Cybercrime is becoming more frequent every day. One of the most common forms of cybercrime is from credit card abuse. Small businesses typically have a higher rate of fraud when compared to larger companies and non-business owners. Cyber criminals can collect data including customer records, contact lists, employee information, company banking information, and credit card numbers. There were definitely some valuable lessons to be learned from the Target identity theft scandal; however, small businesses need to also make sure to be extra careful.
According to a survey done by the National Cyber Security Alliance and Symantec, they found that 77% of small and medium-size businesses believe they’re safe from hackers, viruses and malware. Small business owners need to realize the threat of cybercrime and take proper precautions.
Strong passwords: Make sure you and your employees have strong passwords. Many people rely on rather weak passwords that they never change. Enforce policies at your place of business that have employees change passwords every 2-3 months. If you are worried about remembering all of your passwords you can always use a password management program.
Separate your bank accounts: It’s a good idea to keep your business and personal credit accounts separate. Also, by separating your accounts it will be easier to track business expenses and deduct them on your tax return.
Purchase anti-virus software: Purchasing anti-virus, firewall, malware, and spyware detection software is very important for any business owner. This will help protect you from any potential cyber threats.
Protect yourself with insurance: Recover from losses due to crime or fraud with a great insurance policy. You can contact any of our agents at Community Insurance & Associates and ask them about our business insurance policies. We would be happy to get you set up with the perfect policy to keep your small business protected.
Back up your computers: Frequently back up your business computers so that you don’t lose important data in the event of a cyber-attack. There are several services that are quite affordable and is a good security blanket for small businesses.
Do some research and make sure that you are doing everything you can to protect your business from cybercrime. Large amounts of money can be lost if a business is hit by a cyber-attack. Educate yourself and start protecting your business before it is too late.