Protect Your Business From Identity Theft

By Barbara Weltman December 27, 2005
Barbara Weltman Individuals aren’t the only targets of identity thieves. Businesses – small businesses in particular – can become victims of security breaches through their computers. According to the Internet Security Threat Report (ISTR) from Symantec for activities in the first half of 2005, phishing (a method of stealing confidential information such as passwords, credit card numbers and other financial information) grew by an average of 2.99 million messages a day to 5.70 million – a 40% increase over the second half of 2004.

But you don’t have to remain exposed to identity thieves. You can take security measures to thwart their attempts to breach your systems.

Create a security plan
Take a long hard look at your business practices to see if you may be vulnerable to attack. Are customer information and your company financial data secure? To make certain of this, follow these steps (adapted from Symantec’s recommended security practices for small businesses at www.symantec.com/smallbiz):

  • Install a firewall on your desktops, laptops and servers. This can be software or hardware designed to block intruders from getting into your system.

  • Set password policy. Create passwords that use at least eight characters, combining alphanumeric and special characters to make a thief’s guesswork virtually impossible. Then change passwords regularly – at least every two months.

    You can’t change passwords often enough. Look for devices that may become available soon. For example, some banks now give online banking customers a device that fits on a keychain that issues a unique password every 60 seconds, making it virtually impossible for thieves to access these accounts.

  • Read and respond to incoming e-mail carefully. Don’t open attachments from unknown senders. Never respond to spam.

  • Use security settings on your Web browser. Enable them for your protection. Do not enable file-sharing capabilities.

  • Consider a virtual private network (VPN).This technology creates a private “tunnel” to your business – by using encryption and other security mechanisms it blocks unauthorized users from your system.

    Follow your plan
    Having a plan requires that you to continually take action to maintain your security. For example, if your plan calls for changing passwords every month or two, make sure to do so.

    Also stay on top of new Internet threats and technology that you can use to combat them.

    Finally, recognize that clever Interent thieves may be able to stay one step ahead of your efforts to thwart them. This means you should monitor your financial and other data regularly and carefully to detect invasion at the earliest possible time.

    Copyright © 2005 by BWideas.com, Inc.

    Category: Technology, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency
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