Cyber-attacks are a trend that, unfortunately, came to stay. Improvements in this behalf by learning the way customers are dependent on certain applications or how to breach the code of core Corporation software has led to an immense amount of money spent on resources for preventing unwanted access by hackers to sensible data stored at servers.
To keep our business growth steady and avoid future inconvenience, let’s start to apply these easy steps for protecting our assets since the early stages of our venue.
1.) Data encrypting
Perhaps the most natural step to get done with ease, as it will only require quality software from our end and a secure booting password – not to mention patience as well, since depending on the storage specs you have and the amount of data stored, the time needed to complete the encryption process.
Photo courtesy of Negative Space
The advantage of software development to date is that you won’t need to be a computer geek to compel this task: software will guide us through the step-by-step process, even providing secure means to restore our data in case something went wrong or if we forget the password used.
2.) Anti-malware protection is a must-have
Unless you clearly know where you are surfing at, anti-malware software is an essential resource for any computer system to date. Yes, it’s true that Mac OSX based system or even Linux ones are less prone to catch viruses unlike Windows systems; however, malware is always waiting for a way to breach into your system and extract potentially sensitive data.
Cyber-kidnappings are a growing trend to date, with people needing to pay absurd amounts of money for retrieving control of their servers and data seized by hackers.
Photo courtesy of Negative Space
Windows 8 and 10 provide a significant step forward towards security by adding Windows Defender as core security system, and the truth is that performs the task with a rather significant efficiency without you needing to expend an extra dollar for acquiring security software for your system.
3.) Fingertip access
One secure login method for any company is to use fingertips instead of passwords. Yes, long and strong passwords cannot be replaced to date, but certain laptops and Apple devices feature technologies for secure fingertip login, as the image of your fingerprint is not stored anywhere, and that isn’t a crackable password, unless some really high-end technology, with you present at the moment of bypassing security – not bound to happen, right?
4.) Don’t write your passwords down virtually
Even if tempted, as it proves to be easy to access them when needing, you are just offering a shortcut to hackers to access your data. Especially avoid storing banking passwords or account numbers; instead, you can use one of these two approaches:
- Store your passwords at encrypted software meant for such applications (but be sure to get good reviews of the software you plan to use prior doing that).
- Write them down on a real notepad at your home, and store them somewhere reachable but safe.
5.) Avoid linking your debit cards to your main bank account
This happens to be a common mistake, especially for those businesspeople who frequently travel outside their country. Why the emphasis on this point? Because these days is rather easy for hackers to clone your card at ATMs or even when processing purchases at stores after entering your PIN. Some banking entities have invested resources into increasing security methods by adding chips to the cards, which makes them harder to clone, but yet, that’s technology rather new to these days.
By cloning your card, if it’s linked to your main bank account, thefts can wipe out the entire funds you happen to have; undoubtedly a nightmare. A good countermeasure is to warn banks that you are travelling and they will keep close tabs on any suspicious movement, even reaching you via phone if a large purchase or withdrawal was made for clearing out if it wasn’t done without your consent.
6.) Don’t share too much information on social media
Just like thefts tend to rely on the information provided by you at social media, avoid publishing routine details or sensitive personal information, mostly if you have unknown people as Facebook/Twitter folks. You couldn’t believe the amount of passwords cracked just because people tend to share details like their favourite song or movie, which also happens to be the security questions they settled for banking entities and such.
Photo courtesy of Nguyen Nguyen
Customise your privacy settings to only allow trusted people to know certain details about your life, and never post content you will certainly regret afterwards: images can be easily retrieved after deleting them, and you never know who could be taking screenshots of the content you post (happens to politicians all the time).
Add these easy steps to your routine, and you will be a step closer to protecting your investment from unwanted threats. Remember that an essential aspect of data protection is keeping your software up to date, as malware is always evolving and looking for weak spots to conduct their attacks.
