How to Protect Your Social Media Business

By Sam Butterworth

When businesses are attacked by criminals the reparations can be costly. And nowhere else is a business more open or liable to an attack than it is online. These online attacks could literally come from anywhere in the world and most often they will be done under the guise of online anonymity. So in order to keep your businesses free from online cybercrime here is a list of 5 things that you can do to protect your social media companies from online hackers and scammers:

1) Lower your phishing threats

The average cyber attack costs small businesses £3,000 over a two year period and one of the most common forms of cyber threats is down to online phishing. Phishing is where hackers send emails to business employees pretending to be a trusted source, in an attempt to gain critical information about the business. The best way to avoid phishing is to look out for urgent and unexpected emails and train staff to confidently question any emails that seem out of place. However, this could potentially be difficult as a good hacker may have a thorough background story that seems to check out. Therefore it is always best to follow up the names of any contracting companies mentioned in emails by using the contact information that you can find independently from the company sites themselves rather than just using the information provided solely in the email.

2) Create a strong password

There are many things that people commonly do to create passwords that weakens the overall security of the firm. For instance it is inadvisable for you to create a password that uses family, friend, or pet names as these are known to other people, and avoid using personal and public information as well as avoiding dictionary words and acronyms that are easier for hackers to decode. It is therefore better to use upper and lowercase letters, numbers, symbols, at least 12 characters in a password that uses an indecipherable word or phrase that is only relevant to you and no one else.

3) Protect your business in the real world too

If a computer, laptop, tablet or mobile phone is stolen then it could put your business operations, reputation and colleagues at great risk. It could also land your firm with a hefty fine. So it is always a good idea to protect your equipment from theft and crime in the real world, not just in the virtual world. You can start by doing a survey of crime in your area before you set up your business and by putting preventive checks in place to reduce the risk. Typical security features include fencing, barbed wire, bollards, electrical fencing and lighting (as criminals may be deterred by increased levels of visibility). You could also use external doors to protect doors with weak frames, roller shutters, gated doors, bolts, mortise locks, laminated glass, and window locks, as well as having locks on the internal doors and making sure the keys are all somewhere safe and not easy to get hold of or on display for all to see.

4) Protect your online finances

Monitoring and protecting your online finances is critical in securing the future success of your business against online scammers. There are many checks that you can put in place to watch for any suspicious online activities. For instance, you can set aside 1 day a week to check through your bank statements, sign up for real-time bank alerts, never give your personal information out to unsolicited callers, routinely change your passwords, and subscribe to identity protection companies to help keep your well-earned money safe.

5) Defend yourself with the right software You should always make sure that your business has its software updated and make sure that all legacy equipment is replaced. You should also install a strong firewall and make sure you have an anti-virus software installed on your computers as the last line of defence against hackers. For without these basic checks in place it will be very easy for online hackers to target your business so always make sure that you are on top of all of your updates and get the latest available software for protecting all your internet devices and online activities.