttіng уеаrѕ of еxреrіеnсе and аll thе tесhnісаl аdvісе you wіll nееd to mаkе уоur іnѕtаllаtіоn раrtу a trеmеndоuѕ success.

The post Is Your Data Secure When You Rent Cars? appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Data breaches are a major concern for many businesses and with good reason. If you have a business website, there’s a good chance it will fall prey to a cyberattack of some sort. This raises the question of who will be held liable if your website is hacked and customer data is exposed.

I’ve asked Cassie Phillips, with SecureThoughts.com, to share her research insight on this important topic.

Who is Liable if Your Website is Hacked and Customer Data is Exposed?

There is no cut-and-dry answer as to who is liable if a business’ website is hacked and customer data is exposed. Judith Delaney, the founder of CMMR Group-TurnsonPoint (a digital media compliance company), stated that a business is more likely to be held liable than the customers in the event of a data breach. That being said, the situation is still a complex one without any clear solution.

It is theoretically possible for the state to prosecute your business if your website is hacked. However, if the state were to bring a criminal case against your business, the prosecutors would need to prove that you had committed a crime. To do this, they would need to have an identifiable victim who has suffered identifiable harm. This is not a simple task.

That being said, your customers can file lawsuits against your business if their data is exposed through your hacked website. This is exactly what happened to Target after a massive data breach in 2013 that exposed customers’ banking details. After the class-action lawsuits, Target agreed to pay $10 million in damages to settle.

How to Protect Your Website from Being Hacked                 

Given the complex nature of the situation, it’s best to prevent your website from being hacked in the first place. You should consider putting the following security measures in place:

• Turn on your system logs
• Encrypt all customer data
• Install anti-virus software on all your business devices
• Use a Virtual Private Network (Secure Thoughts has recommendations)
• Use a firewall
• Back up your website content regularly
• Use two-factor authentication
• Invest in cyber insurance (this won’t prevent your website from being attacked, but it will help your business recover financially if it does get hacked)

What to Do If Your Website Is Hacked

If your website does get hacked, you need to follow the proper procedure to prevent further security breaches and mitigate your liability. It is important to hire a legal representative as soon as possible because they will advise you on the best course of action. Try to understand the type of breach by reviewing your system logs to see what, if any, data has been compromised. You need to know what you’re dealing with to fix it. Avoid releasing information about a breach before you know what type of breach it is and if any of your customers were possibly affected. This will only cause your customers to panic. Ensure that you fix your system as fast as possible and check it for other weaknesses.

It is essential that you notify all the appropriate financial and legal organizations of the breach as soon as possible. Certain business sectors have stringent protocols regarding the reporting of security breaches. The situation will only worsen if you are found to be covering up information. As soon as it is appropriate, inform your users of the breach. This is required by law in some states, and federal law may also require it in certain cases. Finally, contact your insurance company to determine if you are covered for any of the expenses relating to the breach.

Conclusion

With the speed at which technology improves and the increasing number of businesses working online, cyberattacks are likely to become a greater problem over time. Not only will the number of cyberattacks increase, but the sophistication of the techniques used will also improve. Despite the lack of clarity regarding your business’s liability if its website is hacked, you can protect your business and customers if you follow the correct procedures.

Has your business website been hacked? If so, how did you deal with the situation? Please tell us in the comments section.

The post Can You Be Held Liable if Your Website is Hacked? appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

GoDaddy recently announced the availability of enhanced security for its email integration with Microsoft Office 365 through a partnership with Proofpoint.

While your email is often secure when it’s on the server of your email provider, it’s often not secure when in transit and sent “in the clear”.

Encrypting your email such as with a solution that GoDaddy’s introducing means your email is secure end to end.

There are many encryption methods, including Marc Cuban’s Cyber Dust app.

While this level of email security might not be for every business, it’s something you should at least consider.

The post Email Encryption: Is It Time To Upgrade Your Communication? New GoDaddy Offering appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

I’ve asked Paul Everton, founder and CEO, MailControl to share his insights with us. MailContro is a cyber security startup that protects enterprises from the threats presented by spymail. He previously founded Yapmo and Visible Vote.

Phishing attacks start with in-depth electronic surveillance of you and your company. Cyber criminals gather information from publically-available resources such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs and websites, as well as through more devious techniques such as embedded tracking code in email, known as spymail. They then use the collected information to create targeted outreach in the form of emails, or even phone calls, in an attempt to steal funds, disable corporate networks, steal sensitive data, and hold you and your business hostage. The industries that are most at-risk include legal, healthcare, and government because of the sensitive information they possess that can be used for identity theft, insider trading, blackmail, etc.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to protect businesses from phishing attacks in my role as founder of cyber security startup MailControl. These are the steps I recommend you take:

• Be aware of what’s on the Internet: Attackers initially gather insight into both you and your business from online sources. From social media sites to business websites and blogs to spymail (more on that below), an amazing amount of information can be discovered without any technologically advanced “hacking” techniques. It’s important to be aware of this information so you (1) are cautious about what and how you communicate publicly, and (2) don’t give undue credibility to emails that seem private but in fact can be created based on readily available information.

• Create smart data security policies: The Dropbox hack stemmed from an employee’s poor password management. Even though you’ve likely been told this numerous times, passwords are key to protecting your company. Two factor authentication should be used for all sensitive documents including webmail, bank portals, medical websites and HR portals. If the services you currently use don’t offer two factor authentication, then you should consider taking your business elsewhere.

Also, access to sensitive data should be provided on a need-to-know basis. For example, payroll data should only be accessible by certain individuals, not the whole accounting department.

• Use secure fund transfer tools: Last year Ubiquiti Networks sent $47M to hackers’ overseas accounts after they posed as employees requesting the transfer. This is only becoming more common as an increasing number of companies are being tricked into sending company funds to buy phentermine appetite suppressant accounts controlled by attackers. Put in place well-defined funds transfer procedures, such as requiring all funds requests to be via a secure banking portal and not email.

• Beware of spymail: Spymail is email with hidden tracking code that feeds its sender information about who opens it, when and how many times it’s opened, whether and where it’s forwarded, and even the physical locations from which it’s opened. Its use is up over 284% since 2013 because it gives the sender even more insight into your company’s operations. Because spymail has only recently come into widespread use, most email systems do not protect against it. Companies should consider adding an anti-spymail solution to stop outsiders from gaining visibility into their inboxes.

The post Phishing Scams: 4 Ways to Protect Your Business from Phishing Scams appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

I’ve asked Nicholas Raba, Founder and President of SecureMac.com to share his insight with us. SecureMac is a company devoted to Mac Security. Nicholas has written extensively about computer security, with articles appearing in both magazines and books, and often gives speeches at security conferences.

Stolen data is just one of the many cyber threats that modern businesses face every day. Malware, spyware, viruses, Trojans, ransomware, and other threats can lead to lost or corrupted data, leaked trade secrets, hefty expenses (whether to pay a ransom or repair/replace hardware), and plenty of headaches and lost productivity. Needless to say, no company can be complacent about cyber security when these threats not only exist but are also prevalent.

The Mac Misconception

One of the biggest misconceptions about cyber security is the belief that Macs are somehow impervious to threats. This belief is thanks in part to a 2007 “Mac vs. PC” commercial, which implied that Macs were somehow “immune” to viruses.

This misconception could explain the growing popularity of Macs for business. In a recent customer survey, SecureMac found that 44% of customers use their Mac for work, while 66% stated that their companies primarily use Macs as well. No one wants to deal with a virus or malware problem on their work computer, for fear of risking data loss, compromising customer information, or losing productivity. If there is a supposedly “secure” operating system, it would make sense that it would be especially popular in the workplace.

