All Access Insurance

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

The news is full of high-profile data breaches and intrusions of company's secure data.

It is not just the mega-businesses that are in dancer of cyber protection these days. It is also the small business and mom and pop shops that are sometimes less prepared to prevent or respond to such an intrusion.

What is the big deal? All businesses have access to confidential and personal information of their consumers. It is their job to ensure that customer purchase histories, account information and any sensitive customer information does not fall into the wrong hands. This is why you are probably getting emails about data breaches and security software.

Threats are everywhere in cyberspace.

To keep you safe, regardless of the size of your business, I have put together 5 tips to keep safe from a breach or intrusion.

1. Be aware of phishing schemes.

Hackers are so smart today. They make the simplest thing look like normal. But is it? It is best to be cautious.

Phishing emails are fake emails that can be used to target credit and identity, gain control of your computer or steal business information and passwords.

As a general rule, if you don't know who it is from or the email address looks off, don't open it.

Having an email preview window is great. That way you don't have to click on anything.

Have your spam filters on so that it grabs anything that looks suspicious.

2. Recognize social engineering.

When asked to give information including social profiles, account info, etc. Be leery. Most accounts say, we will never ask you for your password, etc. So if one is, that might very well be the red flag for foul play.

3. Stay on guard while traveling.

When you log int business and personal accounts while traveling on public wifi, be cautious. It is best if you have a security software enabled on your laptops and mobile devices. The one I use is from Norton.com

4. Train your team to understand cyber risks.

Have checks and balances in place in your operations to ensure your business could be back up and running and that you could inform customers immediately if a breach of any kind took place.

5. Protect against data breaches with cyber insurance. This protects your assets and can save you a ton of money.

Keeping you protected.

Rick