According to a recent study, computer hacking costs the U.S. Economy up to 500,000 jobs each year. That’s not only shocking, but in your company’s case, it’s at least somewhat preventable. No one’s immune, of course, but your employees can be smarter and safer by taking just a few small precautions.
I came across a really good list of ways to keep your company’s computers from getting hacked. In “The complete guide to not being that idiot who got the company hacked,”Siraj Datoo writes:
Each of your accounts and devices is a potential way in for a hacker. “You’re only as protected as your weakest link,” says Tom Cochran, chief technology officer at Atlantic Media (which owns Quartz), and former head of digital technology at the White House. ”All it takes is one person to fall for a phishing scam for your organization to fall for hackers.”
Datoo then lists 10 ways to protect yourself and your company, and it’s an uncommonly good list. I hadn’t heard or thought of a few in his column.
I ran the list by Paul Boomer, my own Computer Yoda (if your electronica band decides to change your name to this, I would like royalties please), and he shared a couple more after he reminded me his wife is, like, the Chuck Norris of computer security:
I could ask my wife to answer, who’s in charge of Information Security for the University of Missouri, but that’d either cause you to crawl into a hole or say “…we’re doomed!” because of the things you’d quickly realize everybody should be doing. The list you sent, Tim, is a good list with one exception and two additions. Datoo’s Number 5 – “Encrypt your laptop’s hard drive, especially if it’s a Mac” – that’s a bit too much for businesses to handle unless the laptop has sensitive information on it and it’s not password protected with a strong password. Two additional things: 1) Never email your credit card information. Ever. People, including savvy business owners, do it all the time and wonder “how did my credit card get stolen?” 2) Always lock your computer – with a strong password – when you walk away from it (meaning make it so you have to log back in to use it). From a secure connection, Boomer
Thanks, Boomer! Be sure to check out Datoo’s full list here. I have to run – a dying Nairobi prince just offered me 96 million euro! I just need to email him the city in which I was born, my mom’s maiden name, and my social security number. What kind of idiot would say “no” to that?
Leave a Reply