Here?s How Companies Struggle with IT Security
Password Pitfalls
Passwords are great tools for managing access to data, but only if they are made properly. If a password is created without knowledge of best practices, it could be figured out with relative ease and used to crack any accounts that the password is used for. It?s not uncommon for those who don?t know any better to use the same password for multiple accounts.
It can be challenging to make your password easy to remember while also keeping it secure and difficult to guess. You don?t want it easy enough for someone to figure it out on their own, but you don?t want to forget it yourself. A passphrase is a great way to keep track of your password, and it?s much more difficult to guess than a singular word. If you substitute certain letters for characters and numbers, you can make it even more difficult to crack.
So, instead of using ?dorothy? or a random series of letters and numbers, a Wizard of Oz fan might use ?&Ur1i++leD0g2?.
Malicious Mobile Applications
Applications meant for use on your smartphone aren?t always created with the best quality, and that?s saying nothing of their intentions. Even though smartphone app distributors have made attempts to eliminate threatening downloads, it?s impossible to find them all, and they will occasionally make their way onto the platform. These malicious applications pose a considerable risk for your business.
Even the safe apps that you download from the app store could pose a threat, though. Some are quite loose with how they treat a user?s data, so make sure you keep track of what permissions you?re allowing for each of them. Make sure that any permissions you have for your apps make sense. If they don?t, perhaps you?re better off without it.
Phony Phishing
Cybercriminals will often resort to underhanded tactics and deception to make their way into your business? infrastructure. They might try to manipulate your employees into acting a certain way or making decisions that aren?t the best for the business. These methods are called phishing, and it?s one of the big reasons why your organization needs to be cautious with messages from both known (and unknown) senders. These phishing scams vary in scope and scale, ranging from the classic Nigerian Prince example to the countless messages that are sent out every day warning the user that their system has been compromised, insisting that ?tech support? must be called.
Your staff can prevent these messages from making trouble for your organization by keeping a healthy dose of skepticism when going through their email. It?s also critical to confirm the identity of the one who sent the message via a secondary means of communication, particularly if the message seems to have come from someone internally. This might seem like a hassle, but it?s well worth the annoyance of dealing with a phishing scam.
Wi-Fi Worries
Wireless Internet access has given businesses a lot of freedom in the workplace, providing a way to be productive without sitting in front of a desktop for eight hours or more. Wi-Fi has given businesses more opportunities to get work done, but it also creates opportunities for cybercriminals to access networks and infrastructures if they aren?t properly secured. Some organizations might keep default passwords on routers which makes them prime targets for attacks by hackers. Be sure to change these credentials regularly. Public Wi-Fi in particular is prone to cybersecurity troubles, so make sure you?re using a virtual private network for any sending or receiving of business-related data.
To learn more about how you can keep your business secure, reach out to White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800.
