Have you ever received emails from acquaintances that don’t quite make sense? You open them up to find a sentence or two followed by a link that says “click here.” You haven’t spoken with the person in months or even years. You’re not expecting anything from them. Still, you know them.
Do you trust it?
Of course not. By now we all know not to click. And if you ever have, you know what a horrible experience it can be. It can cripple your world very easily, shutting down access to many of the systems you use every day.
- Your operations are interrupted.
- Your data gets lost.
- You suddenly need to upgrade programs and hardware.
And depending on the information exposed, you could face lawsuits, scrutiny from the FTC, and even the shutdown of your business operations.
Being hacked isn’t a fun experience. And most of us say we would do anything to avoid it.
Yet in reality, our actions often fall short of our words. We need to do more. Much more. And it’s really not that difficult.
A report from non-profit Online Trust Alliance found that 91 percent of all data breaches that occurred during the period looked at could have been prevented in easy manners. Things like patching a server, encrypting data, or training employees to act in safer manners overwhelmingly could have stopped most hacks.
A survey of top CIOs from around the world revealed that most company executives blame failed technology initiatives, including data breaches and security problems, on a lack of employee buy-in. That means employees, in general, are slow adapting to new technology, and are equally as slow at using technology in a safe and secure way.
So what does this mean for business owners? It means operating with eyes wide open. It means spending a little money to ensure the best prevention tools are in place.
It means spending money on patches and upgrades promptly. Upgrades are created to protect you against known threats. The sooner they are implemented, the more protected you will be.
It means having an effective backup plan. It means working with your IT team to ensure all of your data is as safe as it possibly can be.
And it means creating the right insurance policy within your employee base. That means training them over and over again. Your data is only as safe as your staff allows it to be. If they access data incorrectly, or leave you at risk with weak passwords or leaving company hardware in open places, you’ll ultimately pay the price.
