Cybersecurity for Small Businesses - Money Tip Tuesday

Cyber-attacks are becoming more and more frequent in today’s digital age. However, according to a survey by CNBC and SurveyMonkey, most small businesses aren’t ready. Here are some tips to up the cybersecurity for your small business. 

Links: 

• For other small business resources visit trianglecu.org
• Learn more about KnowBe4 and their fraud prevention services
• Follow our podcast Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

Transcript:

Welcome to Money Tip Tuesday from the Making Money Personal podcast. 

Why does cybersecurity matter? According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, “Cyberattacks cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars a year and pose a threat for individuals and organizations.” Small businesses can be easy targets for cybercriminals, as they don’t have the security infrastructure that larger businesses do. Small businesses are actually three times more likely to be attacked than larger businesses. Another reason that cybersecurity matters to your business is that according to the CNBC and SurveyMonkey poll, 55% of people in the U.S. say they would be less likely to continue doing business with a brand after a cyber-attack. So not only will the cybercriminals steal your data, they will also steal your business away.  

Less than half of small businesses have strengthened their passwords, have multi-factor authentication, backed up their data on an external hard drive and have an anti-virus or malware software installed. This leaves their business open for attack, and with no protection, cybercriminals have easy access to their data. Strengthening your passwords and enabling multi-factor authentication is a quick and free step to start protecting your business. Remember, strong passwords shouldn’t be easy to guess. The more complex the password is, the better. Having multi-factor authentication in place also makes it more difficult for cybercriminals to gain access as it adds an extra layer of protection to your password.  

Backing up your data on an external hard drive is important – if the cybercriminals get into your data and decide to erase all of it you still have an extra copy. Having an anti-virus program installed will help protect against malware and viruses and can also help remove them from your computer if it does become infected. Always make sure that your anti-virus program is up to date. It would probably be a good idea to turn automatic updates on.  

If you have employees, you should train them on internet usage best practices. Employees and their communication is one of the leading causes of data breaches for small businesses. Show them how to spot phishing emails, safe internet browsing practices, avoid downloading anything suspicious, and to protect sensitive information. Some cybersecurity companies like Knowbe4 offers security awareness training and simulated phishing attacks. 

It is important to keep your internet connection safe as well. Always encrypt information and use a firewall on your network. If you are using Wi-Fi, add a password to it. You can also set up your router, so it doesn’t broadcast the network name.  

If your small business has been compromised, it’s important to contain the damage. Figure out what has been compromised. If there’s any malware, run your anti-virus program to remove it. If any passwords have been compromised, change them immediately. You then need to inform your employees, customers, and vendors about the breach. Being transparent is important, if you try and hide it, their data may be at risk as well. If necessary, get legal advice from a lawyer that specializes in Internet law.  

If there are any other tips or topics you’d like us to cover, let us know at tcupodcast@trianglecu.org and don't forget to like and follow our Making Money Personal Facebook and Instagram pages and look for our sponsor, Triangle Credit Union on Instagram and LinkedIn to share your thoughts.  

Thanks for listening to today’s Money Tip Tuesday and be sure to check out our other tips and episodes on the Making Money Personal podcast.  

Have a great day!