Spam email is nothing new. We’re all used to receiving spam messages, and having an overflowing junk folder is just part of having an email account. In fact, we may joke about the particularly funny or cringe-worthy spam emails we happen to find when we peruse that junk folder. Luckily, email filtering has gotten pretty good—most of us only see a fraction of the spam that’s sent to us actually make it to our inboxes.
We get an enormous amount of spam email every day. Most of the time, we just think of spam as annoying, or perhaps dangerous. But, have you ever noticed that it can be funny, too?
As companies flock to social media for their branding needs and employees continue to spend time on the likes of Facebook, Twitter, and other social sites, there’s a growing concern about the risks associated with using these sites—concerns that could threaten the security of your business.
While we may envision hackers sitting in dark rooms hovering over computers with lines of code scrolling down their screens, the portrait of modern hackers is much more sinister. In fact, today’s hackers and cyber attackers are much more akin to the con artist or snake oil salesman of old.
When it comes to protecting your computer network, we spend a lot of time talking about hacking, viruses, and cybercrime. While it’s incredibly important to protect your business from digital attacks, you also need to think about the physical security of your network.
People have many commonsense ways of protecting themselves, their homes, and their belongings. You likely practice safety habits daily like locking the front door or keeping valuables out of sight, yet how often do you think to lock your work computer before walking away? The unfortunate truth is that employees are often the cause of security breaches and malware infections. Companies owe it to themselves to help employees develop safer computing habits and be more conscientious of their use of the company’s computers.
Your computer is acting weird. Strange messages are popping up, everything has slowed to a crawl, and you can’t get your work done. Obviously, something is wrong. You fear your computer has a virus, but you’re not sure.
People store an enormous amount of information online. The average American has over 130 online accounts – and that number is quickly rising! Unfortunately, too many people use poor password practices, or link accounts together, which puts all their online data at risk. In response, many services are turning to two-factor or two-step authentication to help safeguard your online accounts.
Every day, the world creates 2.5 quintillion bytes of data. That includes a huge amount of personal information not only about ourselves, but about our customers. With so much data out there, it’s more important than ever to safeguard the information you gather about your customers. Allowing your customers’ private information to fall into the wrong hands damages your reputation and erodes customer confidence. Even worse, it can result in lost sales and even legal action against your company.
Do the Advantages Outweigh the Risks for Your Business? With 77% of Americans now owning a smartphone, one thing is certain: there are plenty of personal devices in the workplace. As a result, the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) movement is gaining traction as many businesses embrace the trend.