Turn Your Employees into Cyber-heroes

Cyber-threats are constantly bombarding your network security, and the biggest vulnerability is usually the end-user.  We want to empower your employees with the knowledge to defend your network, your company, your clients and your reputation from cyber-criminals.  In order to do this, we need to make your employees cyber-aware. Cyber-criminals are not concerned with the size of your company.  Often, they send out millions of phishing emails in the hopes that they will get a 1% click rate.

Company Size Doesn’t Matter

Think hackers are only trying to target large corporations for their cyber-attacks? Think again! If you are an employee of a small to medium size business (SMB), you may have an even bigger bulls eye placed on you by hackers.

Smaller businesses have recently become a bigger target for cyber-attacks because the hackers know that they likely have fewer defense resources in place. According to the National Cyber Security Alliance, one in five small businesses falls victim to cyber-crime each year. And of those, some 60 percent go out of business within six months of an attack.

Remember these tips to stay safe:

• Never provide your password to anyone. Use complex passwords, and use different ones for each of your online accounts or programs.
• Check for red flags in emails to tip you off that the sender may not be legitimate. Check domain names carefully.
• Don’t open any email attachments if you don’t know exactly why you received them or what they contain.
• When in doubt, throw it out. Hit that delete button.

According to a recent study, 92% of cyber-threats are traced back to an email.  Spending the money to secure your network is important, but one click or opening one attachment can totally bypass even the best security measures.

In addition to employee education, SPAM Filters can help by reducing the number of threats that your employees must screen.  Furthermore, firewalls can help limit the damage to your network.  Lastly,. anti-virus and anti-malware programs are usually the first layer of cyber-security, and are easily bypassed by hackers. Hence, the best defense is cyber-awareness.

Remember, you and your coworkers are the last line of defense to prevent a cyber-attack. You are the key to keeping the “human firewall” strong for your organization, no matter the size.

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