Business Solutions for Spring 2018

6 SPRING 2018 Y ou’ve invested so much time and money into building your business. To protect it, you buy property insurance, put locks on the doors, and install fire alarms. Have you made cyber security a similar priority? Every computer can be vulnerable to a cyberattack, and the conse- quences range from simple inconvenience to a devastating data loss. Today’s businesses face three major online threats: spam, viruses, and phishing. Fortifying your company against these threats is criti- cal in order to prevent valuable information from falling into the wrong hands or your computers from malfunctioning. Taking these small steps today will go a long way towards avoiding trouble down the road: Use antivirus and antispyware software and keep it up to date. New threats are discovered daily and keeping your software updated is one of the easiest ways to protect your business from an attack; simply set your computers to automatically update for you. Also, activate your firewall and regularly download the security protection updates (known as patches) that are released by most major software companies. Educate your employees not to open email attachments from unknown sources. Computer viruses are commonly spread through email attachments so it’s vital to pay attention to the source before opening them. In addition, make sure your employees don’t click on links within unsolicited email messages or install any software programs unless they’re from a reputable source. Use strong passwords. Lock your online accounts, computers, and other devices with passwords of at least eight characters that contain a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters as well as numbers. Keep pass- words and PINs secret, and change passwords frequently. “Look before you leap” with sensitive information. Make it a policy to check for signs that a webpage is safe before you or your employees conduct online transactions. Check for an “https” at the beginning of a web address (URL) and a closed padlock icon beside it. This is an indication that the website has taken extra security steps to protect your information. Never give sensitive information in response to an email or instant message (IM) request. Take special precautions with laptops and mobile devices. It’s a good idea to have written cyber security practices that address the use of laptops and mobile devices. For example, when public Wi-Fi is used, train employees to confirm the exact spelling of the wireless network they’re connecting to and watch out for clever, slightly misspelled fakes. In addition, remind them to keep laptops or mobile devices with them at all times, even if they intend to be “right back.” Unattended equipment in public places is an invitation for theft and access to your company’s information. For more information about cyber security, you can visit www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips or www.staysafeonline.org. Is your business taking these important precautions? Cyber Security Essentials