– Contributed content –
20 Jan. 2019. Businesses are always under attack. If you’re having a good day and everything is running smoothly with no sign of trouble from outside threats, spare a thought for another company that is having the exact opposite day. Hackers are working around the clock to make new termites that will infiltrate your systems and breach all your precious data. This data is concerning, your customer’s addresses, their contact details, their profiles and accounts as well as even their financial details. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what hackers, viruses and malware are all trying to achieve.
In truth, malware is by far the most common form of attack. It’s a stealth bug that infests your entire network but lays dormant. Only when you do something specific will the bug activate and begin to take what it needs. It will do so quietly as to not bother you and make it known that it was present in your IT systems. So what are the best defenses against a breach?
Company discipline always
The most common way a business can become breached is by careless employees. Whether it’s an attack internally from people you have hired or just those that didn’t log out of their system when they went away leaving it exposed. The easiest way for viruses, malware and hackers to get into all your data is to be allowed in. Instruct employees that if they are away from their stations for no matter how long they should always log off. Incur penalties for those that aren’t doing so, so that everyone around them can perk up their ears and make sure they are following company codes of conduct.
No one gets away
In combat sports, they say a good defence is a good offense. When you are attacked by any kind of malware, virus or hacker then you should not let them get away with it. You will set an example and perhaps get your name in the media if you track the attack down and find out what really happened. Using a team that has IT consulting services which include cyber warfare you can allow them to see what the breach was about. They show that 43% of attacks are targeted at small businesses.
This is quite obviously because the enemy knows or thinks that small businesses don’t have the funds to protect themselves by either hiring a professional company or buying a service that the can use themselves. Even more shocking is the statistic that 60% of small businesses that are attacked actually go out of business just 6 months after the breach. Don’t allow yourself to become a victim, and punish those that do try to harm your business.
Security in the modern IT world just isn’t understandable to the average employee or business owner anymore. That’s why professionals at this game should be employed to keep a business safe instead of just buying what a normal consumer might buy for their home computer system. On the other hand, employees should be trained to never let their guard down either.
Editor’s note: The opinions in this post are the contributors and not those of Science & Enterprise. You’re encouraged to consult IT or security specialists to protect against threats faced by your organization.
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