5 Ways Your Company Could Get Hacked

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Small businesses are a common target for hackers. There are a few different ways in which hackers target businesses. This post lists the most common methods – and how to secure your company from these methods. 

Weak passwords

Cybercriminals are able to use brute force attacks and other methods to crack weak passwords. It’s important to make sure that all company passwords are strong.

Just what makes a strong password? Ideally, it should contain a mix of lowercase letters, uppercase letters and numbers, and possibly a symbol too. The longer the password the better – at least 8 characters.

Passwords should be regularly changed too. This reduces the risk of an old password being uncovered and used to hack an account.

Just how do you remember such passwords? A password manager is often the best option. Try not to write down passwords.

Phishing

Phishing is when a hacker pretends to be someone you trust such as a bank, supplier or a government official and proceeds to get you to leak sensitive information online to them or send them money. Phishing tactics against businesses are most commonly carried out via email.

You should be very suspicious of anyone trying to ask for sensitive information via email or asking for random payments. You should train you and your employees to always verify that a person is who they say they are before giving any sensitive information or sending over money.

Malware/ransomware

Malware is any program that disguises itself as honest software, but actually has malicious intentions. This could include infecting your computer with viruses that monitor your screen activity or keystrokes. The most serious type of malware is ransomware, which holds all your data hostage until you pay a ransom fee.

Malware and ransomware can end up on your computer by visiting an untrusted site, downloading untrustworthy software or opening a malicious email. Strong security software should be able to fight off the bulk of malware and ransomware, warning you off any suspicious sites or emails. It’s also worth having IT support on hand to help you deal with malware or ransomware if it does end up on your system. 

Poor website security

If your website is not secure, this too could provide a doorway for hackers. In some cases, cybercriminals may even take control of your website and redirect any payments made through it to another account. 

You can make sure that your site is secure by using a trusted hosting service like WooCommerce hosting. Make sure to also use strong passwords when logging onto your site. 

A vulnerable network

You can also have your data compromised by using a weak network. There are many different ways in which a weak network can be exploited to gain access to your sensitive information.

Make sure that you’re using a secure network – the best vpn extension for chrome, or whatever browser you use, is always worth using when working from somewhere remote. It can also be worth investing in networking monitoring. There are managed IT services out there that can provide this service, helping to detect any network attacks.