Why small business owners may want to rethink Open SSL options

Many small business owners may think their sensitive customer data is safe because they use open-source encryption software. Did you know vulnerabilities in open-source SSL encryption could cause headaches for business owners? How much is cybercrime affecting small businesses? According the UK Federation of Small Businesses, rampant cybercrime may be keeping other small businesses from joining. There may be far more cybercrime than reported because small business owners are not aware they have been hacked.

Still, the problem is deeper than not worrying about data loss or data recovery.  A company’s IT professional may not install patches for programs correctly. IT techs may not aware of the loss in a timely manner. If a company’s software causes a security breach, it can cause the loss of from thousands to millions a year. Businesses lose much more than data. Customers may see a business as a security risk if steps taken do not ensure customer data.  A customer may not have only had personal data stolen; they also may have lost a customer’s trust, loyalty, and devotion.

Why it is best to make employees undergo training

Employee mistakes, according to one software security firm, might cause more data theft and higher numbers of data loss for companies. Employees may accidently delete data. Utilising employee training reduces the number of leaks in a company’s sensitive data because they are not well trained.

Should a company’s IT department insist upon passwords that are longer than eight characters? While it may do little to protect against Heart Bleed, it may help against many viruses that will halt company operations, cause the loss of sales, and income from productivity. If employees understand how vital company procedures, policies, and rules are for protecting data loss, they may help keep data loss down. It may also help employees understand why data needs protecting.

Lax attitudes about data recovery have contributed to losses. Here is a look at why data loss cannot be ignored or shrugged off.

• According to the software security company, AVG, 43 to 53% of employees were more concerned with tidying their desks than protecting data and put more into changing passwords.
• Only 18% of businesses have confidence that data protection laws are enough to keep data safe.                           
• Though 41% of businesses represented in the survey felt the new data laws were enough to keep Brits safe, another 69% of UK businesses admitted to being ready if a breach did occur.
• Only 13% of UK customers are demanding transparency of where data is stored, as companies are recognising the need to keep data safe outweighs the need not to know where data is stored.