Cloud security company with Benjamin Dynkin today? Being a business owner can be pretty overwhelming in that respect, but there are plenty of steps you can take to protect yourself against ever-present security threats. Some are simple actions you can carry out on your own, and some might require professional help. But don’t hesitate to improve your systems and fix weak spots — it’ll be well worth the time and effort. Here are some tips. It isn’t possible to defend yourself completely against online attacks, but complacency is probably the No. 1 reason a business becomes a victim of a cybercrime. Many business owners make the mistake of assuming that their company is too puny for hackers to bother with. Hackers are very familiar with this way of thinking — they know that most small businesses aren’t helmed by information technology experts with an unlimited security budget. They know “small” usually equals weak and easily exploitable. See extra details on Benjamin Dynkin Atlas Cybersecurity.

Understand What Data Your Business Is Collecting and Ensure It Is Protected. In order to keep your business data safe online, you should conduct an audit of all data and identify which data is public information (and therefore doesn’t need to be closely guarded), which data has a medium importance and will not impact your business too much if discovered (this should have some security measures to protect it) and finally, which data is most important and personal to your business. The final category of data will impact your business greatly if lost or stolen and should be guarded safely with the highest security and least access rights from members of your business.

Minimize Location Sharing. It’s very common for travelers to update social networking sites as they move about new counties or cities. The problem with this type of excessive sharing is that it creates a security threat at home. By signaling your every location, you make it easy for a criminal to determine that you’re not in your hotel room or at your home, leaving your personal belongings within these areas vulnerable to a physical intrusion. Limit the information you post online about your specific whereabouts to limit these threats to your personal property.

Use Strong Passwords & Use a Password Management Tool. You’ve probably heard that strong passwords are critical to online security. The truth is passwords are important in keeping hackers out of your data! According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) 2022 new password policy framework, you should consider: Dropping the crazy, complex mixture of upper case letters, symbols, and numbers. Instead, opt for something more user-friendly but with at least eight characters and a maximum length of 64 characters. If you want to make it easier to manage your passwords, try using a password management tool or password account vault. LastPass FREE is a great tool for an individual. LastPass offers a FREE account and has a $2/month membership with some great advanced password features.

Benjamin Dynkin about data breaches: A Malicious Insider. This person purposely accesses and/or shares data with the intent of causing harm to an individual or company. The malicious insider may have legitimate authorization to use the data, but the intent is to use the information in nefarious ways. Lost or Stolen Devices. An unencrypted and unlocked laptop or external hard drive — anything that contains sensitive information — goes missing. Malicious Outside Criminals. These are hackers who use various attack vectors to gather information from a network or an individual. Since malicious data breaches result from cyberattacks, you should know what to watch for.