When it comes to business IT security, many small- and medium-sized businesses like yours often struggle to protect their systems from cyberattacks. One primary step is to be aware of online threats. Here are five common ways your systems can be breached.

Every business, big or small, should have a cyber security policy in place for its employees. Employees need to know what’s acceptable and what isn’t when it comes to all things IT. The policy should set expectations, lay out rules and give employees the resources necessary to put the policy to work.

Because your team is so critical to protecting your business from cyberthreats, it’s just as critical to keep your team informed and on top of today’s dangers. One way to do that is to weave cyber security into your existing company culture.

How Do You Do That?

For many employees, cyber security is rarely an engaging topic.

Like it or not, device manufacturers LOVE to stuff your brand-new PC, tablet or phone full of “free” applications (they get paid to do it, so you’ve got a slim chance of getting one without a side of spamware). But clutter is the enemy of a speedy PC, and outdated apps are a breeding ground for hackers; so if you’re not using a particular software on a regular basis, it’s best to REMOVE it completely.

There are thousands of hackers who get up every morning with ONE goal in mind: to find a new vulnerability in a commonly installed software (like Adobe, Flash or QuickTime) to access your computer. That’s why these companies frequently issue patches and updates for KNOWN security bugs; and once a KNOWN vulnerability is announced via a patch, hackers get to work like crazy trying to figure out how to use the vulnerability and access those users who are lazy about installing updates.

A weak password is still one of the most common ways hackers break in.

Thanks to sophisticated brute-force-attack software readily available online, hackers can try tens of millions of possible password combinations per second. For example, hacking software can guess a five-character password in under three hours.

If you plan on catching up on some work from home AND you’re using a personal device such as a smartphone or personal laptop to log in to cloud applications – DON’T! Unless your personal device is covered under our managed services plan, you could accidentally introduce a virus to the company’s network.

Many small- and mid-sized businesses struggle to protect their data, often neglecting a critical component in their security strategy. If your organization still follows one or more of these bad security practices, correct them as soon as possible.

Open wireless networks
With just one main internet line and a couple of wireless routers, an entire office can get online.

A secure login process is an excellent way to protect your business from cybercriminals.
When it comes to verifying user identity, you can choose between two-step authentication and two-factor authentication. Learn the difference between the two so you can have a better appreciation of your cybersecurity options.