Local Business Owners: Don’t Hand Your Keys to Criminals
The frightening fact is that most small companies that suffer a serious cyber-attack don’t survive. In fact, according to the US National Cyber Security Alliance, 60% of small businesses that suffer a cyber-attack go out of business within 6 months. The cost of recovery and the damage to their reputation is just too great.
If a criminal knew where you lived, and could easily steal your house keys, it wouldn’t take much for them to walk into your home and start helping themselves to your valuables.
But imagine if you kept your keys in a safe that could only be accessed with an ever-changing security code. And the only way to get that code is through a secure phone app that needs your fingerprint or face to prove that it’s really you.
Guess what…you’ve now used Multi-Factor Authentication, also known as MFA, which adds layers of security to keep your valuables safe.
You’ll recognize the MFA process if you use online banking. It’s become the standard way to make it harder for criminals to access important data, like your financial or personal medical information.
Most of us also now use MFA to log into many of our personal online accounts and social media apps. It’s simple enough to implement across all your business devices and we can have your business protected in no time. So, it’s surprising how little security local businesses are using to keep their data safe. That data often includes customers’ private personal information. If that fell into the wrong hands, the consequences could be disastrous.
But shockingly, there are still countless businesses in Northwest Florida that don’t use simple MFA tools to protect their valuable data. Too many still use simple usernames and passwords in the office. It’s the tech equivalent of writing your address on your key ring and then leaving it on the coffee shop table while you go to the bathroom. To a watchful criminal, you may as well have just left the front door open.
Cyber-attacks are only getting more and more sophisticated, and small business owners could be risking everything if they don’t make the simple step up to MFA.
For most companies, Multi-Factor Authentication isn’t difficult to implement. But the security benefits are huge – that’s why we recommend that all businesses should upgrade to MFA right away.
At SNH Technologies, we even put together a free guide for how to implement this on your own.