Essential Packing List for Cyber Security
As owners and managers of small businesses, most of us don't have time to go all out on many things. Our websites aren't as nice as we wish. We haven't blogged like we thought we would. We still need to input expenses from last quarter. There are so many things to do and so little time to do them.
Start With the Basics (for now)
2) Use two-factor authentication on key accounts
3) Update your systems
Use a Password Manager
My favorite one is Lastpass (www.lastpass.com) and the beauty of it, it's FREE for individual use, and super cheap for your team. Most people either have a handful of passwords they use over and over again, or they have to frantically search to find the right passwords. Password managers make it super easy to not re-use passwords and have complex and long passwords. Another good option if you are less tech savvy is an encrypted excel sheet, not my favorite because someone could steal that file, but still a lot better than password reuse or storing them in your contacts.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication
One your key accounts (think your email, banks, social media) make sure you enable two-factor authentication. The beauty of this is that it reduces your threat vector to people who've got access to your phone! Now if your phone gets hacked, that sucks, but in lieu of that you are good!
Update Your Systems
Microsoft, Apple, Google, and many other companies spend countless hours finding and fixing security flaws in their systems. They update these with flaws with patches every so often so it's really important that you update your systems regularly. The vulnerability that a huge ransomware outbreak a few years ago utilized (WannaCry) had already been fixed in a patch! But because so many people hadn't updated their systems they were still vulnerable… sad day!