Clayton Alexander

Since the pandemic began in 2020, many businesses are still having their employees work remotely, and are thus conducting a lot of their business almost entirely online. Because of this, cybercrime has spiked in recent years. According to the Consumer Sentinel Network’s annual Data Book over 75,000 instances of privacy, data security, and cyberthreat-related scams were reported in the 2020 year. Likewise, a 2020 report from the Internet Crimes Complaint Center (IC3) revealed that they receive over 440,000 reports of internet-related crimes each year. To combat these dangers, Better Business Bureau would like to remind small businesses, one of the most common victims of cyber attacks, what they can and should be doing to better secure their data and other online information.

1. No. 1: Familiarize all employees with the best practices for Cybersecurity

One of the most important ways to defend your business from cyber attacks is by making sure all employees can spot the red flags of scams when they see them. BBB says that the best way to effectively educate your employees, is by providing them with clear cybersecurity policies that outline the risks, the defenses in place, and the steps they can take to protect themselves.

2. No. 2: Implement role-based access control (RBAC)

RBAC is the act of assigning limited access to your company’s information based on that individual’s role in the company. Limited access means that even if a single employee’s information and access become exploited by a scammer, not all of the company’s information can be stolen.

3. No. 3: Initiate automated remote backup and data recovery

Using an automated remote backup and data recovery system allows you to save and store an extra copy of all your data offsite safely. This, in the event of a data breach, allows you to safely restore all your data thereafter.

4. No. 4: Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

Multi-factor authentication is an important way to secure all of your data and accounts. In the event that an account’s password might be stolen somehow, the account cannot be accessed without the approval from a second source, usually by receiving a special code from the account owner’s phone. This makes it that much harder for scammers to steal information from accounts.

No. 5: Secure your Wi-Fi networks
The final security measure is making sure your network is protected. Securing your Wi-Fi network will ensure that both you and your employees will have a secure connection while working online. BBB says you can secure your Wi-Fi networks by using a VPN to encrypt internet traffic that passes through, using a firewall to block cybercriminals and using a host intrusion prevention system (HIPS) to detect and block cyberattacks.

Visit BBB.org’s Cybersecurity Page For More Helpful Tips and Information

BBB.org/Cybersecurity is a business education resource created to provide small and midsize businesses (SMBs) with valuable tools, tips, and content to help them manage cyber risks and learn about cybersecurity best practices in the modern business environment.

What should you do if you fall victim to a Cybercrime?

Reporting: Contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov). IC3 is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). IC3’s mission is to serve as a vehicle to receive, develop, and refer criminal complaints regarding the rapidly expanding arena of cyber crime.

Recovery: Victims of identity theft can visit identitytheft.gov to find resources.

Clayton Alexander is the Storyteller/Communications Specialist at Better Business Bureau serving Central California & Inland Empire Counties.