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Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Cybercriminals ... Is Your Company's Data At Risk?

As cybercrime continues to rapidly increase it is important to protect both you and you're businesses interests online. A survey by the National Small Business Association in 2014 reported that 61% of small businesses surveyed had been the victims of cybercrime. The average cost of recovering from a cyber-attack was $20,752 in 2014. C.A.M.S has teamed up with 3C Network Consultants to bring you the following advice on how to avoid a cyber-attack. 

Basic Rules For Online Safety

#1 - "If you didn't go looking for it, don't install it". We are always getting hit with pop-ups telling us to install software, or download a program. Don't fall for it, you should only install software or browser add-ons if you have researched them and specifically went looking for them.  
#2 - "If you installed it, update it". It is vitally important to keep programs such as Java, Adobe PDF Reader and Quicktime up-to date on your systems. Hackers are constantly attacking flaws in widely-installed software programs. 
#3 - "If you no longer need it, remove it". Over the course of time we download and install hundreds of programs on our computers. Not only does this seriously effect the speed of our systems, it also multiplies the amount of software hackers can use to access our computers if we do not keep the programs up to date with the latest security upgrades. 
#4 - "Be wary of email attachments and links". If you receive an attachment or link from somebody you don't know, then don't open it! Spam email's are an easy way to hack our computer systems. Be wary of any email asking for personal information; companies will never ask for banking details via email. 

Basic Rules For Network Safety
 
#1 - Strengthen Your Password. The stronger your password is, the safer you are, simple! Strong passwords should be a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols. Never use your name, birthday or company information as this information can be easy to guess. 
#2 - Harden Your Network. The more defenses you have on your network the more secure it will be. Install security patches, use a firewall, keep antivirus software up to date and use encryption on your wireless access points (AP). 
#3 - Backup, Backup, Backup. Date loss can be very, very costly to small and medium size businesses. It is vital to have a backup and disaster recovery strategy. You should ensure you are performing both on-site and remote
Sergio Fernandez, CEO of 3CNC
 backups regularly and be checking to make sure they are successful each time. 

C.A.M.S would like to thank Sergio Fernandez
for this article. Sergio is the CEO of 3C Network Consultants. For more advice on how to protect yourself from cybercriminals, you can reach Sergio via email at AskMe@3CNC.com or visit www.3CNC.com.