Protecting A Business From Hacking

Written by GtoRMan Wednesday, 04 April 2012 00:06

For both individuals and businesses, Internet hacking has become one of the most important financial considerations. Because of the approximately $75 billion dollars hacking costs U.S. businesses each year from credit card fraud and identity theft, more than a few small businesses have found themselves enlisting the help of cloud services and data center solutions like Digital Realty Trust in order to protect their data. Many businesses say it can take them years to recover losses and get themselves back on track after a security breach. Here are a few in-house ways to keep your private business information safe and secure:

Make your POS passwords complex. Many companies who use point-of-sale systems to process transactions are targeted by hackers who comb the Internet in search of simple passwords. In general, you'll also want to avoid these POS systems for web browsing. Additionally, be sure that your POS is a PCI DSS application.

This information security standard should help to protect you from credit card fraud.

Use a firewall on any business service that utilizes the Internet. This usually makes it very difficult for hackers to access your system and in most cases they'll look for easier prey. Make sure all of your company computers have some form of anti-virus, anti-malware firewall programs installed on them. Do routine checks on this to ensure that the last action of a laid off employee who deinstalled the software doesn't become a hacker's Trojan horse.

Refrain from passing along bank details to anyone that has called or emailed your company. No matter how professional and legitimate a bank or credit agency may seem, remember that is it extremely simple for hackers to create and mimic websites and digital correspondences.

Don't open up unfamiliar emails or links. Many times these can be attempts to install viruses and other malware onto your computers. Emails like this should have already been flagged by your anti-virus software. Ones that slip by should be immediately deleted.

The costs of cyber-security have increased 10% every year since 2006. This should come as a sign that if your business is not highly invested in Internet security you could easily fall victim to credit card fraud via POS system exploitation and basic identity fraud. The risk of adverse affects to your company's financial status and credit line are very real, as are the chances that this risk will grow stronger.

Comments  

 

0 #1 2013-01-23 07:16

One can install Cyberoam Ipv6 Firewall, an 8-layer indentity based security system, to protect your network from hackers and intruders.

Thanks
Cyberoam.com

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