As small businesses increasingly rely on new Internet technologies to remain competitive within the local and global marketplace, they are also becoming more susceptible to cyber crime attacks.
Cyber crime can have a devastating impact on a small business, which often lacks the in-house technical expertise and resources to quickly and fully recover from cyber attacks. Small businesses can also even unknowingly aid in cyber crime by using unsecured computers, which cyber criminals can hijack and use to attack other online businesses or even our nation's critical infrastructure.
While there are numerous technological steps small businesses can take to better secure their environments, IT infrastructure and controls alone are not effective in combating cyber fraud. Small business owners must also take steps to create a “culture of security” among both their employees and customers.
Unfortunately, many small business owners are not currently taking such measures. In fact, only a little more than half of small business owners employ such simple precautions as requiring employees to sign security policies, according to a survey by the National Cyber Security Alliance and Cisco Small Business.
By taking such basic steps as requiring employees to sign security policies, small business owners can establish expectations with employees about their role in protecting customer and company data and set the tone for a “culture of security” in the workplace.
Author: David Wasik and Ron Teixeira
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