Business Cybersecurity Starts With You

Organized cybercrime is alive and well. Despite authorities and experts’ best efforts, it’s cat and mouse with the crime happening and technology providers working hard after that to plug the vulnerability with security software updates. However, not all online crime is easy to detect, and it’s not only big corporations but all small businesses, too, caught out by poor security measures.

Companies suffer from malware infections, information theft, etc. and there’s no sign that the authorities are catching up and plugging the gaps cybercrime expected to cost economies nearly $6 trillion annually by 2021.

Hiding your IP address when you are online is worthwhile, so to is using strong passwords, and keeping your apps and software up to date.

IP Addresses

Even though IP addresses don’t disclose such data as your name, address, bank details, or anything else, they can tell your ISP (Internet service provider) or other third parties where you are located and what websites you have visited, i.e., your browsing history and if your data is visible, it can be quickly revealed. You may not believe you need to worry about exposing this information; however, it’s the ramifications of what can happen if it gets into the hands of criminals; therefore, it is crucial to hide your actual IP address via encryption.

Hiding your browsing activity for example will allow you to protect your business by gaining privacy and anonymity while on the Net. Visiting banks, online stores, you name it, this activity will be hidden from prying eyes.

There are two main ways to encrypt your sensitive information online.

Use The Onion Router

Tor was developed by the United States Navy for anonymous communication while conducting missions. Today this network is available for all individual users completely free of charge. What you need to do is just download the Tor browser. Tor disguises the user’s identity by moving his data over different Tor servers. It also encrypts the information by several nodes on the Tor network. Actually, this is the best way to stay anonymous online.

Despite all the advantages of the Tor browser, this technology is far from perfect. It’s more about anonymity than security. Tor will hardly defend a user from such a form of cybercrime as a man-in-the-middle attack. Moreover, Tor usually slows down Internet connection speeds significantly, making it impossible to surf the Net.

Use a reliable VPN provider

A Virtual Private Network was initially created for remote employees who had to communicate privately. This technology has established itself as the most reliable way to stay invisible on the Internet. A VPN creates a secret tunnel between a server you want to connect to and your computer. Your information is not only hidden but encrypted as well. Cutting-edge providers use robust protocols such as OpenVPN or IKEv2 and 256-bit encryption used by the government to protect the most sensitive information from third parties.

While choosing a VPN service, it’s recommended to read a privacy policy carefully to see if a provider keeps any logs or not. Customer support, server park, and connection speed matter as well. It’s also recommended to read reviews on forums before paying for this or that VPN service.

Security Starts With You

Leaders are often the least tech-savvy, and as such, it makes them more vulnerable to whale phishing and other intrusions that may happen. Weak passwords are also to blame for cybercrime. For example, did you know Qwerty123 is one of the most common passwords? For example, recently, Vietmanese hackers informed the BBC they’d hacked IHG with the qwerty123 password.

Your employees

Did you know your employees are your number one network security risk? More users accessing your core network and databases is an invitation to hackers. However, it need not be so when you’ve got an IT security policy and systems that ensure employees are trained in keeping their laptops and devices secure.

Summing Up

Never can we sit back and say IT security is done. It’s evolving, never complete. Cybercrime is rewarding, and hackers are keen to access data that businesses need and are therefore motivated to get back, even if it means paying a ransom.

All the measures mentioned above start with your security measures and ensure your access is secure. As an added step, your business could get its IT team to conduct random checks on network access, especially now employees are remote working and using their devices from their home internet connections.