Well, actually, October was National Cyber Security Awareness Month, so it’s a little late to post this, but it’s never too late to be aware of your cyber and network security. National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security, has been conducted every October since 2001, and is a national public awareness campaign to encourage everyone to protect their computers and our nation’s critical cyber infrastructure.

What does this have to do with YOU? Everything. If you’re reading this blog you must be using a computer or some type of tool that allows you to access the internet. If you can access the internet, it’s possible that someone or something can access your data or network. Identity theft is on the rise. Malicious viruses and network hackers always seem to be looming close by. What can you do to protect yourself and your business?

1: Be smart about your computer, your network and especially your passwords. Computers and networks should be running up to date security software which scans for viruses, spyware and more on a daily basis. If you work in an open or public location, log off of your computer when you step away from your desk. Yes, it’s irritating to have to log back in, but better safe than sorry. Don’t share your passwords, ever. And don’t use the same password for all of your email, online accounts, banking and more. See below for some hints on how to create strong passwords. What should you do if you find your computer is the recipient of a virus? See #3 on the list.

2: Any information, data, files, pictures, etc. that has any importance to you or your business should ALWAYS be backed up to a separate, secure location. And I don’t just mean a little USB drive which can easily be lost. It’s worth the investment for yourself or your business to have secure, offsite storage of your files with a reputable company. You can usually backup your files on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to your server or to an online, internet data storage which should be accessible to you any place you can get an internet connection. If you’re like me and everything you have is on your laptop, what do you do if the darn thing crashes or gets stolen? It would take me a while to get a new laptop, but only a few minutes to get to all of my files. Backing up to a separate hard drive is also a good idea, but if you keep your hard drive in the same place where you keep your computer, it’s not a very good disaster recovery plan. Oh, and always, always, ALWAYS check your back up to make sure your data is actually there!

3: Know when to ask for help. Professional help, that is. Sole proprietors and small business owners are notorious for knowing “someone” who can help them with their computer or network. That “someone” usually turns out to be the next door neighbor’s 15 year old kid who’s a computer genius. Yes, he may be a genius but does he know what to do when your network is infected with a virus or your server is out of commission? Probably not. So what should you do? Well, I recommend establishing a relationship with an IT service provider who will help manage your network, servers, computers and more. Fees for these types of services can be very affordable depending on the service and support you need. Knowing that someone is keeping your network running smoothly, monitoring your system backups and keeping your security software up-to-date provides piece of mind to many businesses. Heck, you can even outsource your IT help desk to some of these service providers. In this case, what you don’t know about computer and network security can really hurt you or your business.

Some top tips from www.staysafeonline.org:

  • Keep your web browsers and operating systems up-to-date. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and software companies regularly update their browsers and operating systems not to annoy you (yes, I know it feels like this), but to fix security issues and bugs which may allow unintentional access to your systems. By keeping up-to-date on the latest releases you help close these security gaps.
  • Back up important files – see #2 above. I would recommend you back up all files, because you never know what’s important until you can’t find it.
  • Use caution with email attachments – many email programs have an automatic virus scan for all email attachments, make sure you use it. If something looks or seems suspicious, DON’T OPEN THE ATTACHMENT! Call or email the person who sent it to you and ask them to tell you what was in the attachment. If they don’t know or say they never sent you an attachment, it’s probably a virus and should not be opened anyway.
  • Create strong passwords:
    • Don’t use passwords that are based on personal information that can be easily accessed or guessed.
    • Don’t use words that can be found in any dictionary of any language.
    • Use both lowercase and capital letters and/or a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters.
    • Use different passwords on different systems.
  • Use security software tools as your first line of offense – there is no reason not to have up-to-date security software running on your computer and network. It may cost a monthly or yearly fee, but I can guarantee that fee is a lot less than the cost of having a professional come out and try to recover lost data from an infected system.

Jill Mazur is an independent apparel business and technology consultant working with Fashion Business, Incorporated. Email: jill@fashionbizinc.org