Holidays are a busy time of the year for most businesses, but with cyberattacks increasing 64% compared to last year culminating in more than $6.9 billion in potential losses, small to medium-sized businesses can help safeguard their business in a few easy steps. One thing the FBI does not encourage is paying any ransom requested by criminal actors as this will not guarantee recovery of any systems or data that was being held hostage. Ensure that passwords are protected, as well as using different passwords for both employee access and individual access to multiple systems can help lower the risk of the systems being hacked. Using reputable services and updating them as needed can help keep anti-virus, firewall, and email systems safer. Make sure you’re backing up important data to an offline source such as an external hard drive, USB device, or saved to the computer as an offline document. Not only should your data and passwords be protected but be diligent when checking emails. Never give payment information to a request for money or invoices that look suspicious, especially ones requiring urgency. By taking the time to check with the individual assumed to have sent the invoice by phone, in person, or an online call, you could save yourself from sending fraudulent payments to an unknown party.
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