Just a reminder from your friendly Technology Evangelist, to be VIGILANT of your security and keep your computers and files safe and secure. Hackers love to send emails from people and companies to you, disguised as legitimate messages. You click on the link and next you’re infected. Be careful.
We’ve partnered with Norton to offer some tips and raise awareness that your small business needs to be SECURE.
Here’s a media alert from the Norton team:
Cybercriminals are the threat small businesses are least prepared for, according to a Norton cybersecurity survey of 400 small businesses conducted by Research Now. While close to half of small businesses say they understand how to protect themselves from a physical theft (47 percent), and have a security system installed on the premises (78 percent), only about one-in-three (31 percent) claim to understand how to combat today’s cybercriminal, according to the survey. Fewer than half (46 percent) are confident they are well-protected against computer viruses and malware, and with good reason: 37 percent report being victim to computer viruses over the past year.
Additional Survey Highlights:
- Mobile devices are less protected. While the majority have a cybersecurity system installed on their desktops (98 percent) and laptops (96 percent), only around two-thirds (65 percent) do on their tablet, and about half (56 percent) on their smartphone.
- Password management is lax: 44 percent of survey respondents say there is no mandate at their business on how often to change passwords.
- Lapses in security are costly: Problems resulting from Internet security issues or incidents have cost the average small business $1,600 and two days of lost work time over the past year.
- Keeping an eye on the wrong “ball”: More business owners want tickets to the Super Bowl (43 percent) than want to improve how they manage Internet security (28 percent).
Tips: Norton offers these tips for small businesses to protect themselves –
1) Be proactive: Security updates for your computer operating system or software may arrive too late. Without a protection system that is both proactive and thorough, you’re leaving your company open to vulnerability. Norton Security, available at Staples and other major retailers, provides small businesses with the protection they need.
2) Create reminders: Set up automatic updates for essential software, which helps lower the risk of malware spreading through the network.
3) Go wireless: Use wireless encryption in order to establish a secure protection against cybercriminals
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