How To Avoid IT Vulnerabilities In The Office & Remotely

How To Avoid IT Vulnerabilities In The Office & Remotely 2560 1708 Brooks IT Services

According to a CyberCatch survey, “75% of SMBs could not continue operating if they were hit by ransomware.”

Are you confident that your business is among the 25% that would survive a ransomware attack? Or any cyber attack for that matter?

Despite your lack or abundance of confidence in the matter, your business, employees, vendors, and customers deserve your due diligence. Because if your network is vulnerable to a cyber attack, so is the information of everyone involved in your small business. 

Whether you run a one-person show or have several employees, work doesn’t look like it did even 5 years ago. Remote work has become increasingly popular for several reasons – including quality of life, employee retention, and decreased overhead. 

Whether you work remotely or in the office, no one is necessarily safe from cyber attacks. But you can help to avoid IT vulnerabilities in the office and out in the world. 

5 Tips To Keep IT Vulnerabilities At Bay No Matter Where You’re Working

Keep your workforce and business safe by avoiding these IT vulnerabilities in the office and wherever you happen to be working in the world today. 

Ready to feel confident in your network security? Contact BITS today!

1. Practice Password Protection

Your passwords are your first line of defense. But you need to take serious precautions with every password to make a real impact. Passwords you may overlook include:

  • Router (people often leave the default password)
  • WiFi
  • Email
  • Online bank accounts
  • Social media accounts
  • App store on your phone
  • Online shopping accounts

Just to name a few…

Each and every password matters because hackers can connect the dots with pieces of information from various places. 

The first step is creating a unique (as in not used for any other account or login) and hard to guess password. It should include at least one upper and lower case letter, number, and special character. For example: 13ro0kz!T

The next step is keeping your password secure! This means don’t write it on a sticky note where anyone can see or take a picture of it. And, of course, don’t use any personal information about yourself, your relatives, or your pets. Yes, this includes your childhood hamster’s birthday. 

The importance of not taking a picture or saving a screenshot of a password needs to also be taken into consideration. This is because your mobile photos are also at risk of being hacked. In fact, hackers use software that searches through photos looking for anything resembling a password. If they find it, they will try to access your accounts. 

2. Stay Cautious With Your Connections

Imagine walking into a coffee shop. As you stand in line to grab your cuppa before settling into a seat, you see the WiFi name and password. To make the most of your time while standing around, you go ahead and log in on your phone. This will make it easier to connect your computer once you sit down. All is great, why wouldn’t it be?

Well, you know the innocent-looking girl across the room? She has something called a pineapple that is mimicking the coffee shop’s legitimate WiFi connection. Every single person, including yourself, that has connected to the WiFi since she’s been here has inadvertently handed over access to your entire network.

The repercussions could include a drained bank account, a breach of your business’s most critical and personal data, and much, much worse.

The pineapple hack is very real. And unfortunately, it is just one of many ploys hackers use to gain people’s information. This is why it’s so important to stay cautious with your WiFi connections. 

Instead of connecting to public WiFi, use your hotspot or VPN. Better yet, if your business uses Control One, you can have confidence in every device and connection related to your business – no matter where you and your employees are working. 

3. Step Into The Future Of Network Security With Control One

If you, like many others, are tired of the compatibility issues of VPNs, Control One is your solution. Plus, Control One does more than ensure you have a secure connection.

BITS is proud to be offering this innovative cybersecurity measure. You can now rest easy knowing that all of your employees, and by default – your business, are secure at all times.

No matter where you or your staff choose to work, the BITS team can monitor all devices connected to your network and so much more. 

Want to implement the most effective cybersecurity solution for your business? Contact us today to learn more about Control One.

4. Be Wary Of Socially Engineered Cyber Attacks

Did you know employees at small businesses experience social engineering attacks 350% MORE than people working at larger companies?

Social engineering is exactly what it sounds like. Hackers engineer social interactions in an attempt to get your information. You may have come across a popular social engineering hack on social media. 

For example, imagine you get a notification that your uncle has sent you a follow request on Instagram. Weird, you thought he already followed you. But, maybe not? It’s his picture in the profile. Your day is already so busy, so you just hit accept and carry on with your day. 

Then, the account that appears to be your uncle’s sends you a message. Apparently, there’s a new grant opportunity and he wants you to apply. Again, it seems strange. Maybe it’s a generational issue with technology?

Before long, your uncle is adamantly insisting you apply for the grant. So you go through the steps to appease him. It’s a quick form that just needs some basic information. You fill it out and go on with your day. 

Suddenly, your uncle calls to tell you he’s been hacked and someone is impersonating him on Instagram. And you have just given your address, social security number, and other details to this stranger on the internet. 

In this event, you have fallen victim to a socially engineered cyber attack. 

These types of attacks come in many forms. They could impersonate your bank, your babysitter, and your high school lab partner. If someone is contacting you through social media and it seems strange, give them a call. A legitimate situation shouldn’t be skeptical of a good old fashioned phone call. It will keep you and your business secure. 

5. Stay (At Least) 1 Step Ahead Of Phishing Attempts

Phishing tactics get sneakier every day. As a small business owner, it’s your responsibility to ensure that you and your employees are aware of the red flags and other phishing trends.

With BITS, you can leave those details to us. We’ll train you and your employees about what to look out for. And we’ll even take it a step further.

Like any good MSP, we will test your employees (and you) to make sure the training is effective. To do this, we’ll send emails that appear to be phishing attempts. Then, we’ll make note of:

  • Who reports the suspicious email 
  • Who ignores, but does not report the suspicious email
  • Who clicks on a suspicious link 

Those who report the email will get a gold star. But those who fail to report and/or click on a link in a suspicious email will be recommended for additional phishing training.

BITS Helps Business Owners Like You Avoid IT Vulnerabilities

We work with small business owners like you because we understand how your business works. Moreover, we understand the IT issues and cybersecurity vulnerabilities that you are likely to encounter.

When you work with an MSP who knows small businesses, you can have confidence that your company is always several steps ahead of any malicious hackers.

Ready to step up your business network security? Contact us today to get started!