Forty-three percent of cyber-attacks are targeted at small businesses according to this recent article. While most budding entrepreneurs singularly are focused on getting their new venture up and running, neglecting network security or putting it off too long can have drastic consequences.
Email Attacks
Hackers have learned a number of seemingly credible ways to fool victims. One of the most common ways is through emails disguised as legitimate businesses or potential customers or vendors. While a good spam filter can help prevent these from hitting an employee’s Inbox, a number of suspicious emails still make it past the network security filters. Make sure employees are trained not to open any email that has a link to enter personal or business information. Most likely, the email asks for the user to enter account login credentials, so the perpetrator can act as if they are the actual customer and steal funds or make unauthorized transfers. When people enter their personal account or identification details into a fraudulent website, hackers actually can steal their identity and use it to open bank accounts and even file false tax returns to have a tax refund issued to them.
Customer Assurance
If your company plans to offer a service or product online, seeing a security seal on the transaction page can offer a level of assurance that the transaction will be secure. While making online purchases has lost some of the original taboo it carried, it is so prolific now that most consumers have a level of trust with companies that offer online transactions. That said, make sure to get the proper security features launched on any website that asks for personal or banking information to give that extra assurance for your customers and potential customers. With identity breach laws in some countries, a company has to publicly report when customer data has been breached. This leads to a significant loss of consumer confidence, and companies that have gone through this nightmare have paid a significant price to regain trust with their customers.
Bank Fraud
This USA Today article outlines how cyber crooks specifically targets small businesses who bank online. What may surprise most budding entrepreneurs is that banks do not have to provide the same security protection as they do to consumers. If you inadvertently allow a hacker access to your small business bank account, many banks will not reimburse you for fraudulent transactions. The law does not require them to do this, so you can work with them to enhance your account protection, but once the money has been transferred out of your account and into a criminal’s, they cannot guarantee it will be recovered.
An Ottawa network support resource can help consult you on what types of access you should grant for online banking and to whom in the organization. An ounce of knowledge is a pound of prevention when it comes to protecting your startup business from potential threats.
Seeking help from professionals when it comes to a secure network this is always a good idea. That way you can make sure that your business is as secure as possible. It may seem like a lot of work, but it is well worth it and can end up saving you a lot of money in the long run.
