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It’s no secret that cyber attacks are on the rise – hackers are attacking at a rate of once per 39 seconds.

Did you know 95% of cybersecurity breaches are caused by human error?

How about that only 5% of companies’ files are properly protected?

Let’s look at five common mistakes made frequently by businesses like yours.

1. Many SMBs believe they are too small to be a target.

   FALSE. Hackers are not only interested in large organizations. The bad guys know that large companies have more resources, and a more robust cybersecurity stack. Makes sense to target a smaller firm that still handles sensitive payment and bank data for their clients.

2. Sharing passwords doesn’t seem like big of a deal, right?

   They’re easier to remember, and surely you can trust your coworkers. Think again. There are many issues with this one. Sharing passwords creates giant holes in your security, makes accountability near impossible, you lose control over where your password is stored or used, etc.

3. Ever click “later” on suggested software updates?

   Ever click “later” 12 times on that same update? You’re not alone. Again, seems like a small decision. However, think about this. Any time there is a security hole found in software, the developer seeks to correct it. They may come out with an update. With that update, they report the security hole they found. Enter hackers; anyone using a previous version of the software now has a known security hole in their system.

4. Free Antivirus: you may be thinking, “What a gift! This is surely just as good as any other antivirus.”

   Let’s look at the facts. Free antivirus software offers low detection rates, collects data about your usage, may issue false positives to appear useful, carries bloatware and intrusive ads that slow computers, and suffers from data breaches making them counterproductive.

5. How often do you train your employees on cyber security?

   Do you have a training protocol or standard operating procedures around this? Employee negligence is the number one cause of data breaches. Some of these actions seem harmless, like connecting to Wi-Fi at Starbucks and checking your email. Reusing your work password, or a variant of that password, across multiple accounts. Some actions could be as simple as clicking a link in an email from a seemingly safe sender. Hackers will even go so far as to drop a USB drive containing malware into the parking lot or hallway of your business; do you feel confident that none of your employees would pick that up and plug it in?
   
   

These are just five, in a list of many, common mistakes made by SMBs that leave them open to cyber security attacks.

Don’t wait until it’s too late to formulate a solid defense against these types of attacks.

The average cost of one of these attacks is $200,000.

Can your business afford that?

Click here to learn more.

The holidays.

Full of fun, family, friends, food.. and, unfortunately, increased cybercrime activity.

In 2017, fraud attempt rates were highest on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and December 21—the cutoff date for express shipments to arrive before Christmas.

43% of all consumers who had their identity stolen say it happened while shopping online during the holidays in 2018.

The holidays are a key time for cybercrime, exploiting unaware and uneducated internet users. Attackers can defraud and monetize their actions with little effort.

For example, spoofed email addresses can be used to gain access to supplier or customer login. Phony websites can be made to look exactly like those of major retailers. Public Wi-Fi is another hunting ground for attackers. All of these can be used to capture and record credit card information.

So how can your data remain secure during this holiday season?

Never reuse passwords or even similar versions of passwords. Use strong passwords, mixing numbers, special characters, and letters.

Verify online reputation of the e-commerce sites you visit.

Avoid shopping online or accessing bank account information on anything other than secured, private Wi-Fi connections.

Never click on suspicious links, open unknown files, or download items from unknown sources.

Look at the URL of sites you visit, cybercriminals may create a site with just one character difference in the URL to gain access to your data.

Check in to your bank accounts and track all purchases. Report any fraud immediately.

Keep all operating systems and applications up to date, ensure you have security measures in place.

Educate! Stay up to date on cybersecurity trends and solutions.

Interested in analyzing your security posture? PremierePC is here to help. Fill out this form to start your cybersecurity plan today.