Have you ever been broken in to? You wake up the same way you do every morning, except something's different. As you stroll peacefully to your kitchen you notice all the doors and drawers are wide open, your heart sinks you've been robbed. It's an awful feeling, valuable possessions that you worked so hard for gone overnight.
Why are we talking about this? People today are becoming ever more reliant on technology and the internet. We've seen recently how even the biggest companies can fall victim to cyber attack. So here are 5 things you can do today to increase your online security and reduce the risk of attack:
1. UPDATE YOUR PROGRAMS REGULARLY
Even the biggest companies can fall victim to cyber attack. On the 12th of May 2017 over 200,000 machines in 250 countries were affected by ransomware. A malware program exploited machines running on a Windows operating system which had not been updated. You can be confident that those affected will never miss an update ever again!
2. USE PASSWORDS ON EVERYTHING
One of the areas where people tend not to use passwords, but should, is on mobile phones. Phones used to just be used just to make a phone call on the move. But they have come a long way in the last decade now being used like mini mobile computers.
According to a survey by security business Sophos, around half of all phone users use their personal mobile devices for business purposes, but one in three admit they do not actually use passwords on these devices even though they keep office email, confidential documents, customer contact information and budget information on them. Because of this ability to access business secrets, a lost or stolen mobile phone becomes a quick and easy way for any thief to get access to millions of pounds worth of valuable data. Look at Mobile Device Management (MDM) software that allows the business to monitor access to a mobile device (tablet devices included) and remotely wipe the devices should they fall into the wrong hands.
3. MAKE PASSWORDS SECURE
You can password lock everything but if the password is not strong then you are still at risk. Hackers hardly have to lift a finger nowadays because they use what's known as a BRUTE FORCE ATTACK a program which runs through thousands of password combinations a second. The average password can usually be cracked within 24 hours. So what can you do to protect yourself? Use long and complicated passwords and always use different passwords for different accounts.
4. MAKE A MOVE TO THE CLOUD
More and more businesses are looking to make a move to the cloud to improve their security. A recent survey by the Harvard Business Review for Verizon revealed that more than a third of businesses say that cloud actually increases their security and nearly three quarters expect cloud to reduce complexity in their business. Indeed, a move to the cloud will remove the time and cost involved in constantly updating your applications because with the cloud you always have the most up-to-date version of the software available.
5. BENEFIT FROM SAGE SOFTWARE
How confident is Sage that online is safe? Paul Harris head of marketing at Sage Accountants' Division said that because of how Sage stores information businesses using Sage can benefit from
"military grade technology that keeps you SECURE"
Thankfully Sage is also an affordable option for smaller businesses.
Hope for the best, plan for the worst
In short, it it's always wise to have an action plan for all possible threats. If the worst should happen despite your taking all the proper precautions at the very least you'll be prepared to deal with it.