Usually when people change from a Windows computer to a Mac book they get everything twisted up, because the whole software is really different and you’ll need time to get used to it. In case that you have computer problems, just ring a computer technician in Melbourne that can help you understand how to work on your computer properly.

The truth about Macs is that they are just as vulnerable to potential cyber threats as any other devices. The Mac OS X (or macOS) operating systems aren’t as prevalently targeted by hackers as Microsoft Windows, simply because Windows has a larger market share. However, as Macs have become more popular, malware for the operating system has become more common.

The good news is that customers seem to be letting go of the myth of Mac’s supposed “immunity” to viruses. SecureMac’s recent customer survey also showed that 86% of respondents either do not think that OS X alone provides sufficient security or are unsure.

How to Address Security Concerns

So how can you protect your Mac from the security threats out there? Here are a few ways that you can get up to speed and minimize your level of risk:

• Keep your Mac updated: Apple will frequently release security updates to the OS to address new vulnerabilities. Keeping your system as up to date as possible, then, will help to keep you safe from new threats.

• Install security software: Updates will help eliminate vulnerabilities, but having good security software will provide an extra layer of protection. Use antivirus and privacy program to detect browser threats, wipe out tracking cookies, scan your system, and remove any malware.

• Be wary about unsecured Wi-Fi: In our survey, we found that 61% of customers use unsecured Wi-Fi on a regular basis. These networks are convenient, but they can give hackers a gateway into your machine. Turning off sharing, enabling the firewall, and only connect to sites with HTTPS are some ways to stay safe on unsecured Wi-Fi, but you might even consider getting a VPN if you use free wireless hotspots regularly.

• Stay aware: Follow a few blogs or sites devoted to Macs and Mac security. Stay up to date about what the latest OS X or macOS threats look like will help you avoid them.

As a small business, you can’t afford a data breach or computer system downtime. Taking steps to protect yourself from cyber threats will protect your brand image and preserve the integrity of your customer and employee information. The tips listed above will help you lay the foundations for good protection and hopefully help your business avoid any potential cyber threats in the future.

The post The Misconception of Mac Computer Security: Everyone Needs Security appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

All of us have one or more Internet-connected devices – video cameras, DVRs, climate control and other “smart devices”. The WSJ reports that hackers might have infected yours.

How can you protect yourself?

You must constantly update the “firmware” (andn software) of all of your devices.

Updating your smart phone, computer, and all other devices is essential to better protect them. Hackers are on the prowl for vulnerabilities and vendors are on the prowl for securing their devices with new updates.

Beyond updating these devices, make sure that your network, devices and custom software are properly configured, hardened, against attack.

Update your devices and increase your security.

The post Are Your Internet Devices Controlled By Someone Else? appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

I asked Ingrid Victorsson, a marketing professional from Boise, Idaho to put together some advice we can use to be more secure. In her off time she enjoys studying local history, eating cheese, and cuddling her dogs.

Target is hardly the only company to lose customer data. In fact, it’s happened far more often than it should, and it seems the cases are only becoming more numerous as time goes on. From poor security measures to leaked information, businesses have become careless with the precious information their patrons have entrusted to them.

According to a Harris Interactive poll, nearly 90 percent of U.S. consumers said they would avoid purchasing from a company if they felt their privacy was not protected. The good news is that setting yourself apart from the eBays and Anthems of the world is easy enough; it only requires marketing your security measures — and following through on those promises.

Protecting Customer Information

Before we get to marketing, there are a number of things you should be doing to protect your customers’ data. Depending on the size of your company, the way your systems are set up, and what information you have, consider the following security measures.

Use A Dedicated Server

As a money saving effort, many small businesses host their files on a shared server. On a shared server, different sites are are being hosted on the same machine — and individuals outside your company have access to your server. This means your website may be put at risk due to another site’s weak security. While it’s significantly more expensive, a dedicated server will greatly reduce the chance of your site being hacked by an outside party.

Encrypt Your Data

Keeping sensitive records unencrypted is always a risk — and it’s one that’s not worth taking. Data security is good business, which means there are plenty of affordable and convenient software solutions on the market. Pick one, use it, and set up an update schedule to keep yourself one step ahead of the hackers.

Layer Website Security

Since hackers use several approaches to break into sites and steal data, installing multiple layers of security is one of the best ways to keep an ecommerce site safe. Firewalls, contact forms, and login boxes all give thieves more work to do to access data — and make them less likely to succeed.

Employ a Malware Monitoring Service

Malware monitoring services not only protect your website and visitors from malware, they also notify you if your site has been compromised or infected with malicious code. Another option is endpoint protection, which guards your network and email against spam, malware, and dangerous file types.

Police Removable Storage Devices

Establish a policy wherein all removable storage devices are identified and controlled. This will prevent malware and viruses from getting in and keep sensitive information from getting out.

Shred, Shred, Shred

Shred, burn, or pulverize paper records of sensitive consumer data as soon as you no longer have use of it. It’s the law.

Run Wiping Programs

Deleting a file doesn’t permanently remove it, and just like paper documents, disposal rules apply to electronic media as well. There are a number of data erasure software programs available that can permanently remove files from a hard drive — if you don’t have one, get it ASAP.

Restrict Access

The fewer people have access to sensitive information, the better. Sensitive customer files, whether paper or electronic, should be kept in a centralized location under lock and key, and only available to employees who have “need to know” status.

Make Security a Company-Wide Responsibility

Don’t rely solely on either an internal IT employee (or an outside IT service provider) to protect customer information. Your IT person may not be aware of exactly how data is being used and shared. Discussions should be coordinated between IT, sales, marketing, human resources, and other departments to ensure that all those with access to customer data are managing and protecting it in a way that provides the highest level of security.

Data Recovery

In the event of damage, recovering data from servers or hard drives may be necessary. Do your research and be sure you use a reputable service or software — don’t let just anyone have access to customer records.

When considering data recovery services like this one, there are a few things you need to look for. How fast can they work? What type of devices can they recover data from? Where can they perform their recovery? Sometimes a cleanroom is necessary, other times you may prefer to have them on-site.

Create a Breach Plan

If the worst happens, you need to have a plan in place to handle it. This includes:

• Isolating the problem
• Notifying customers
• Getting an IT security expert involved to fix the situation

Swift notification is crucial when a breach exposes an individual’s name along with other identifying information — it will give your customers time to take defensive action. Furthermore, it can make a world of difference in the legal ramifications you face, as well as your brand’s reputation.

Marketing Security Measures

Data privacy and security is more than a risk management issue, it’s also a way to assure your customers that the trust they place in your company is warranted. Consumers are well aware of the risks surrounding data security and privacy, and differentiate yourself through a reputation for strong data privacy and security practices is a great way to gain a competitive edge.

A mind-blowing 80% percent of customers are more likely to purchase from companies that are perceived to be protecting their personal information.

But how do you market your security measures in a way that customers will hear it? Since most consumers only skim privacy policies when purchasing product online, it’s important to offer the information in more than one place.

• Include security/privacy measures on the about page of your website in an easy to read format — give them the the bullet points, not the whole shebang.
• If you have a storefront, keep a few pamphlets on hand and make sure there’s a section covering your privacy policy.
• Dedicate part of your newsletter to how you protect customer information.
• Add it to your advertising copy!

