Small businesses and law firms are not immune to cyberattacks, which is why regularly evaluating network security and internal processes is critically important. Hackers now have the ability to pull together disparate pieces of information about you using computerized brute force attacks, which are essentially massive computers with pre-programmed algorithms trying every possible logical password. For example, if a hacker gets a hold of a username and/or password to a simple account such as the one for your grocery store, using username/password continuity, he or she can utilize this information to get answers to security questions and personal information used for accessing more important accounts.
Here is the internal message for small law firms and businesses looking to combat these hackers:
1) Before moving important internal or personal data, even if you are transmitting paper documents, verbally confirm with a supervisor or the person requesting data that it is okay to transmit such data. Do not respond automatically to email requests for data without checking the requestor’s authority.
2) Change your passwords regularly, even for small accounts.
3) Do not ever click on any solicitation such as links and surveys. With just a click, malicious code can be downloaded onto your computer that follows your keystrokes to obtain personal information.
This is not your average breach problem. The level of sophistication behind these attacks is frightening, so please take simple steps to protect you and your business from cyberattacks.