One of the common issues on the Dark Web – whether you use it or not – is the sale of passwords, bank account information, Social Security numbers, and other private data.
Hackers can breach firewalls and software to obtain this information and then go to the Dark Web to sell it to other criminals.
Antivirus protection, at a minimum, is a practice to use for your business. Certain protections are placed on your network to look for computer viruses and malicious software.
There are three other critical practices to implement to protect your data:
1. Keep your eye out for strange emails.
This means that even if you receive an email from someone or a company you know, check the email address, look for signs of poor grammar or spelling, and tread carefully before clicking any links. If you get something saying your account is suspended and to click to verify details, go straight to the site and check it that way.
2. Pay attention to data breaches.
An easy way to do this is to subscribe to online newsletters like Data Breach Today. You’ll be regularly alerted if a large company gets hacked. You’ll also want to keep a close eye on bank statements and credit card usage to ensure your information is accurate and you don’t notice anything fraudulent.
3. Choose unique and hard-to-learn passwords.
As easy as it is for you to remember the same password for every account and device, imagine what happens to your data the second a hacker figures that one out. Choose the strong passwords assigned by your phone or computer, and use a free password tool like LastPass to keep track, so you don’t have to. Please don’t share them with others and don’t use identifying information when selecting them.
While you might do everything you can to prevent your data from being stolen, you’ll want to have monitoring software in place. We have multiple plans available, depending on your budget.
Schedule a 13-minute discovery call to see our cybersecurity protections and determine if your information is already available on the Dark Web with a free scan.