Customers want to know you care enough to protect them. By implementing a comprehensive data protection plan and spreading the word to customers — both potential and current — you can get a leg up on both hackers and your competitors.

The post Selling Security: Why It’s More Important Than Ever appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

New Business Has Slowed? Here’s Why

The key to business growth is acquiring new customers, so if you’ve noticed that things have slowed down, it’s time to take notice. While slow business growth can happen for reasons like an economic downturn, there are often business missteps that are to blame. In this article, sales guru Adrian Miller is sharing five reasons why you might not be seeing the new business you’d like. Figure out which are applicable to your situation, then use her advice to fix it.

Click to read 5 Reasons Why You Might Not Be Winning New Business

Connecting with Customers via Facebook Live

Video marketing is a hot trend right now, but do you know what is even hotter? Live video. The thought of appearing live and unscripted on camera in front of your customers might sound daunting. However, when you understand the benefits of live video (and the fact that your fears are largely exaggerated!), you’ll be ready to take the first step into this promising area of marketing. In this Smart Hustle interview, social media expert Kim Garst shares the benefits of Facebook Live and five tips that will calm your fears and get you prepared for your first live video.

Click to read 5 Tips for Using Facebook Live to Get Closer to Your Customers

Enhance Your IT Security Today

A sobering statistic for you: in a recent survey of 500 IT professionals, 30 percent said they believe there is nothing they can do to protect the security of their company. If you’ve ever felt the same way, it’s time to eradicate that self-defeating thought and take charge because you definitely CAN improve IT security at your business! In this article, cloud service LogMeIn is sharing four simple things you can do to greatly enhance the security of your company.

Click to read How to Improve IT Security in Four Simple Steps

So what is troubling you these days? Winning new business and sales? Forming better relationships with your customers? The security of your business data? These articles are sure to help, and for more tips and advice, catch new content over at SmartHustle.com.

The post Smart Hustle Recap: Winning New Business, Facebook Live & IT Security appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

If you are a startup owner, your priority is probably the growth of your company. You are dealing with long working hours, payroll and many hassles that are a part of building your own business. Most likely, cyber security is not on top of your mind­ unless something happens that makes you realize how important it is to protect your sensitive business information right from the start.

I’ve asked Marty P. Kamden,  CMO of NordVPN,  a VPN service provider, to give us his insight.

According to security firm ThreatMetrix, cybercrime attacks went up by 50% in all segments in the 2nd quarter of 2016, which is a worrisome trend. Startups are considered to be an especially easy prey for hackers: in 2014, 85% of all data breaches were directed at small businesses and startups.

Tо begin wіth, a consultancy firm offering cybersecurity services wіll hаvе thе specialist expertise needed tо help уоu protect уоur business frоm hackers аnd frоm insider threats. If уоur business іѕ a small оnе wіth vеrу limited turnover, уоu mау think іt іѕ immune frоm hackers. Hоwеvеr, mаnу hackers carry оut thеіr attacks nоt frоm a financial incentive, but simply fоr thе fun оf іt. Thеѕе so-called “script kiddies” wіll оftеn mоunt opportunistic attacks аgаіnѕt аnу organisation wіth a соmрutеr network thаt happens tо hаvе аn unguarded port open tо thе Internet. Thіѕ іѕ whеrе thе information security services offered bу a consulting company саn help уоu harden уоur соmрutеr systems аgаіnѕt attack, аnd improve уоur incident response аnd recovery procedures fоr uѕе аftеr a successful attack. Click here if you want to get more about the How CISO as a Service helps protect the company.

Besides targeted cybercrime, startups suffer from malware, rogue software, unprotected Wi-Fi and much more.

For example, a hacker could mimic a banking site that you are visiting through an unprotected Wi-Fi entry point and steal all your credit card information. Or your employee can open an email attachment that is infected with a virus and spread across your network. In phishing attacks, you or your employees can get a fake email tricking you into revealing your personal information. In password attacks, a hacker will try to hack your system by trying to guess password combinations that you use.

While the types of attacks on your system could be many, we have selected some common sense solutions that every startup owner should know.

1. Use only https URL. Make sure all websites that you give your data to have the secure https URL. The “s” in the URL means that it is a secure protocol, and your data is encrypted properly.

2. Use a VPN (Virtual Private Network). VPNs connect you to the Internet through an encrypted tunnel. VPN server acts as a relay between the Internet and a company¹s private network, so nobody can see what data is being shared over the Internet. All that can be seen that you are connected to a VPN server. A VPN service provider, such as VirtualShield VPN, can offer multiple benefits to small businesses, including secure data connections between remote workers and the power to create a remote working environment without being scared of data breaches. You can get complete online freedom and no monitoring nor logging of your online activities by using a VPN, you can VirtualShield VPN review here to know  more about company.

3. Avoid downloading files from unknown senders. The rule is simple: if you are not familiar with the sender, better don¹t click to download any attachments or any links they might send.

4. Update your firewall. Most systems have an automatically installed firewall, just make sure you follow up with its regular updates.

5. Use anti-virus. Use an updated virus protection to make sure your system is protected from malware such as malvertising (advertisement online with malicious codes).

6. Strong passwords. Perhaps the most basic requirement for any online account setup is using strong passwords. Weak passwords make it simple for hackers to break into your system and cause severe damage.

7. Update your Operating System. It sounds simple and easy to do, but it happens that we ignore the pop-up reminders for software updates. However, it¹s one of the most important things to do with a computer, as the updates fix security vulnerabilities and system bugs.

8. Secure your mobile. If you are happy that your system is now secure, you might be forgetting one important part – your mobile devices. You probably store important passwords on your smartphone and other sensitive information, therefore, don¹t forget to encrypt your phone either.

The post 85% of Cyber Attacks Are Directed at Startups: 8 Tips That Can Save Your Company appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

More on this from HP’s Press release:

HP Inc. today unveiled the world’s only PCs with integrated privacy screens. HP Sure View, a new option on the HP EliteBook 1040 and HP EliteBook 840, helps protect against visual hacking with the press of a single button.

“Today’s millennial workforce is increasingly mobile, creating new data security challenges for businesses as confidential information can be more easily hacked from a user’s screen – a process called visual hacking,” said Alex Cho, vice president and general manager, Commercial PCs, HP. “The addition of HP Sure View to our PC security solutions helps address the risks associated with visual hacking and gives customers the freedom to work more confidently and productively in public spaces with the touch of a button.”

Developed with 3M privacy technology, HP Sure View eliminates the need to carry additional tools to guard sensitive information. Users simply press the f2 key to immediately transition the PC to privacy mode, which reduces up to 95 percent of visible light when viewed at an angle, making it difficult for others to view information on the screen.

“As the threat of data privacy evolves, more and more organizations are taking the issue of visual hacking seriously,” said Makoto Ishii, vice president and general manager, Display Materials and Systems Division, 3M. “Designed with more than 20 years of 3M optical films technology experience incorporated into the privacy screen, HP Sure View helps address the concern of protecting sensitive information through a world-class solution tailor-made for open work environments and for the mobile worker.”

Visual hacking is a real threat to a company’s sensitive data, as demonstrated by the “Global Visual Hacking Experiment,” a recent study conducted by the Ponemon Institute, sponsored by 3M. The study cited that nine out of 10 attempts to acquire sensitive business information using only visual means were

The post HP’s New Notebook Has A Built-In Privacy Screen appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Protecting Your Small Business from Security Threats

Hackers are becoming more sophisticated, and new threats are popping up every day. How can you keep your small business safe? In this interview with Norman Guadagno from Carbonite, Norman shares three small steps any small business owner can take to prevent security threats including viruses, malware, ransomware, and hacking attempts.

