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If there has ever been the perfect time to kick-start a business, it’s today. With access to a global audience, simple and seamless digital tools, and affordable management solutions to ease the pain of operating a company, people choose the path of entrepreneurship more than ever.
Still, this incredibly lucrative opportunity comes with its unique issues and challenges, one of the main ones being cybersecurity. Although business owners tend to be highly meticulous about their security needs and preventative measures, some threats find their way through all those barriers. One of the most persistent issues most entrepreneurs face is phishing.
Statistics show that one in 99 emails turns out to be a phishing attack, and almost a third of those emails successfully circumvent the initial security measures entrepreneurs have in place. These numbers clearly show that phishing is a real threat for entrepreneurs, making it a priority in terms of prevention and smarter cybersecurity measures.
Here are a few tips to help you understand what kind of behavior puts your business at risk of this security threat, and what you can do to protect your business from phishing attacks.
Recognizing phishing attacks
When you’re an entrepreneur, your inbox is typically swamped by the time you start your office laptop and start sifting through your latest mail. Chances are, when you spot a name you know, you’ll open the email without taking a moment to consider that it could be a scam.
These phishing schemes use names you’ll trust, whether it’s a store you’ve purchased from, or your bank. If there’s an attachment – this is your cue to leave it be. There could also be a link in the body of the email, and as long as you’re not completely certain of the source of your email, do not open it.
Another red flag is the subject line of the email, often suggesting that something has occurred that needs your attention or that you need to take some form of action, such as “emergency alert”, or “final reminder”.
Check the domain name from which the email has been sent, it will typically differ from the actual, trustworthy domain of the real entity they’re claiming to be. These are all simple clues to help you immediately spot threats and eliminate them.
Implement effective security solutions
Even the smartest entrepreneurs can expose their business to phishing attacks if they don’t follow the latest cybersecurity trends and changes. For example, system updates often resolve bugs and security gaps and they add a new layer of security to all of your interactions, hence the need to never skip them, no matter the device you’re using. Add to that, entrepreneurs need comprehensive internet access management (IAM for short) solutions to prevent unsafe online behavior and at the same time reduce the risk of phishing attacks.
These solutions include comprehensive web filtering that helps identify risky behaviors of anyone using your network, as well as shady URLs, information sharing, and the like. It’s a great way to reduce online distractions for your employees, but most importantly, it’s an intricate and very powerful preventative measure to keep your data and your networks safe.
Educate your team on best practices
As an entrepreneur and a business manager, you are in charge of your reputation and your everyday operations. Moreover, it’s your responsibility to help your employees understand the significance of their own role in cybersecurity and making the right decisions on the go. No matter how hard you try to use reliable software, if your employees click on a phishing link, they’re bound to wreak havoc on their equipment, and potentially endanger your entire system, too.
To prevent such missteps, you need to continuously educate and train your employees on the latest best practices in cybersecurity. How they manage, choose, and change passwords, how they treat their long-in data, how they handle email correspondences, and how they interact can make all the difference in whether or not they’ll expose your business to threats or not.
Manage your passwords better
We’ve all been there: we’ve used our birthdays, favorite book characters, loved ones’ names, and other personal details as passwords. Then we forget all about them or write them down wherever feels convenient. Alas, your approach to password management and your ability to regulate different levels of access for your employees is one of the key prerequisites to greater security of your business.
To simplify creating passwords and their safekeeping, you can use a password manager and thus prevent exposing some of your most sensitive data, including your email address and other account details that can later be used for phishing purposes.
More often than not, such simple threats can be underestimated and increase the risk of a security breach for your venture. Make sure that your employees and anyone you collaborate with always act in line with the most effective preventative measures and keep your software up to date to make sure your systems are safe even when people slip up. Keep these tips in mind for your cybersecurity needs, and hopefully, you’ll never have to worry about phishing in the future.
Lauren is a regular Bizzmark Blog author that has many articles published with the main focus on clients who want their brands to grow in the fast-changing and demanding market. Her personal favorites are successes of small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs. She goes through life with one strong moto – Kindness, always.