One of the common issues on the Dark Web is the sale of passwords, bank account information, Social Security numbers, and other private data. Many business owners do not realize that hackers have their own little world wide web where they buy and sell data... kind of like underground stock market.
Hackers can breach firewalls and software to obtain this information and then go to the Dark Web to sell it to other criminals. Hackers have specialties in their jobs – finding data to sell and others use that data to for economic gain.
Antivirus protection at a minimum is a great start in protection for your business. Someone needs to make sure that the protection stays running and clean up anything it finds. Antivirus protection can be the lookout for computer viruses and other malicious software.
There are 3 other key practices to implement to protect your data:
1. Keep your eye out for strange emails.
What this means is even if you receive an email from someone or a company you know, check the email address, look for signs of poor grammar or spelling, look for signs of urgency, and tread carefully before clicking any links. If you get something saying your account is suspended and to click to verify details, do no use the link in the email – go to your bookmark or password program and verify the details from that login.
2. Pay attention to data breaches.
An easy way to do this is to subscribe to online newsletters, such as Data Breach Today. This way you’ll be regularly alerted of hacks – especially online sites (i.e., Linked In, Chase Bank, Office Depot). You’ll also want to keep a close eye on bank statements and credit card usage to make sure your information is accurate, and you don’t notice anything fraudulent. Setup up text alerts on your accounts. Your company should not have a debit card; nor should you ever use it online. Did you know some banks have a limited window to report fraud for business accounts? Make sure you know your bank’s limitations.
3. Choose unique and hard to learn passwords.
As easy as it is for you to remember the same password for every account and device, imagine what happens to your data the second hackers know that is what you do or even "patterns" for a password. Choose the strong passwords assigned by your phone or computer, and use a password tool, such as Passportal or LastPass to keep track so you don’t have to. Don’t share them with others and don’t use identifying information when selecting passwords, like your dogs name, or your children’s name and birthday. Password Managers work across devices so you don’t have to type in that password. Remember to always enable multi-factor authentication anywhere possible.
While you might do everything in your power to prevent your data being stolen, you’ll want to have monitoring software in place. We have multiple plans available, depending on your budget. Schedule a 10-minute discovery call to see the cybersecurity protections we offer and determine if your information is already available on the Dark Web with a free scan. Call us at 419-678-4600 or visit https://www.tomtechtoday.com/discoverycall/.