Click to read How Small Business Can Prevent and Recover from Security Threats: An Interview with Norman Guadagno

Generating Buzz with Your Branding

Branding is one of the most important elements of creating a successful small business. Can customers immediately recognize you when they glance at your logo? How do you set yourself apart from the competition? What sort of conversations are customers having about your brand? This article shares five secrets of becoming a brand that people love and want to talk about it.

Click to read How to Develop a Brand People Will Love to Talk About

Selling Your Home-Based Business

When we think of selling a business, many of us picture a business that has a physical location in which the keys are literally passed on to the new owner. However, many small businesses in the United States are home-based. Is it possible to tell a home-based business too? Yes! This article covers some of the basics of selling a business as well as factors that are unique to home-based businesses. Follow these tips and you’ll be prepared to sell when the timing is right.

Click to read How to Successfully Sell Your Home-Based Business

The articles above will give you a lot to think about, whether it is protecting yourself against security threats, improving your branding, or preparing to sell your small home-based business. For other intriguing discussions on topics like operations, finance, marketing, technology, and sales, head over to SmartHustle.com to get the scoop.

The post Smart Hustle Recap: Security Threats, Branding, and More! appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

No business wants to have to break the news to their customers that their personal information has been compromised due to a security breach. Use these tips for top-notch security to ensure your business never has to make that painful announcement.

Keep Passwords Strong and Difficult to Guess

Strong passwords are the first line of defense. If you’re worried about being able to remember passwords, create a naming convention. Start a word that’s easy to remember, and spell it with a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters. Then, attach something, either at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end, that reminds you what the account is for. For example, you could use FAC for Facebook, GMA for Gmail, etc. Avoid using things easy to guess, like pet names and birthdates.

For a Star Wars fan, “skyw4!kerFAC” would make a strong Facebook password that’s easy to remember.

A naming convention should make your passwords easy to remember (or work out), so you won’t need to write them down. Don’t use the same password for everything – that makes it really easy for hackers to take over accounts and wreak more havoc.

Use Secure Servers

Host your website on a secure server. You may have to pay extra for security certificates, but that HTTPS will help you. In 2014, Google announced secure sites will get a small ranking boost. If your business takes online payments of any kind, SSL is highly critical.

Keep Firewalls and Antivirus Running

Make sure you have firewalls and antivirus software on all computers in your network, and any others remote workers may be using, to keep data on your local machines safe. These should always be running since your computer is “always on” the Internet, and these should always be kept up to date. Run scans on a regular basis to remove viruses and other malware hackers could use to access your data.

Check Permissions on All Applications You Use

Keep employees in line with the right permissions on everything you use. This way, only the people who need access to sensitive information have it. Don’t share files with more people than you have to. While your employees are likely trustworthy, you never know when a disgruntled employee may leak private information online.

Back up Data on Physical Drives

Always have copies of data on physical drives – whether they are external hard drives, CD/DVD-ROM, or flash drives. Even if the data isn’t breached, there’s always a possibility the hard drive will fail – as all of them eventually do. This way, you’ll be able to load your data onto a new machine and keep working.

Consider a Cybercrime Insurance Policy

If your business deals with a lot of risky information, or you just want extra peace of mind, you could invest in a cybercrime insurance policy. These policies can be quite pricey, depending on the level of coverage you want. However, they will help recoup some of the costs in the event there is a data breach. This can also assist with regaining customer trust after a data breach.

No plan is ever 100% fool-proof to protect your business data, but implementing these strategies can go a long way toward prevention. It’s also a good idea to only collect data your business needs, and to use a privacy policy so employees can follow best practices. Security is one of those things that is much better to be proactive, rather than reactive.

The post Is Your CRM Data Safe From Hackers? appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

There’s a lot of talk about hackers getting into computers, mobile devices and networks. This talk should not be ignored, but one of the biggest security threats is really, small business owners, having poor passwords.

In partnership with LastPass, Joe Siegrist, VP and GM of LastPass, shares his insight on how and why to create better passwords for your business. LastPass remembers your passwords, so you can focus on the more important things in life.

Keeping an organization secure is no longer just the IT team’s job. Today’s digitally connected workplace requires that security is a shared responsibility in order to protect sensitive information at work. For many small business owners, keeping data secure may seem like a daunting task due to the lack of IT staff or budget. However, educating employees on proper password practices is a simple and cost effective way to create a security conscious work environment that limits security risks.

People are inherently bad at creating secure passwords. Left to our own devices, most of us will make passwords that are easy to use and remember, ultimately leaving personal and company information vulnerable to hacks and phishing attacks.

Whether you’re a small business with a handful of employees or a major corporation, companies of all sizes can benefit by following these essential tips for improving your first line of defense online.

Password hygiene.

Most people know they should be updating their passwords, but how often do you really do it? Creating unique passwords and updating them regularly is critical to a secure workplace. If you’re a smaller organization with employees who share password credentials for access to certain company information or applications, make sure you are updating passwords every time an employee leaves the company.

And don’t just “change” each password to the same word or phrase – unique passwords for each website and subscription is key. Everyone knows you should have a long password, and that it should be a mix of characters like numbers, symbols, and upper and lowercase letters. But using a unique password is arguably even more important. Every single online account should have its own password. It’s the only way to reduce the risk of a breach.

Go for passphrases, not just passwords

When you do need to create a password, “passphrases” are a simple way to make a strong one. The key with a passphrase is to string together words or phrases to create one long phrase that’s easy for you to remember, but pretty hard for anyone else to guess or crack. Then you can add in a few random symbols and characters to further increase its strength.

Here’s an example: mydogFido’sbirthdayisNovember19

A passphrase is the best of both worlds: It’s easier to remember because it’s a phrase you can repeat and commit to memory, but it’s also very strong by virtue of its length and mix of characters. Using a passphrase is a simpler way to create a super strong password.

Turn on Two-Factor Authentication

Two is always stronger than one. Whenever possible, turn on two-factor authentication with your accounts; many websites now offer this option for added security. Two-factor authentication requires an additional step before logging into an account, even if the correct password is used – this is usually through a push notification, text message or email that will require the user to verify that they are attempting to login to said account.

The benefit of two-factor authentication is that, should your password somehow be compromised – perhaps in a phishing attack – the attacker still won’t be able to get into the company’s account without the two-factor authentication information.

Add a password manager to your toolbox

The reality is that it’s extremely hard to practice good password habits without something to help you remember, organize, and create passwords. Using a password manager is a great way to ensure company credentials are kept organized, updated and secure. A password manager like LastPass helps centralize passwords in one secure place, and keeps passwords synced where you need them.

But to really get the most out of your password manager, you need to use it to create unique passwords for every single online account. The password generator makes it easy to create a new password whenever you need one, and the LastPass Security Challenge helps you identify old, weak, or reused passwords that still need to be changed. Once your employees are set up with a password manager, it’s critical that they take the next step and update every single password to a better one.

For as long as we continue to use them, passwords are an important part of staying secure online. By following these tips, you’ll make sure your company passwords are working hard for you and doing everything possible to keep your company’s data secure.

In partnership with LastPass, Joe Siegrist, VP and GM of LastPass, shares his insight on how and why to create better passwords for your business. LastPass remembers your passwords, so you can focus on the more important things in life.

