When Do You Need Small Business IT Support?
Posted by Sofia Levine
from the Computers category at
24 May 2024 12:11:18 pm.
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The virtual environment generated by cyber infrastructures, including the information content processed, stored, or transmitted and the actions carried out by users, is already an integral part of personal and professional life. Still, cybersecurity in Northern Virginia is an element that should be taken into account more often. New technologies, however, involve new risks that can seriously affect the individual or the organization, given that numerous hostile actions carried out in cyberspace are likely to affect the availability, integrity, and confidentiality of the operation of IT systems. And that is why you should consider small business IT support services.
They mainly aim at:
– disrupting, disabling, or harming controlling a system or an information infrastructure;
– damaging data integrity or evading restricted information.
Cyber attackers in Northern Virginia can exfiltrate all types of sensitive information or even recover it if a smartphone or laptop is lost or stolen. A cyber attack on an industrial control system can cause loss of control, shutdown, or damage to facilities. These serious security incidents are often accompanied by economic and financial losses and damage to the organization's image.
Why Do You Need Small Business IT Support?
Cybersecurity in Northern Virginia is a priority for the smooth functioning of government or industrial control systems (electricity production and distribution, water distribution), etc. For many countries, online security is "the state of normality resulting from the application of a set of proactive and reactive measures that ensure the confidentiality, integrity, availability, authenticity, and non-repudiation of information in electronic format, of public or private resources and services, in the space cybernetic." However, these dangers can be significantly reduced using a set of good practices by a small business IT support company that is inexpensive, free, and easy to apply. Employee risk awareness is very effective in limiting many vulnerabilities.
Proactive and reactive measures may include security policies, concepts, standards and guidelines, risk management, training and awareness activities, technical solutions to protect cyber infrastructures, identity management, and consequence management. One element in your cybersecurity setup is your antivirus. That computer program is designed to detect, prevent, and remove malware (viruses, trojans, adware, spyware, etc.) from being installed on computer systems. Updating it is especially important to be able to deal with the latest versions of malicious programs. An example of a malicious computer applications is a program whose name is inspired by mythology – (horse) trojan.
Behind the appearance of a proper, legitimate function lurks a malicious potential that escapes security mechanisms, sometimes exploiting vulnerabilities of the targeted systems. Thus, once run, the program can steal information, affect the host computer, or create hidden remote access paths to the infected system.
Other examples are:
– computer virus: a program that can self-replicate within a system, subsequently spreading to other computers on the network without the user's knowledge. It may negatively affect the functionality of the system;
– computer worm: malware that can self-replicate and propagate within a computer network and beyond (other systems or networks), using network resources, without attaching itself to another program or process.
The Surprise in the Attachment
Emails and their attachments play a vital role in carrying out computer attacks. When you receive an email, pay attention to the following aspects:
– the identity of the sender from Northern Virginia is not guaranteed: check the consistency between the sender and the content of the message;
– do not open attachments from unknown people. They may contain software made for illegitimate or malicious purposes (malicious software or malware such as worms, trojans, spyware, forms of adware, etc.);
– do not respond to e-mails containing requests for personal or confidential data (e.g., PIN code and bank card number).
Cybercrime networks distribute unsolicited electronic messages (spam) to several users through manipulating people (social engineering), with apparently commercial content, advertising products and services, to infect users. After the computer system is infected, for example, it can become part of a botnet – a network of computers infected by various methods by a malicious person or entity. Once infected, computers are used by the one controlling the network (botmaster) to steal confidential or banking data, initiate DDoS attacks, crack passwords, or search and exfiltrate information. Use the services of a small business IT support to keep your data safe.
The Importance of Online Security
If you already have an online business, consider how much you rely on critical data, such as customer details, commercial offers, orders, and payment details. Now, imagine what it would be like for the customer database to disappear. Moreover, a law protects personal data for which you must submit a form, especially if you have or will have an online store. It is also essential to know that it applies to all operators and authorized persons who systematically process personal data. Personal data means any information regarding an identified or identifiable natural person.
Cybersecurity in the digital society means keeping devices and stored information safe. For example, when you can identify a person, directly or indirectly, through a name, location data, or an online identifier for paid promotion services that target one or more specific elements of physical, physiological identity, genetic, economic, cultural, or social. Also, according to GDPR, breaching the security of personal data, accidentally or illegally, means the loss, modification, or unauthorized disclosure of personal data. Moreover, an online store must have a dedicated page for personal data privacy policy processed directly or indirectly by social media sites or other third-party applications.
Be Careful What You Install on Your PC
Mobile technology is nowadays part of any business because email can be accessed from the phone, and many companies have integrated chats into their sales and customer communication strategy. More and more data is stored on phones so that a message sent by a customer on social media or a business contact can be read from the phone. Any human interaction carried out on the company's devices must follow a security protocol. Moreover, when using a personal phone for professional discussions, protection must be even greater than that of desktop or laptop equipment.
Another behavior you need to discuss with your employees is connecting to unknown Wi-Fi hotspots. That means you must establish some work procedures and help your employees be aware of the importance of online security. Adopting a systematic approach to cybersecurity and relatively easy-to-implement measures can reduce the risk for any business. Most cyber-attacks are still based on known techniques, such as phishing emails. Therefore, when something seems wrong, contact a small business IT support firm and check if your data is safe.
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