How To Protect Your Winnipeg Business From Cyber Threats

Don’t make the mistake of assuming you’re “too small to be a target”. Cybercriminals are happy to cast a wide net and make smaller amounts off of smaller organizations.

Cybercrime is a big part of the news these days. You hear about data breaches, identity theft and more on a seemingly daily basis.

The reality is that none of it is an exaggeration — cybercrime is a booming business. It’s estimated that the global cybercrime industry will cause up to $6 trillion in damages in just a few years. It remains such a lucrative business because targets keep failing to learn how cybercriminals operate, and how to protect against it.

That’s why you need to do what’s necessary to protect your business — discover 5 simple tips for boosting your cybersecurity in our new video:

5 Ways To Protect Yourself From Cyber Threats

• Watch Out For Red Flags: Cybercriminals rely on your lack of attention to small details in order to slip past defenses. For example, you should know that reputable URLs now start with “HTTPS” rather than “HTTP”. It’s easy to remember – the “s” stands for “secure”. Furthermore, any slight misspelling in an email address, subject line, or body of the email should be considered a red flag. Similarly, fake URLs are a popular tool for cybercriminals. Always be sure to hover your mouse over a link in an email, or on an unfamiliar website, before clicking it. That allows you to see where it actually leads. While it may look harmless, the actual URL may show otherwise, so always look, and rarely click.
• Maintain Strong Passwords: Passwords remain a common cybersecurity weakness because of the careless way employees go about trying to remember their login information. Make sure to use both cases, symbols, and numbers. Unfortunately, many users often opt for a weak password that’s easy to remember, rather than a strong one they’ll forget.  The good news is that there is a way to get the best of both worlds – with a password manager. A password manager generates, keeps track of and retrieves complex and long passwords for you to protect your vital online information. It also remembers your PINS, credit card numbers and three-digit CVV codes if you choose this option.
• Use A VPN: When you use a Virtual Private Network (VPN), your data is encrypted, or hidden, as it moves from your device to the VPN and then continues onto the Internet through what’s called an exit node. That makes it harder for an attacker to identify you as the source of the data – no matter whether you’re on your mobile device’s data connection, or using an unsecured retail Wi-Fi network while you’re in line for coffee.
• Backup Your Data: Do you have a data backup policy in place? If not, then you’re vulnerable, right now, to ransomware. If you have a data backup solution, then it doesn’t matter if your data has been encrypted. You can just replace it with your backup, simple as that.  That’s why you should make a considerable investment in a comprehensive backup data recovery solution so that you can restore your data at a moment’s notice when necessary. Be sure to:
• • Back up data on a regular basis (at least daily).
  • Inspect your backups to verify that they maintain their integrity.
  • Secure your backups and keep them independent from the networks and computers they are backing up.

• Work With A Cybersecurity Expert: When you’re not sure if you have the skills or knowledge to get the job done, what can you do? Consult with cybersecurity professionals. The cybersecurity professional’s job is to manage your cybersecurity, simple as that. Instead of needing an employee or internal team to keep your tech and data secure, you let someone else with the skills and knowledge do it for you:
  • Cybersecurity professionals perform regular vulnerability testing as per industry standards to ensure you aren’t dealing with overlooked cybersecurity weaknesses.
  • Cybersecurity professionals help you plan and achieve a secure environment to work in.
  • Cybersecurity professionals provide ongoing service and support for any security-related concerns you may have.

You Can’t Afford To Cut Corners On Your Cybersecurity

If you’ve followed these tips and still feel unsure about your cybersecurity, then you need to do something about it. Invest in a little expert protection — 365 Technologies.

We can put our big business cybersecurity expertise to work for you, implementing best practices, identifying vulnerabilities, and protecting you against the more common and dangerous cybercrime scams.