Christmas isn’t only a prevalent time for thieves, it’s also fair game for cyber-crime. Employees (and even business owners!) can be more inclined to let their guard down when working on their computer, even buying gifts online, and allowing opportunistic viruses to create havoc. Remote workers can also be less vigilant with their computer security during the holidays, taking advantage of public WIFI to respond to emails when out shopping or accessing your company’s network via non-work devices. It only takes one distraction and a virus has infiltrated your IT system, so what can you do to minimise these risks?
Passwords
Updating passwords for work devices, as well as social media accounts and websites is one way to reduce your risks, as is making sure that the same passwords aren’t used on multiple devices. Using an enterprise password manager that encrypts passwords to ramp up your security is also an easy option to provide an extra layer of security.
Train your employees
Retraining your employees about the danger of phishing scams and not opening emails or attachments that are not easily recognisable or seem suspicious is also a good idea. Phishing emails are extremely popular during the Christmas/New Year period so as a rule of thumb, avoid clicking on any links in an email, and if in doubt, contact the alleged sender to check its legitimacy.
Check your supplier invoices
If you receive any supplier invoices with new bank account or contact details, unusual amounts or descriptions of products/services, or even spelling and grammatical errors, be sure to verify these changes by phone with your contact on their old number and not the phone number on the invoice. Cyber Criminals are going to the effort of setting up new phone numbers to mimic the businesses they have targeted, particularly for invoices with large amounts. It is also vital that you do not attempt to verify these details over email, as you most likely will receive a reply from a hacker instead of your supplier.
The take home message is that along with break-ins and theft, cyber-crime also increases during the Christmas season, but you can do something to minimise your risks. The final piece of the jigsaw is having the right type of insurance policies in place, so that you are covered if anything goes wrong. To discuss the benefits of a Cyber Liability policy, contact the allinsure team today.
General Advice Warning
The information provided is to be regarded as general advice. Whilst we may have collected risk information, your personal objectives, needs or financial situations were not taken into account when preparing this information. We recommend that you consider the suitability of this general advice, in respect of your objectives, financial situation and needs before acting on it. You should obtain and consider the relevant product disclosure statement before making any decision to purchase this financial product.
DOC:00866
