Network operations center (SOC/NOC) firm: Back Up Your Data. These days, storage doesn’t cost much. There’s no excuse not to have a backup of important data. Back it up on a physical location and on the cloud. Remember, malicious threats and hackers don’t always want to steal your data, but sometimes the end-goal is to encrypt or erase it. Back it up to have an ultimate recovery tool.
Protect Your Sensitive Personal Identifiable Information (PII). Personal Identifiable Information (PII) is any information that can be used by a cybercriminal to identify or locate an individual. PII includes information such as name, address, phone numbers, data of birth, Social Security Number, IP address, location details, or any other physical or digital identity data. In the new “always-on” world of social media, you should be very cautious about the information you include online. It is recommended that you only show the very minimum about yourself on social media. Consider reviewing your privacy settings across all your social media accounts, particularly Facebook. Adding your home address, birthdate, or any other PII information will dramatically increase your risk of a security breach. Hackers use this information to their advantage!
As IT professionals, we work with clients throughout the life of a business to take the hassle out of information technology and provide quality managed network services. Every business has their own unique challenges. We will work with you to tailor a solution that fits your needs. Time to upgrade your closet data-center? Migrating your system to the cloud can save money and significantly reduce the complexity of your IT footprint. We would be happy to talk to you about your options and see if this saves you time and money. We work with both Amazon AWS and Microsft Azure, and can seamlessly migrate and connect your office to the cloud. See extra details at Managed network services.
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 Multiple Authentication Methods. Authentication is the act of confirming an identity (whether a user, machine, or device) by comparing provided credentials against an existing database of authorized identities before allowing access to a given system or application. For example, think of entering your username and password before gaining access to your email account. However, rather than relying on passwords alone, which have grown increasingly unreliable, we recommend using multiple factors for the authentication process. Authentication factors include something you know (e.g. username/password, answer to security question), something you have (e.g. Digital Certificate, smart card), and something you are (e.g. fingerprint, facial recognition).
Most of the time, the only cases of data breaches that make the news are breaches from huge companies like credit card companies or hotels. However, cybercriminals aren’t always targeting huge companies. In fact, they’re most often targeting small businesses, schools, and community groups. Knowing this, cybersecurity is incredibly important for businesses and also for individuals. It’s easy to get lazy when it comes to cybersecurity, but it’s important to be vigilant when it comes to protecting your private information. Read additional info at Managed IT services.