Small Business Talk

The Podcast to Grow your Business Faster

Your Digital Business Security

Show Notes

We all get busy running businesses and sometimes, you just need to stop and reconnect with the foundations. On today’s episode of Small Business Talk, I want to discuss your digital business security.

Digital Business Security

I am not talking about the security of your property – although that is a very important topic, I am talking about your digital business security.

Let’s Talk Email

There are different ways that your email can be hacked from spoofing which is when they make it look like you are sending the email, to attaching or copying your contacts to intercepting your emails.

Intercepting emails is particularly rife as they can copy invoices, change the bank details and impersonate you to obtain money by false pretenses.

I’m Too Small

Don’t for 1 second think that you are only a micro business or a small so no one will worry about you. Often, small micro business and seeming unknown people are who they target.

Identity Theft

Identity theft is big business and becoming more and more common. Be very careful of quizzes on social media where they ask questions so that you can see what kind of unicorn you are.

The questions they often ask are the same questions that are used for your security questions.

  • First car
  • Mother’s Maiden Name
  • First School
  • Where you grew up etc.

This is one of the many ways they can get personal information on you and build a profile that can use and sell your identity.

Passwords

Passwords are a pain but very important. There are many password services that can help you, that way you only need to remember 1 password. In SBT episode #085,  Caitriona Ford and I spoke at length on cyber risks for your business. Caitriona is a cyber-security expert with many years of experience in the IT industry. Caitriona said that to have the best protection you need to have a password that has 12 characters that contains
  • Upper case
  • Lower case
  • Number
  • Special character
Yes, having these types of passwords can be frustrating but so much easier than the recovery process if you get hacked.

Website Security

For your website you need SSL which is the http “s”. Years ago, it was only for website that has shopping functions, however now Google requires everyone to have it.

It has been widely rumoured that Google will penalise non-SSL sites. Late 2020 some sites were reporting loose of rankings due to not having SSL certificates in place. Most reputable hosting companies now supply them for free.

Malware – Anti Spam

Your website should also include malware protection and anti-spam software.

Backups and Restore Points

As we spoke of last in SBT episode #110 with Andrew Dennehy, not all backups are equal and you must be able to restore your data if you are attacked and websites are no different. You spent good money on your website make sure it is regularly backed up in at least 2 places and you can do have access to the backup if required. Not all hosting services provide this and some backup are only if the host has issues not if you do.

Be aware and be careful of your digital business security. Protect your assets both online and offline.

Your Digital Business Security

Listen to Small Business Talk Episode 111 for the full episode.

 

Your Digital Business Security

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The Podcast to Grow your Business Faster