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5 Digital Threats Every Business Owner Should Be Aware Of

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Since most of our commercial operations involve computers and the internet in some way, it is important to make these virtual systems as safe and secure as possible. This means that you need to be aware of the dangers posed with running your business on the web. That is where this article can help as we will list five of the most dangerous aspects of the net for company owners everywhere. We’€™ll also go over how to eliminate these risks in the very best manner.

Financial Fraud

Each year, online businesses lose millions of pounds, dollars and euros because of transaction fraud. This occurs when someone uses a stolen credit card to make a purchase. If the product has been sent out and the card is cancelled, the company loses some of their stock without being paid for it.

In this case, the onus is on the business to double check the credit card details beforehand. To reduce the risk of this digital financial threat occurring, look at the cardholder’€™s address, request the verification number on the back of the card, and work closely with the banks.

Viruses & Trojans

Your corporate computers could also run the risk of being hacked. In general, these nefarious types will steal or corrupt your data for a number of reasons ranging from wanting inside information to disrupting your operations for the competition. There are a number of ways to prevent the installation of malware on your computers:

  • Create a strong password system
  • Install anti-virus or anti-spyware programs
  • Utilise a reliable firewall all of the time
  • Consider using encryption software

Make sure you have a full arsenal of applications to protect yourself against these otherwise harmful digital dangers.

Outdated Software

Once you’ve set up your corporate computer systems, it is imperative that you keep everything fully updated. Hackers tend to exploit loopholes in software to gain access to your systems. To prevent this, ensure your programs are fully updated. For example, all anti spam software will have an auto-update feature that closes off these loopholes whenever the programmers have located and later eliminated any weak spots. If you have too many applications to keep track of, you may need to appoint someone as a full-time IT specialist so they can make sure everything is up-to-date and secure afterwards.

Human-Related Risks

There are also a series of dangers associated with your employees themselves. These can be both accidental and malicious; some examples are listed below:

  • A staff member clicking an unsecure email link and inadvertently installing malware on your company computers
  • An ex-employee using their old access details to steal important information from your business
  • A worker sending confidential documents via an unsecure remote connection with their smartphone or laptop

As you can see, there are a number of risks involved. Fortunately, preventing these dangers isn’t so difficult to do for the average business. For example, it is quite easy to physically reduce access to your servers by locking them in a separate room. You should never store backups in this same room, instead securing them in another, equally safe location. Finally, if you have to fire an employee, revoke their remote access privileges as soon as possible to prevent any data theft from taking place.

Stolen Mobile Devices

The last risk is if one of your employee’€™s laptops or smartphones goes missing or is stolen. These devices can contain important company information that shouldn’€™t fall into the wrong hands. Make sure that your staff gadgets are password protected and that they can only send and receive files through a secure connection. If possible, install a remote wipe application on all laptops and smartphones so you can destroy any files contained within if the device is mislaid. With the right precautions, your staff can still use this mobile technology with minimal risks involved.

Now that you are aware of these five dangers as well as methods of preventing them, you are ready to bring your business into the digital age with confidence. Reducing the risks is merely a matter of building a secure corporate system that contains a number of helpful preventative programs. After this, your business can run as usual without anything untoward occurring over the internet.

Written By

Daniel Mathewson is a writer for MailCleaner, a company that offers a business anti spam gateway and other web solutions to protect the integrity of the organisation's mail infrastructure, network security and the like.

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. Meridith

    November 20, 2013 at 4:10 am

    The viruses and trojans have been my biggest concern. I’m self employed and don’t have any employees, so I don’t have to worry about that. However, I do all of my work and business online, so keeping my computer clean and keeping it free of malware/spyware has been a big concern of mine. Thanks for the blog, I’m going to put your advice to good use.

  2. Andrew

    November 21, 2013 at 3:10 am

    Hi Daniel,
    These are very major threats. Not to mention they are quite common these days. A lot of people are out there that know how easy it is to steal from small businesses. Thank you for increasing awareness,
    Andrew

  3. Pramod

    November 21, 2013 at 5:08 am

    I completely agree with this post mate !
    Viruses or malwares designed to damage confidential documents on a computer can badly affect the business hence businesses should employ proper security mechanisms to protect their computers. Thanks for sharing the info

  4. Gautam

    November 22, 2013 at 4:57 pm

    Frauds are increasing so every business man must be aware of that and as it’s digital world they must be aware of Virus and Trojans too.

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