The post Your Biggest Security Threat Is Not Hackers: It’s Poor Passwords appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

It’s impossible to know what could happen in the future, but you can (and should) plan for it. The future of your business and its digital legacy depends on how you’ve planned ahead for the unknown. Not implementing a specific plan for your business if you pass away unexpectedly or need to take an extended leave of absence could cause serious problems for your family and business associates, and could ultimately lead to the demise of your business itself.

In partnership with Lastpass, Joe Siegrist, VP and GM of LastPass shares his insight on how to ensure that your business data is safe and secure, long after you’re no longer involved in your business. LastPass remembers your passwords, so you can focus on the more important things in life.

In today’s connected world, the complexity of our digital lives has caused us to think differently about the way we prepare for the unexpected. Sensitive company data like healthcare information, employee records, client contact information and financials could all be lost if they are easily accessible to unauthorized personnel. As technology reshapes interpersonal communication and document storage, it’s crucial for small business owners to make arrangements for what should happen to your digital property after your death.

Here are a few tips for small business owners to manage their digital afterlife and ensure the future safety of their business:

Assess your business’ digital assets

The first step in owning your company’s digital afterlife is maintaining an inventory for business-related digital assets, referring to electronically stored, intangible personal property such as email accounts, social media accounts, and domain names, among others. For those with only a single laptop and one email account, the evaluation may be simple because they may not have many assets. For a business owner whose day-to-day work involves managing employees, clients, vendors, suppliers, and a variety of technology, there are many more assets to address and a clear plan needs to be put in place. Small business owners should catalog passwords and usernames for any online accounts, like those for paying bills, managing payroll and employee benefits, suppliers and vendors, even computer logins and WiFi configurations. Password managers such as LastPass provide and simple and secure option to keep track of these. The question business owners need to ask is: Would someone have access to everything they need in order to step into my shoes and run the business, or to settle my business after my death? All digital assets should be accounted for and securely logged.

Prepare a digital estate plan

When preparing for the unexpected, you want to be sure that your digital assets stay with the business and that someone remaining with the business has the proper authority to access what you leave behind. A digital estate plan is an online document where you can upload wills, trusts and all directives for how to handle your business and assets after your passing. Creating a digital estate plan will help your business’ successor easily locate any accounts you have online and access those accounts or the information in them. They’ll also have clear directions for how to carry out your final wishes. Designate somebody you trust to be your business’ digital heir. This person will need to access your accounts – store any and all information they need in a secure but accessible location.

Protect your passwords

You can save a lot of heartache and hassle by ensuring the person you’re passing your business information down to has all the passwords they need to carry out your plans in your absence. This person will need access to your accounts, so using a password manager for business is a helpful way to store everything in one place. LastPass features a Sharing Center to manage shared passwords and an Emergency Access feature that enables users to easily hand down passwords to their heirs. Your designated Emergency Access contact(s) can request access to your account and securely receive your passwords and notes, so they are able to keep your business running smoothly.

Plan for your social media accounts

If you’re the only person with access to your business’ social media accounts, it will be difficult for someone else to access the accounts when you’re gone. Some social media accounts may also be deleted. To avoid this, you can either give somebody you trust access to your accounts or appoint a legacy contact to manage the account. Some programs, like Google and Facebook, have settings for managing your accounts after your passing. Facebook allows users to designate somebody as a “legacy contact” to manage their account, while Google allows users to pick a trusted contact to receive data from its services including Gmail, Google+, YouTube and more. All websites have their own policy, or lack thereof, so you should make plans for your business’ social media accounts based on how you would like them to continue. Will you pass on your company’s social media account to another team member to control, or have the accounts deleted? Make specific plans for your company’s online persona so it’s clear how to manage it when you’re gone, and make sure those passwords are recorded if they’re ever needed.

Educate your employees

In order to keep your business and its assets safe in your absence, make sure your employees are informed when it comes to security threats. Holding IT trainings, offering general best practice tips, setting them up with a password manager and educating employees about the importance of creating unique passwords can help increase awareness of these potential risks.

Don’t leave the future of your business to chance. The inevitable may be out of your control, but with proper planning you can prepare for your digital legacy and the future of your business.

In partnership with Lastpass, Joe Siegrist, VP and GM of LastPass shares his insight on how to ensure that your business data is safe and secure, long after you’re no longer involved in your business. LastPass remembers your passwords, so you can focus on the more important things in life.

The post Your Digital Afterlife: How to Manage Your Business’ Digital Afterlife appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

This has happened for years and will continue to happen – as long as we have telephones. But YOU must be vigilant of criminals calling and trying to hack your computer, get you to buy things you don’t need or other illegal and unethical activities. You may also upload your recordings to Dropbox or via FTP. It’s a great solution, because you can record a quick episode and have it available on your site when you’re on the run. No need to log into your WordPress site to add a photo, categories, or a new blog entry. Mobile Podcaster takes care of all of this for you. If you ever have any problems with your phone, then consider hiring these telephone maintenance services to get it fixed up.

WSJ has a short video about these scams here.

Be paranoid of anyone who calls you and you don’t REALLY know them. Never give personal information over the phone. Help seniors to be more vigilant and LESS trusting.

The post Telephone Scammers: Be Vigilant of Phone Call Scams appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Banks and large companies use a global network, SWIFT, to transfer money around the world. Of late, hackers have illegally transferred money. How they did it? By attacking weak links in the network – like individual bank computers that were compromised years ago and left unprotected.

Or as the WSJ reports, “Other attempts to probe payment networks include a 2009 attack in which hackers sent millions of fake emails to small and medium-size businesses that appeared to come from a separate U.S. funds-transfer network managed by a group called Nacha. Recipients who clicked on the link downloaded malware that allowed criminals to capture the user’s credentials as they entered the bank’s website.”

Lesson learned. Hackers LOVE small businesses (or weak links in big businesses). They use these links to to connect to bigger networks.

YOUR small business is important, keep it SECURE.

The post Hackers Use Simple Tactics To Break Security: Small Biz Can Learn from Biz Biz appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Security is so important for businesses – especially small businesses. While you don’t need to be an “expert” on security you do need to ensure your business is PROTECTED from hackers, malware and all other digital threats to your business.

In partnership with Bitdefender, there’s a few things EVERY business owner can and must do to be better secure.

It seems like the only thing important for small business owners is “social media”. Everybody’s talking about Facebook, Twitter or SnapChat. One of the topics few small business owners are really paying attention to, but that is SO, SO important is security.

If you spend time just marketing, but not securing your business -you won’t have a business.

Indeed hackers are attacking LARGE companies, but they’re also going right after very small businesses.

They know that you have few resources, little time and hardly any expertise to be secure. In fact some of the big business attacks have come through their small business vendors. Like a copy repair technician or cash machine vendor (a small business) who plugged into the big company’s network. The small business vendor was not secure.

I encourage you to check out Bitdefender’s web site for security resources and tools you can use to be more secure.

Below is a review of BitDefender and how it can help your business.

The post Why Your Business Gets Hacked? 3 Tips To Help Be More Secure. appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Accelerate Your Business Recap

Accelerate Your Business was a symposium aimed at sharing information that will help small business owners take their businesses to the next level. It featured sessions that shared best practices in cloud-based technology, and new devices & apps that can make your business more productive and efficient. Attendees also had the opportunity to network with business leaders, industry experts, and digital innovators. It was a high-energy, high-impact event for all who attended.

The event started out with a keynote from Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit and an investor in tech startups. He spoke about “Building a Community of Hundreds of Thousands of Communities,” which is exactly what he was able to do with the creation of Reddit in 2005.

