Did you know cyber-attacks cost British businesses £34billion a year in terms of lost revenue and increases in their spend on IT support? However, this figure could be even higher should a breach go undetected.
Following the attack on the NHS’s network system, Ghost IT services want to address the importance of protecting your computers from large-scale cyber-attacks – like the one that threatened to shut down the NHS’s network.
Here are our top tips on preventing an attack on your business’s network:
Regularly Back Up Data
Remind your employees to frequently back up their data throughout the year to ensure that no critical data is lost in the event of an attack. The team of IT professionals at Ghost suggests storing your data away from the office, to be extra secure. This could be by using a cloud system where all data can be remotely accessed and encrypted when data is regarding the company and clients.
Change Passwords Frequently
It is vital that you and your employees change your passwords on a regular basis, particularly if you have access to important accounts. A good benchmark is to change passwords once every two months, making sure you include different classes of characters – a mix of special characters, uppercase and lower case and numbers is the best choice. Ghost’s IT experts suggest never writing your password down and never use the same password on multiple accounts.
Watch Out for Red Flags
Did you know phishing scams rise by 20% per year? This means that employees should be trained to keep a watchful eye out for such harmful emails. While email providers are constantly improving their spam detection, some trickier spam messages can find a way to make it into your inbox. Ghost’s experts say to look for emails disguised as a trusted client or recognisable brand, which contain dead giveaways such as spelling errors in the text and not addressing you by your name.
Look out for suspicious attachments, messages that ask for personal or credit card information and emails that request immediate action.
Are you in need of an IT solution that can help to prevent your business from future cyber attacks? Make sure you do it before it’s too late! To speak to one of the team here at Ghost, call 01708 390370 or email sales@ghostservices.co.uk