Verizon’s latest cybersecurity report shows that about 28% or a third of data breaches this year involve small businesses, according to Small Business Trends. The hacking of Twitter accounts linked to former President Barack Obama, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and other VIPs last month has shed light on the prominence of social engineering scams.
However, the cyberattack was different from previous incidents. Instead of creating fake profiles, the hackers used the actual accounts of these public figures to defraud the public of cryptocurrencies.
In a statement, Twitter claimed the attack resulted from a phone spear phishing that led the hackers to access their internal tools. This brings us to why securing UC is critically essential for business today. Graham Cluley, a cybersecurity expert, notes that these types of spear-phishing attempts can be more successful when your employees are forced to work remotely because of the global health crisis. The lack of a regular support network makes it difficult for employees to verify that the person calling them is genuine. Here’s how small businesses can prevent similar cyber attacks.
Train Staff On Cybersecurity Protocols
Start-ups can mitigate the risk of data breaches by training staff about the best cybersecurity practices. When employees know how to update software and backup data, they reduce the chances of con artists gaining access to networks, files, and financial statements. During training, employees learn how to identify different cybersecurity threats and the use of multi-factor authentication on devices. They also learn how to avoid social hacking, which occurs when criminals pretend to be legitimate clients to access sensitive data.
Outsource Professional IT Security Services
While educating your employees about cybersecurity measures is a great first step, outsourcing IT security services should be a top priority. Cybersecurity experts offer 24-hour remote monitoring of wireless and wired networks, making threat detection a simple task. Identifying and resolving issues affecting systems, computers, and other devices as soon as they occur is an effective way to keep fraudsters at bay. Outsourced IT consultants also provide staff training to ensure your business is safe from viruses, malware, and scams.
Upgrade Your IT Equipment
Investing in the latest IT security equipment is vital for improving your company’s network security. With hackers always experimenting with more advanced tricks to attack small businesses, it is crucial to upgrade to cutting-edge technology. This includes installing firewalls, encrypting files to secure data, and updating network routers. In addition to enhancing your IT devices, make sure you’re using unique and unpredictable passwords. Avoid creating passwords using your details or pet names. Instead, use lower and upper case, numbers and symbols to create strong passwords.
Many small businesses are prone to cyberattacks because they lack IT expertise and have limited budgets to implement the right network security measures. However, with low-cost solutions like installing anti-malware and anti-viruses, and outsourcing managed security services, you can eliminate the risk of being hacked. Also, training staff on cybersecurity best practices helps to prevent common social engineering scams like phishing.