The morning continued with three sessions that touched on different aspects of business growth and technology:

• Staying Safe in the Current Cyber Environment – Moderated by Gene Marks, this session focused on data security for the modern cloud-based workforce, with an emphasis on keeping both customer and business data safe.
• Managing the Modern Customer – Moderated by Carol Roth, this session focused on using technology to create a holistic approach to customer service.
• Q&A: What’s Hot, What’s Happening and What’s to Come – This Q&A session with Amy Cosper (Entrepreneur), Jordan Chrysafidis (Microsoft) and Eric Day (Dell) tackled questions about the future of business and what businesses today can do to prepare.

The Accelerate Your Business symposium then ended with a keynote and workshop on “Influencing Influencers” with Jon Levy, who shared his experience working with brands and companies as well as strategies for businesses to improve their product development, customer acquisition, and customer engagement.

Accelerate Your Business with Safer Technology

I participated in the session on staying safe in the current cyber environment. Today’s technology and cloud-based solutions have made it easier to run your business, but there are also data security concerns that every growing business should be aware of.

One way to keep your business safe is to upgrade your devices, because older devices are slower, heavier, bulkier, and pose security risks. This infographic explains the huge differences between old and new devices.

If it’s time to modernize your business technology, consider updating to devices based on the 6th generation Intel® Core vPro processor family  and Windows 10 pro.

• Fast boot and wake up times.
• Easy multi-tasking between apps, files, and websites.
• True Key technology to safely reduce the number of passwords you use.
• Facial recognition technology for simple and safe log in.
• BitLocker encryption that keeps your data safe even if your computer is lost or stolen.

You can get 6^th generation Intel Core processors and Windows 10 pro in a range of devices, such as desktop towers, touch screen All-in-ones, mini PCs, laptops, tablets, and 2-in-1s. Check out the Accelerate Your Business site for more offers, information and the latest devices.

The Accelerate Your Business symposium emphasized the fact that to grow your business you have to be constantly moving forward with the latest technology and strategies for developing products and reaching customers. One way to get started right away is by upgrading your devices today.

This post was written in partnership with Intel; however, all opinions and experiences expressed are my own.

The post Accelerate Your Business Recap: It’s Time to Upgrade Your Aging Devices! appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

There are so many things you can do to have better security. Hire a security expert to better configure your network, ensure you have the right software installed on your computers (and mobile devices) to scan for viruses and block malware.

Internet security is important in today’s world, after all, a lot of things are done online. For most people, it is impossible to go for hours without connecting to the internet. There is no doubt that smartphones, laptops, and computers are very important tools in today’s world. It is through these devices that people can connect to the internet. However, you have to be careful when using the internet because malicious people may steal your identity, documents, and personal information. As the internet became more and more popular, more and more fraudsters started to look for ways to steal from unsuspecting individuals and business online.

But one of the BEST, cheapest, and easiest things you can do is to ensure that YOU are educated in how YOU can secure yourself.

When typing in your password, be sure no one is watching. Be sure you’re not using a “free” WiFi connection when doing banking and other transactions (use a VPN like the one at https://www.lesmeilleursvpn.com/). Use strong passwords. Want to test VPN connection to make sure everything is running as it should but not sure where to start? It’s possible to prevent these leaks, but first, you have to identify them. You can do so by running some basic tests that anyone can do.

An email from GoDaddy gives these tips:

• Make sure your password has 12 characters minimum.
• Include numbers, symbols, capital letters and lowercase letters.
• Don’t use dictionary words.
• Add 2-Step verification — an extra layer of security requiring a code from your mobile device.

The post You Are the Secret to Good Security: Be Educated. appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

I’ve used passwords since I started dialing numbers of a lock on my school locker. They’re a pain and easy to forget. How much more difficult do you think it is to have a many passwords you must remember and enter from device to device and from app to app? A royal pain.

Secil Watson, executive vice president and head of wholesale Internet services at Wells Fargo predicts that passwords will be gone within 5 years.

Instead of passwords expect to use eye scans, fingerprints, voice or other biometrics to replace passwords.

You can read the WSJ article here.

The post In 2021 Passwords Will Be Gone. Biometrics Will Be the Gatekeeper for Your Device Says Wells Fargo. appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

1. Adding Two-Factor Authentication

The biggest bang for your buck for organizations comes from enforcing two-factor authentication (usually offered at no cost by application providers) across all critical systems and applications. By doing so, organizations can protect themselves from one of the most common attack vectors: stolen credentials.

– Varun Badhwar, CipherCloud

2. Using Cavirin for Cloud Computing

For cloud computing, Cavirin is a tool that protects both your cloud workload and associated accounts. It conducts an IT audit and searches for outdated and unpatched servers — the No. 1 culprit implicated in major IT security breaches. Cavirin also checks yourfirewall, OS configurations and monitors your accounts to improve your company’s overall data security.

– Brett Farmiloe, Marketing Auditors

3. Implementing Security Policies

Two-factor methods should always be considered when performing authentication. But we need people to do the basics as well, such as coming up with complex passwords that they can easily remember. Don’t have the mentality of “it can never happen to me.” The sooner you implement security policies, the better your employees will adapt to them. Also, don’t ever send password information via email.

– John Rampton, Due

4. Getting Rid of Shared Passwords

The best solution is to get rid of the shared passwords and Post-It notes around the office. Users having their own passwords protects them and their identity/security, and also protects the company.

– Marjorie Adams, Fourlane

5. Eliminating Shared Accounts

Too often, vital accounts are logged into by a number of people sharing the same login credentials. This could be your social media accounts, but could also extend all the way to your online banking accounts. It’s time to draw a line and proactively eliminate shared accounts. Most enterprise systems are set up for multi-user access, where each person has a unique username and password.

– David Ciccarelli, Voices.com

6. Using the 1Password Extension

1Password is an extension that is easy to use and available through multiple platforms. In our opinion, it is much safer than relying on the Cloud because it keeps your vault of passwords local, and you can share on your own terms (through Wi-Fi syncing and more). 1Password also alerts you when websites you use have been breached, so that you can immediately protect data.

– Miles Jennings, Recruiter.com

7. Dashlane and Two-Step Authentication

A good alternative to LastPass is Dashlane, which has a range of unique features. For those who are willing to pay a bit more for the clean, consistent and user-friendly interface, Dashlane is truly the best entry-level password manager. Always set up a two-step authentication process for additional data protection, and track all digital changes in order to hold employees accountable.

– Sathvik Tantry, FormSwift

8. Keeping Disks Clean

After backing up necessities, it’s important that companies use tools like Data Wiping Software to be sure that whatever they have deleted is absolutely gone. It’s a very “low-tech” way of doing things, but reformatting disks also does the trick and further ensures data security. I would recommend that every company trains their staff in doing the aforementioned as frequently as possible.

– Cody McLain, SupportNinja

9. Educating Employees

Unfortunately, your system is only as secure as your employees allow it to be, so train them well on how to keep the company’s data secure. Knowledge sharing gives team members the tools they need to keep the company safe from outside attacks.

– Robert De Los Santos, Sky High Party Rentals

10. Adding Meldium

Meldium has two-factor authentication password management that allows team members to share login credentials securely without writing down or sending passwords.

– Sam Saxton, Salter Spiral Stair and Mylen Stairs

The post 10 Solutions for Updating Your Company’s Data Security appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Many technology companies, such as Google, Facebook, and Snapchat, have publicly sided with Apple.

In fact, many of these companies have announced their intentions to make their products more secure.

For example, WhatsApp hopes to encrypt both the text messaging and voice calling feature of its mobile app.

