By Ben Kinsey
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| Image courtesy wikimedia |
In my previous blog, I detailed all the ways in which online
reviews and ratings can make or break a business. This week I’d like to delve into the other
dangers that lurk just below the surface of your digital domain. Specifically, I’d like you to take a hard
look at the part of your business that resides in Cyberspace. You know, your website, landing pages, blog, in-house
server and social sites. The problem
with many business owners is that they don’t have a handle on just how
vulnerable their digital assets are.
While most business owners would never think of heading home after the
day is done without first locking their office, many leave their digital domain
woefully ill-equipped to deal with hackers, industrial espionage or disgruntled
employees. As I pointed out in my last
blog, if you don’t police and secure your digital assets, it’s quite possible
that some fine day you may arrive at the office to find your business in
serious financial straits.
The
Big Hack Attack
A recent article on Inc Magazine’s website, pointed
out two salient facts:
1.
Companies lost more than $400 billion to
hackers in 2018.
2.
In the same year, companies spent an
additional $170 billion shoring up their digital defenses.
Now I don’t know about you, but $570 billion in lost
revenue doesn’t sound like something to sneeze at. Especially when you consider that these costs
are only going to go up year in and year out.
If you don’t believe your company could be targeted by hackers, think again. It’s all too easy for hackers to infect small
businesses with ransomware or denial of service attacks that leave the business
owner with two choices: Pay up or have the company server rendered useless. If you and your employees suddenly find you can’t
use your computers, how long will it be before your business is out of
business? A week? A month? If you do get hacked, don’t expect the police
or the FBI to come to your rescue either.
That’s because hacking is an international business. And brother, business is booming.
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| Image courtesy Pixabay |
Here’s another newsflash – Hackers don’t have to shut
you down to harm your business. They can
simply pilfer valuable data from your computer.
If you store customer records
that includes credit card numbers, any hacker can turn these into cold, hard
cash. That’s if they don’t steal your
bank account information from your machine only to wipe out your company
account in the blink of an eye. (The Inc
Magazine article mentioned the fact that the FBI admitted recent thefts from
financial institutions by hackers added up to more than $1 billion.)
Industrial
Espionage is also on the rise, and not only for Fortune 500
companies. If your company does any kind
of competitive bidding, just think of how much it would be worth to a
competitor if they had advance knowledge of your proposed bids. Or, think of what it would mean to your
competition if they were privy to the schedule of your company’s sales
meetings. How would they find out, you ask? When was the last time you policed your
company’s social nets, or those of your employees? Just as loose lips sink ships, if you haven’t
laid down the law about the dos and don’ts of social networking, you’d be
surprised at what your staff could be posting to one and all. (It’s more common than you think.)
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| Image courtesy flickr |
Speaking
of employees, how much access do they have to your
digital domain? While your staff may not
have root access to your server, they don’t need it in order to damage your
company. All a disgruntled employee has
to do is post spurious remarks about your business on the social nets. Even worse, employees can post comments online
about others in the company, which could potentially get the company dragged
into a lawsuit. The clear way around
this danger is to take the time to educate every employee on the potential
risks and hazards of social media.
Error
by omission can occur if your business doesn’t have a
bulletproof means of protecting your digital assets. This should include multiple
layers of anti-malware software, as well as an unhackable way of backing up your
data and software. By
unhackable, I mean a backup system that isn’t connected full-time to your
machine. If it is connected, it can be
hacked right along with your digital devices.
A bulletproof backup is one that can be unplugged from your devices and
stored in a secure location. This way if
you get hacked and your data is either corrupted, encrypted or erased, you can
rebuild it all in a hurry and keep your business humming along in this wired
world.
The bottom line is if you want to protect your bottom
line against digital disruption, you’d best get cracking before the bad guys
start hacking you.
Ben Kinsey, CPA of Small Business Group works with owners of closely
held corporations in the Northeast Florida region. If you work in the
North Florida area we offer a FREE initial Consultation at our office, please
contact Small Business Group if you would like to know more about strategies
for your business.
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A hacker can do more to harm your business than ten wily competitors. Don't wait until you get hacked to fortify your digital defenses.
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