Proprietary information makes your business special, whether you’re a tech startup with a smart algorithm or a food manufacturer with a secret sauce. Regardless of industry, business gains competitive advantage from distinct practices or unique data. The last thing you want is someone with ill intent getting their hands on your differentiators. Here’s how to protect your proprietary information.
We all know cybercriminals are trying to gain unauthorized access to your computers. Most attention is on hackers stealing personal data, or malware attacks that render computers useless unless a ransom is paid. Other prime reasons bad actors seek out technology vulnerabilities are for corporate espionage or to make a buck selling your proprietary information to the highest bidder.
Data breaches are now daily occurrences and can happen to any business. The April 2021 leak of 533 million Facebook records was one of the largest known data leaks, but even if you weren't affected by that one, you may still be at risk.
There is no easy way to know if your information has been leaked. When a business is hacked, it typically sends a notification letting you know, but this isn’t guaranteed. And you can’t go in and check the Dark Web. It is difficult to find and dangerous to access, and that is why the bad guys like it.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is a common and useful rule for many business owners. It serves to protect your business against unnecessary costs and unneeded downtime. While protecting your business against many types of danger, it poses an outright threat when it comes to IT security.
Security threats
to your firm move so fast that your IT should be working twice as hard as your
company just to keep up. Every day, hundreds of thousands of new malware
threats are released. Falling even hours behind means any one of these attacks
can threaten your business.
The single most
dangerous thing IT security can do is stand still. Keeping up with the latest
advice, technology, and updates the security industry offers is vital to keep
your business safe. This makes up much of the unseen job of IT professionals.
Hackers never stop looking for new ways into your system, which means your
security can't stop looking for ways to keep them out.
One of the most
common security threats a business opens itself to is using an outdated
operating system or software package. Many firms are scared to upgrade,
update, or renew their IT over fears of breaking legacy systems. Many rely
heavily on old software and are afraid to make a large change themselves. Some
businesses today still run machines on Windows XP, an operating system first
released back in 2001.
Old operating
systems stop receiving security updates and patches that protect against newly
released attacks. These systems become very vulnerable, presenting a large
target for knowledgeable hackers. This happens many years after newer versions
have been released, giving knowing IT firms a chance to migrate safely.
News of a big brand suffering a data breach is all too common today. But if you don’t get an email from such a company, you could mistakenly be thinking it doesn’t affect you.
The thing is, large breaches are happening all the time. Cybercriminals then put access credentials online, and other bad actors buy and exploit those email addresses, usernames, passwords, etc.
Why do the bad guys care to buy these member details? Presumably, the victims of the breach quickly change their passwords to prevent security vulnerabilities. So, what good does that info do?
Take a moment to think about how many unique passwords you actually have. Many of us have dozens of different online accounts but only a handful of distinct passwords. That means a hacker can take that stolen data from, say, LinkedIn and try the same password on your banking site.
Cybercriminals have the capacity to keep on trying. They will take one stolen password and use that data to try and hit other accounts in a massive, brute-force effort.
