How to Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft
We regularly seek to inform you about the dangers of phishing and malware attacks, and how failure to protect against or respond quickly to them could be lethal to your companY.
Our friends over at Terravista Tech wrote an informative article sharing the story of the identity theft of a local business here in Chilliwack. The attackers stole the email addresses of the company, used them to send phishing emails to clients and other companies until Microsoft locked down all of their email for the entire company. Recovering from this attack was a hailstorm.
All the hackers needed to cause this damage was a password, and unfortunately many companies still have very basic password systems such as (company name)(year). Other hackers might only need one small piece of information, such as your birthday, your SIN (social security number), or your dog’s name to gain access to highly sensitive information. Sometimes, a person’s identity might be compromised for years before they notice, if the thief works slowly in order to be undetected.
Here’s how to make sure this does not happen to you, or your company.
Boost your Security
Hire a professional IT company for your company. They will make sure your software is always up to date with security patches, and that your information security system is best as possible. They will make sure you have managed antivirus software.
You can make sure to be on top of these things for your personal computer as well. Always install computer updates, use MFA (Multi Factor Authentication) on your accounts, and use legitimate antivirus software. On top of that, you can make sure to never turn off your firewall, and protect your wireless router with a strong password.
Don’t Overshare or Underestimate
It’s tempting to send important information over email or text, but it’s not worth the risks. We have all likely been guilty of sending personal information over apps such as Instagram, Snapchat, or Whatsapp as well! It's easy to think that just once will probably be safe enough, and so we overshare on these platforms, and underestimate the abilities of hackers.
Even on social media, many of us share regular updates of our families (revealing your mother’s maiden name, maid of honour's first name, or dog’s name), celebrations (birthdate, father’s birth year, our high school reunion), and more. This gives hackers the information they need to pass security checks even on the most important accounts such as your CRA login or your bank account, or your company Microsoft account. Oversharing reveals that you underestimate what hackers are capable of. We have seen local businesses shut down, or be forced to navigate hundreds of thousands to even millions of dollars in losses over hacks like this.
If you want to ensure your business is protected from identity theft, call a local IT support company for an assessment of your company’s security, and a consultation on how to potentially improve it.