Is Your Data At Risk? Here’s How To Protect Your Information Online
If you’ve opened up your inbox only to spot yet another email from a company saying they’ve been affected by a data breach, you know how at-risk your information is in today’s digital world. Cybersecurity is quickly growing as one of the top technology concerns of businesses these days, as private information is being bought and sold for a premium across online black markets. If you’re worried about whether or not your business’s information is at risk, this is what you need to know.
Nowadays, it’s easy to underestimate the likelihood of a cyber attack on your business. In fact, you’ve probably come across several attempts to gain access to your private information that you simply weren’t aware of. That’s right: Most cyber attacks are disguised as to better stand a chance at taking advantage of you or your employees. One of the most common information theft attempts comes in the form of phishing scams. While your email’s spam folder probably has several of these in it right now, the same goes for your work inbox.
Phishing attempts involve people impersonating companies and colleagues and requesting sensitive information like logins, passwords, and credit card numbers. While they’re typically easier to spot, phishers are getting more sophisticated with their methods. If you’re ever unsure of the validity of a request, reach out to the person or company directly before proceeding so you know you’re keeping your information secure.
Another common information theft method is known as a brute force attack. Brute force attacks use tools called crackers to attempt to guess login information using password dictionaries and the like until one of their guesses is successful. If you have strong passwords company-wide, you’re hopefully safe. If not, you might want to consider implementing a policy that requires special characters and passwords of a certain length to protect sensitive information.
