by Ann Noder of Pitch Public Relations
Without the benefits of a large scale IT department, many SMBs have to operate their critical software on computers that are old, slow, and insecure. myID.com has 10 real threats facing small businesses… and inexpensive or free ways to fix them. myID.com is a new service from SafetyWeb.com that protects personal information and shields from identity theft with real-time alerts. Here are the top 10 threats to business.
Top 10 Threats to Data Security and Privacy for SMBs:
1. Data Breach Resulting From Poor Networking Choices
Cisco. Sun. These are enterprise-level networking choices that are found in large IT departments around the world. The price tags, however, price small or medium business (SMB) out of the market. If these SMBs have networks at all, they may use networking devices targeted at home users. Some may forgo the use of routers at all, plugging directly into the Internet. SMB owners can block most threats by using a quality router, like a NETGEAR or Buffalo brand router and making sure to change the router password from the default.
2. Data Breach Resulting From Improper Shredding Practices
Dumpster diving identity thieves target businesses that throw out paperwork without shredding it. Most home shredders will suffice for small businesses in a pinch, but a commercial shredder is a wise investment if private information is printed and shredded daily.
3. Identity Theft Resulting From Public Databases
Individuals, especially SMB owners, often publish lots of information about themselves in public databases. SMBs are registered with the county clerk, telephone numbers are in the phone book, many individuals have Facebook profiles with their address and date of birth. Many identity thieves can use information searchable publicly to construct a complete identity.
4. Identity Theft Resulting from Using a Personal Name Instead of Filing a DBA
Sole-proprietors that do not take the time to file a Doing Business As application are at a far higher risk of identity theft due to their personal name, rather than their SMB business names, being published publicly.
5. Tax Records Theft Around Tax Time
SMBs must ensure that tax returns are dropped off at the post office and refunds are collected promptly from the mailbox. Identity thieves often steal tax returns from an outbox or mailbox.
6. Bank Fraud Due To Gap in Protection or Monitoring
SMB owners know that it is vital to balance their accounts every month to ensure that checks are not being written out of business funds by embezzlers, but many SMBs rarely, if ever, check what kind of credit accounts have been opened under the business name. Monitoring services like myID.com can alert SMB owners when new credit accounts are opened fraudulently.
7. Poor E-mailing Standards
Many SMBs treat e-mails as confidential communications, but this is far from the case. They are available to a number of people other than the recipient. It’s more appropriate to treat e-mails as postcards, rather than sealed letters.
8. Failing to Choose a Secure Password
In fact, many security experts are recommending the use of a pass phrase, rather than a pass word. Pass phrases are several words long, at least three, and are far more secure than passwords. A pass phrase like “friday blue jeans” can be typed far quicker than a complicated password, and it doesn’t need to be written down on a post-it.
9. Not Securing New Computers or Hard Drives
SMBs that had their IT system professionally installed may opt to upgrade a computer or two by themselves. This is strongly discouraged on a business network, as new computers must be professionally secured or else they pose a serious threat and an entry point for hackers.
10. Social Engineering
Social engineers are individuals that call and claim they are from another organization. They may even claim to be with a firm that a SMB owner does business with. If someone you do not know calls on the phone, be sure that it is the person you think it is before revealing passwords or confidential information.
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Great list, Ann. As a Symantec employee I agree that SMBs certainly need to pay attention to all of these 10 threats to keep their data safe and secure. Ponemon’s 2010 Cost of a Data Breach report found that negligence is the most common cause of data breaches (41 percent) and that malicious attacks are becoming more and more common. SMBs can stay a step ahead of these threats if they protect themselves with adequate security technology and implement employee education.