Protect Your Business From a Cyberattack!

Recent geopolitical events in Eastern Europe have sparked global warnings of pending cyberattacks. It’s critical now more than ever that consumers and businesses secure the proper data protection solutions to help mitigate against these threats. Recent threat predictions for 2022 now show that 1 of 5 small businesses will suffer a cyberattack or security breach this year. Ironically, 97% of those breaches could have been prevented with security services using today’s technology. What can you do? Orange County Computer recommends the following tips to protect your business from a cyberattack:

Protect Your Business From a Cyberattack!

Perform a Security Assessment: Identify existing vulnerable areas. If you are not sure how to do this, our team is happy to evaluate your environment and identify any potential breaches, creating a corrective action plan to maximize your security. Orange County Computer realizes that most consumers and businesses are not familiar with potential red flags in performing a security assessment — don’t worry, you are not alone — our team can help.

Upgrade Mobile Device Security: One of the easiest targets for cybercriminals is mobile devices. Smartphones and tablets are typically the least secure devices. Hackers know this and will look for these security gaps. This is one of the most vulnerable areas that contains a huge amount of personal and business data. New security solutions that can lock down and shield your phone are available. Antivirus protection for phones and tablets is also an option which can secure your device.

Firewalls/Network Hardware: Intrusion Detection and Intrusion Prevention might be misperceived as network hardware necessary only for the security and protection of large companies. These devices exist to protect everyone as a baseline minimum for data and network security. This is often where consumers and businesses get lost in the process of securing their network. Security Hardware and Software is as essential as auto insurance for your car. Our team has witnessed attempted attacks that are instantly stopped at the firewall, saving companies from catastrophic loss. 

Spam Email: This is often where the most vulnerabilities are identified with clients. Securing email is not an optional service, but rather an essential need, like auto insurance for your car. Most attacks begin with spam or phishing campaigns that hook someone within an organization, who is not looking closely enough before opening emails from known senders, or from random contacts that you might not be expecting a message from. It’s imperative to choose a mail filtering service that protects from malicious emails or spam/ phishing attacks.

Passwords: Security policies must be applied on your network and personal devices. Examples of this would be to limit or deny USB file storage access, enable stronger password policies, set up user screen timeouts, limit user access.

Security Awareness: Educate your staff and your family members or allow an IT Company to help in this process. We encourage everyone to become amateur security experts when it comes to protecting your data, arming yourself against email attacks, and implementing security policies for your business and your home.

Advanced Endpoint Detection and Response: This is huge! Protect your data from malware, viruses and other cyberattacks with endpoint security. Antivirus programs of the past won’t give you the protection you need. The latest threats must be met by the latest security features that detect endpoint weaknesses. This level of threat detection protects against scripting and file-less attacks that can also potentially rollback a ransomware attack. Orange County Computer can install, manage and mitigate threats from hackers with the latest security solutions in the industry.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Implement Multi-Factor Authentication whenever possible. This is commonly seem on banking websites and even social media. This can be activated on your own company network or personal home office network. This is another layer of security to ensure that access to your data is still secure if your password is compromised.

Computer and Hardware Updates: All software programs and operating systems should be updated regularly in order to provide you with the best security. Critical updates are the most urgent and should not be forgotten about. These updates also include printers, routers, firewalls and switches.

Data Encryption: Encrypted Files are transmitted back and forth securely to protect confidential data from getting into the wrong hands. The increased use of mobile devices and the level of assumed protection gives consumers a false sense of security. Sending information securely, such as with encryption, is the best method to protect the integrity of the information you are sending. Financial Institutions and Health Care Entities have been required to encrypt files for decades. Now is the time to get onboard with securely transmitting data to protect you and your clients.

Backup Solution: As a long-term IT Solutions Provider, we cannot stress enough the importance of backing up your data, files and photos. Too many times our team has seen the aftermath of clients that did not actively maintain a backup of their files and data. The consequences of this can prove to be catastrophic and costly. This is crucial!

We know that complying with these recommendations can help protect your business from a cyberattack. Nobody wants to be a victim of a security breach. Remember these numbers:

• 1 in 5 small business will suffer a security breach this year.
• 81% of all breaches happen to small and medium sized businesses.
• 97% of breaches could have been prevented with today’s security solutions.

The team of experts at Orange County Computer can help. Contact us today to protect your business from a cyberattack.