Therefore, the FBI’s decision to make this issue public may make it more difficult for the organization to recover users’ data in the future.

So what does all of this mean for your business?

Mobile Security for Businesses

CompTia conducted a study about a year ago on the importance of mobile security for businesses. According to the resulting report, 28 percent of businesses believe that security is far more important today than it was just two years ago. A high percentage of the businesses involved in the study believe that security will rise even more in importance by 2017.

The Importance of Mobile Security

The battle between Apple and the FBI is clear evidence that many technology companies consider mobile security to be a very serious matter.

However, the importance of mobile security is not initially evident to many business owners.

This is especially true when it comes to the owners of small businesses, because they tend to be relatively new to the business world. There are two main reasons why it is necessary for all businesses to make mobile security a top priority:

1. A lack of mobile security could make your business’ data and info vulnerable to breaches from hackers.

2. Customers will not have much confidence in a brand that does not value or provide mobile security and/or security overall.

Every business has information and data that is of vital essence to its operations. In many cases, it is essential that this information and data is kept secure and private. For example, no business wants hackers to get their hands on sensitive customer information, such as credit card numbers. If you have a mobile app that allows users to pay for your products and services, mobile security is necessary to avoid financial identity theft.

Customers will be hesitant to use the mobile apps of a company that does not value mobile security. Apple values mobile security because it value having the trust of its customers. In fact, this case served to strengthen the trust Apple’s customers have in the brand. Just a few cases of financial identity theft is enough to cause your customers to swear off using your mobile apps or doing business with you at all.

Common Types of Mobile Security Breaches

CompTia’s study states that a whopping 55 percent of security breaches are the result of human error. The other 45 percent of security breaches are caused by technology error. Bring Your Own Device policies are becoming increasingly popular in the workplace. However, this phenomena has led to more security threats, because most employees don’t have the knowledge necessary to recognize these threats. As a business owner, you need to consider the role of your employees in the vulnerability of sensitive data.

Mobile malware, the disabling of security features by employees, and lost/stolen devices are the main reasons for mobile security breaches. Mobile malware has become much more prevalent in the past few years. One major reason for this is that mobile devices tend to be more closed in nature. This prevents IT departments from placing safeguards on mobile devices.

Many businesses make the mistake of putting flexibility and productivity over mobile security. These businesses view mobile security as the last priority until an incident occurs that convinces them otherwise.

How to Develop a Mobile Security Plan

As a business owner, you should think about developing a mobile security plan for the sake of both your business and your customers. Fortunately, you don’t need to focus on technical improvement. Instead, you need to focus on educating your employees. In order for your mobile security plan to be effective, you need to make this education ongoing and interactive. You should make the education measurable, so that you can identify which aspects of mobile security your employees still need to work on.

Besides education, you should encrypt sensitive data on mobile devices. Both apps and operating systems should be kept up to date, as mobile malware tends to be more effective on older versions of apps and operating systems. In order to achieve this, you should collaborate with a company like Trustonic, which provides services to secure your smart devices and enable trust.

The case between Apple and the FBI only serves to highlight the importance of mobile security for all businesses, from small mom-and-pop companies to massive businesses like Apple and Google. it is up to you to put a mobile security plan in to place to protect your business and your customers from security breaches. Don’t make the mistake of considering mobile security to be your last priority. Many businesses have had to learn this lesson the hard way after suffering a major mobile security incident.

The post Apple, The FBI and Your Business: Why Encryption Is Important appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Intel Small Business Advantage Features

To learn more about Intel Small Business Advantage, I recently interviewed Chad Constant, Director of Business Client Marketing at Intel Corporation. With over 17 years’ experience working at Intel, Chad is particularly excited about this latest offering for small business owners.

According to Chad, Intel Small Business Advantage has been developed to help small businesses better connect with their employees while better understanding the security and health of their computers and devices. It includes:

• A built-in chat feature for inter-office communications.
• File sharing and screen sharing to assist with employee collaboration.
• An array of security features including data backup, a PC health center and a software monitor.

As you can see, some of these features will help you boost the productivity of your business by simplifying collaboration and communication through a single platform. Other features will boost your business security. For example, there is a feature that allows you to turn off the USB access ports throughout the business, and a central backup system that will protect your files if something happens to an employee’s computer or device.

An added benefit is that Intel Small Business Advantage is designed to work on any device that you are carrying. It is mobile compatible, so you can download the companion apps for Android, Apple and Google devices to access the system.

Want to learn more about Intel Small Business Advantage? Grab a cup of coffee and sit back while listening to my short 8-minute interview where Chad Constant explains more about the new software.

Many small business owners love the technological solutions that are available today, but they are sick of having to go to different applications for all their main business functions, like chatting, file sharing, and data security. If you are looking for a simple solution that just sits on your desktop and helps you run your business more productively, Intel Small Business Advantage may be the solution for you.

The post Intel Small Business Advantage: A One-Stop Solution to Boost Productivity and Security (Interview with Intel’s Chad Constant) appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Promote Your Well-Being Through a Healthy Work-Life Balance

Although you live a busy life, the time that you spend ‘disconnecting’ from work and enjoying personal and family time is particularly important to your well-being as well as your concentration and morale. For those who struggle, check out this article that has seven easy-to-follow tips for developing a better work-life balance. Scheduling, prioritization, organization and automation are key ways to make it happen.

Click to read 7 Hands-On Tips for Better Work-Life Balance.

You Don’t Believe These Security Myths – Do You?

Security of business and customer data is of utmost importance to every business. However, small business owners sometimes get caught thinking things like “Data breaches and hackings only happen to large companies.” This is untrue, and believing this myth can put your business at risk! This article reviews six of the most common security myths believed by small business owners. Knowing the truth will help you keep your business safe.

Click to read Business Beware! 6 Common Security Myths You Must Know.

Review of Gary Vaynerchuk’s book #AskGaryVee

Gary Vaynerchuk is an entrepreneur, author, and speaker, as well as a role model for many business owners. Gary became famous for growing his family’s wine business from a $3M to $60M in just five years by cleverly using marketing and social media. He now helps other business owners grow their businesses too. In the #AskGaryVee book, Gary gives advice on a range of topics like social media, entrepreneurship, running a business, marketing and more. What does Ramon Ray think of the new book? Find out in this article.

Click to read Book Review: #AskGaryVee – Relentless Hustle and Other Advice from Gary Vaynerchuk.

This issue of the Smart Hustle Recap reminds us that the best business owners are well rounded. They care about their business (and important issues like data security.) However they also take the time to grow by reading and learning from other entrepreneurs, and they know the importance of striking the right work-life balance. For these and more small business stories, head over to Smart Hustle Magazine.

The post Smart Hustle Recap: Tips for Work-Life Balance, Security Myths to Avoid, #AskGaryVee Book Review appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Small Business Owners Can Capitalize on Freelance Workers

Freelance workers currently make up 34 percent of the United States workforce. Is your small business capitalizing on this group of skilled workers yet? If you said no, you probably aren’t sure what freelance workers offer your company and how to find them. This article will clear up all of your questions.

The article includes an interview with Constantine Anastasakis, the Senior Director of Business Development at Fiverr. Constantine is sharing more about how Fiverr works and how you can use freelance workers to push your own small business ahead. This is a trend every small business owner should be embracing! Learn how to do so by reading this helpful article.

Click to read Fiverr Interview: How to Use Freelancers as Your Competitive Advantage.

