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The Biggest IT Security Threats Come from Common Bad Practices

Written by Contributor, on 10th Jan 2017. Edited on 24th Jan 2017 Posted in General

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In today’s increasingly digital world, information overload is an everyday issue. Not only has the ‘global village’ of online users grown 918.3% since the turn of the century, but there are now more than 1.1 billion sites on the web. Trying to wrap your head around that statistic and factoring in how much information is produced online every second on social media is enough to give you a headache. It’s no wonder that it’s getting increasingly harder for us to locate and evaluate which information is relevant to us and our purposes – and when those purposes are business-related, things are even more important.

To some extent, we’re all interested in IT security – or we should be. But nowadays it’s quite a complicated affair. We keep reading about IoT botnets, new malware, ransomware and viruses but such information, albeit accurate, often causes confusion to non-experts. What business owners and end users care about are practical security measures which, regardless of the presence of a dedicated IT department in your company, need to be implemented to ensure maximum levels of safety.

When you own a business, any type of failure in your computer systems and online communications can result in revenue loss. From your web storefront being offline when a new customer tried to access it to keeping safe, updated records, IT security affects all businesses. Here are some sadly common bad practices when it comes to IT, along with simple steps you can take to ensure your systems are safe, no matter the size of your enterprise.

Don’t Dismiss Security Risks Based on Size

It’s easy to see why some micro and small business owners are tempted to dismiss security risks to their own enterprise, considering their size. However, one thing we can’t accuse cybercriminals of is being sizeist. According to Eurostat, one in ten Irish computer users has had at least one of their devices infected by a virus, while the rise of a new type of botnet in 2016 exhibits how attackers can gain from infecting even the tiniest of devices. In August, an estimated 380,000 remote devices infected with the Mirai malware were used as an army that carried out attacks on the internet.

Although similar techniques in the past have used infected computers, this time much of the network was internet of things (IoT) devices running Linux, from remote cameras to home routers. Not only businesses of all sizes, but devices of all sizes are now being targeted. Make sure your IT strategy extends to all devices in your WLAN, as all of them carry a risk of spreading an infection and providing a backdoor to your critical systems.

Don’t Fall for Malware and Phishing Scams

Short for “malicious software”, malware includes computer viruses and other types of software we haven’t installed intentionally on our systems – as well as software that hasn’t been honest in its intentions that convinced us to install it. In addition to detecting and eliminating virus threats, the best antivirus software suites include algorithms for identifying sophisticated malware threats such as trojans, worms, backdoors and ransomware.

The latter is a threat on the rise: criminals can hijack your systems and hold them hostage, asking for ransom. One in five cases sees them demanding more than $10,000, while 3% of the demands are for over $50,000, reports The Guardian. While antivirus programs will catch the vast majority of its instances, malware and ransomware is also the end user’s responsibility: installing software that comes from unverified sources, falling for pages that look like legitimate websites (but on closer inspection, are not) and trusting pop-up windows that ask for your credentials are common bad practices which are simple to avoid. Practice increased awareness to safeguard your data.​
 

Educate Your Employees

No matter the size of your office set-up, it’s only as secure as its weakest link. In simpler terms, a USB stick one of your employees brought to work of a laptop they occasionally take home and connect to their network may spread an infection to the rest of your network, if not sniffed out by local security systems in time. Even if you trust in your own computer security awareness and your IT team, a gullible employee can still be tricked into giving away their password, let alone even setting up a very easy-to-guess one. Training your employees is fundamental in your security strategy, and fortunately there are many trusted resources online for that. Don’t forget to ask your IT experts to sit down and make sure they’ve gotten the message. After all, malware spreads in different ways.

Keeping your infrastructure safe is fundamental to the longevity and success of your business. While complex cybersecurity set-ups may be an area for specialists, whether those exist in your networks or not there are still things employees could be doing to put office computers and data at risk. Make sure you avoid such risks with common sense, knowledge and training.

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