IT security is crucial for small businesses. Hackers often target these businesses because they tend to have more flaws in their security systems to exploit, which can lead to identity theft for your employees. To keep your employees' and customers' information safe, you need to make sure your business doesn't suffer from any of these common flaws:
- Not enough anti-virus protection. According to Stefan Kanitz of IDCNet, "Your office door likely doesn't have the same kind of lock as you house, it is business-grade for a reason." Likewise, free anti-virus protection that comes with your computers is not enough to protect your business from "business-grade" virus threats.
- Email that isn't secure. Most modern email systems have a fairly high level of security, especially cloud-based options. However, if your business has been using the same email system for a while, you may be at risk of hackers discovering your passwords. While more modern systems do encrypt password data, post office protocol (POP) email systems don't, putting your passwords at risk.
- Vulnerable mobile devices. With the rise of bring your own device (BYOD) policies has come an increase in the vulnerability of business information due to the risks inherent in mobile access. For example, employees who access their business email through their smartphone but don't have a lock on their phone expose business information to thieves if the phone is stolen.
- Not enough of a firewall. Firewalls block certain types of data from entering or leaving your business network. While individual modems often have a firewall included, you need one that covers your entire business network. These are usually located at the point where data enters and leaves the system, before it even hits the routers.
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