Boosting Your Small Biz Security

Hackers do not discriminate – your small business is just as vulnerable as your larger competitors (and perhaps even more so). Security breaches cost money ($3.79 million total in 2015) and they can also cost your customers’ trust. Fortunately, boosting your small business security does not have to be costly or complex. This article covers 6 of the best ways that you can secure and protect your small business.

Click to read 6 Easy Ways to Secure Your Business and Find Peace of Mind.

Calming Down Angry Customers

No matter how focused on customer service your business is, an angry customer will eventually fall through the cracks and you have to know how to successfully deal with them. When someone is yelling at you, it is easy to become frustrated and yell back, but this only makes the matter worse. So how should you deal with angry customers? This article is full of tips on what you can do when things heat up to turn the negative experience around and turn that angry customer into a loyal supporter of your business.

Click to read How to Calm Down Infuriated Customers to Your Advantage.

So what’s on your mind this week – building a remote team of workers, boosting your business security, or dealing with angry customers? Get help with the articles above, and check out the Smart Hustle homepage to read the latest stories.

The post Smart Hustle Recap: Capitalizing on Freelance Workers, Boosting Biz Security & Calming Angry Customers appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

The beginning of every year is a time when small business owners start planning out their year. They may ask themselves several questions such as: How will I grow my business in the coming year? What marketing initiatives should I take on? What is my cybersecurity strategy? Okay, that last question may not be on the mind of a typical small business owner, but it probably should be. In fact, a recent survey found that the average budget required to recover from a security breach is $38,000 for small businesses – a cost that could be devastating. In addition, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported that 31% of all cyberattacks are directed at businesses with less than 250 employees. Unfortunately, we don’t expect this trend to change in 2016 and while implementing effective cybersecurity may seem like a challenge for a typical small business, knowing what to look out for and implementing a few simple initiatives in the coming year could go a long way.

A Cybercriminal “Two for One”

In 2016, we expect to see a rise in cybercriminals targeting small businesses that partner or do business directly with enterprises as a way to infiltrate corporate IT environments. Those behind targeted attacks now spend less money and time creating new malware and technology by using existing programs and methods; however, they still meticulously plan their attacks and analyze potential victims’ infrastructure to look for weak spots. In many cases, most small businesses do not have the time, cybersecurity knowledge or resources (both financial and trained IT staff) to combat cyber threats. For these reasons, cybercriminals look at small businesses as a potential weak spot to not only gain access to assets (customer data, intellectual property, etc.), but to get at enterprises that have the time and resources to be more strategic with cybersecurity initiatives.

So what should small businesses do to help prevent this from happening in 2016? A multi-layered cybersecurity strategy is key and a small business should consider what technologies they need most. There are plenty of sourcing options where a small business will be able to maximize value through products that integrate features through less consoles and through products that work seamlessly together. Encryption is also a strategy that all small businesses should implement. This is critical when processing and storing payment or other confidential information of customers. For example, if an employee laptop gets stolen, unencrypted customer information can lead to crippling fines from regulatory agencies and, equally bad, a loss of trust from customers. In addition, data encryption is actually a requirement once you start setting up Point of Sale terminals that accept credit cards.

The Cloud Tractor Beam is Pulling Small Businesses In

 Small businesses are probably starting to feel as if they are being pulled into the cloud by some kind of tractor beam out of a sci-fi movie. This makes sense if you think about the various IT needs of a SMB and a majority of new IT offerings are provided via the cloud. The problem with this is similar to most other technology areas, where security is not the first design priority. Many small organizations venture into the cloud first, then, at a later point, something will trigger a reactionary security concern.

To avoid this, it’s important to keep a few things in mind. Smaller organizations must think about how they are using the cloud. The challenges that come with public, private and hybrid clouds, and the differences in security of these cloud offerings needs to be understood. In addition, data backup procedures and policies should be in place regardless of the type of cloud environment. These security considerations will be critical for small businesses as a part of a cloud implementation strategy in 2016.

Small Businesses Must Rethink Security On-The-Go

According to recent research by Manta, 80% of US small business owners used their mobile devices for business once a day or more. With almost everyone now utilizing smartphones and/or tablets, it is not surprising that the bad guys are targeting these vulnerable devices. In addition, most mobile devices have weak security, so it is easy for criminals to compromise these devices and gain access to not only the data on the device, but also the entire business network.

As a result, mobile security is no longer optional and small businesses that don’t take the time to secure these devices in the coming year will be at a higher risk of experiencing a security incident. Mobile security for small businesses needs to be treated as a two way street between the company and the employee. If the business is granting an employee the ability to use a device, that employee should be expected to make good decisions and follow security best practices. Small businesses understand that they need to roll out mobile enablement programs to keep people productive and happy, but they need guidance on where to start. As part of rolling out mobile programs, policies and education must be in place, even if it’s just a matter of making sure users understand best practices. A great starting point is to make sure users understand how to lock their devices down and how to use settings. This may sound elementary, but many working professionals are not doing this and/or simply don’t care about the security of their devices. These easy tips really help, so even a list of five or ten best practices for employees can be a good starting point.

The issue of addressing cybersecurity challenges may seem daunting to small businesses, but that doesn’t always have to be the case. By implementing a multi-layered security approach, safeguarding the cloud and protecting mobile devices, small businesses can spend 2016 focusing on what they do best – running and growing their business.

The post Hackers Want “Two For One” Security Opportunities. Hack A Small Biz To Get A Big Biz. appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

“What’s one crucial item that every web property should include in their privacy policy?”

The following answers to that question are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invitation-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

1. Age-Related Issues

Collecting information about minors is particularly problematic. You need to lay out both any information you collect about your young users and any expectations you have of your users. For example, state whether or not minors can use your website without parental supervision.
– Thursday Bram, Hyper Modern Consulting

2. Personal Information Privacy

Most people are concerned about privacy and how their information will be handled, and for a good reason. Almost anybody you know has had his or her information and privacy mishandled on the Internet at one time or another. Although it may seem like a no-brainer, you should include this information up front. Especially during the sign-up process.
– Andy Karuza, brandbuddee

3. Cookie Data

A sophisticated website possesses a series of cookies. These track and store users’ session(s) and overall engagement with said website over time. As a result, experienced Web surfers will want to know how these cookies function. They want to know what type of data is being extracted from their visits.
– Logan Lenz, Endagon

4. Collected Information

Be as transparent as possible in detailing how users’ collected information will be used. Have a section in the privacy policy titled, “How we use the collected information.” Likewise, make sure the section includes positive reinforcements. These might be “to improve our site,” “to personalize user experience,” and “to process payments.”
– Brett Farmiloe, Digital Marketing Agency

5. Information Usage

The most crucial item for every website’s privacy policy is a clear statement of how the site owner may use the information. It must state whether that usage includes or may include sharing the information with others. Secondly, it should include instructions on how to opt out of email communications. It should cover how to prevent the site from sharing personally identifiable data. The cookie policy is third.
– Jay Wu, A Forever Recovery

6. Everything Necessary

Your privacy policy must contain at least five items: the personal information collected, the categories of third parties with whom your company shares the information, how consumers can review and request changes to their information, how your company notifies consumers of material changes to your privacy policy and the effective date of your privacy policy.
– Doug Bend, Bend Law Group, PC

7. A Customizable Privacy Clause

Some enterprise companies will choose not to use a product based on the stated privacy policy. For example, your company might have a privacy policy that covers 99 percent of all scenarios. However, for those few who require something special, let them know that you’re willing to work with them. Above all, make it really easy for them to get in touch with you so they don’t look elsewhere.
– Jim Belosic, Pancakes Laboratories/ShortStack

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