Are you tired of your small business being hacked? Do you want to know how to feel safe and secure in the passwords you choose to protect important information?
In Scott N. Schober’s book, “Hacked Again” he discusses, in great detail, how his company, Berkeley Varitronics Systems, (BVS) has gone through and survived being hacked by hackers who obtained his business and sometimes, he personal bank account information, through the “dark web”, numerous times. According to Schober, the dark web is “a portion of www content that is not indexed by standard search engines and is generally attributed to hacking and illegal cyberactivities.”
“In business, if it seems ‘too good to be true,’ it probably isn’t good or true,” said Gary Schober, CTO, Berkeley Varitronics Systems.
This is a true statement not only in business, but in life also. It is important to follow up on situations in which you feel that you or your company has been violated through cyber attacks by hackers who’s goal it is to try to steal your personal or professional information, such as credit and banking information, business and residential addresses, etc.
Schober discussed how you, as an individual, and also your company can be safeguarded.
If you have evident that your personal bank accounts or your company’s accounts are still getting hacked, the book suggested changing the bank that you are doing business with. Always, keep in mind, however, that this breach can happen again, no matter what bank you turn to next or how much security the banking institution claims to offer. Ask the bank for the highest level of security they have available.
The book also stresses the importance of changing your passwords once every month or so, to try to alleviate this problem. The author further suggests that the password should be fifteen characters long compromised of upper/lowercase/numbers/symbols. This newly created password shouldn’t have any relationship to do with you, your occupation, or your family. Passwords work the best if they are random because the hackers will attempt to obtain the easiest passwords, first. The harder the password is to uncover the less likely being hacked might be.
If you and your use a social media website, such as Facebook or Twitter, it is imperative to uphold the highest security measures because advertising is key when selling your products. When your company feels like their website has been running slowly they should immediately contact their internet service provider (ISP) or their website host to get the matter looked into and fixed. This allows the company to avoid DDoS (distributed denial of service) to your legitimate customers and doesn’t slow down the company’s progress. It is also suggested by Schober to monitor the people who follow your profile page.
Furthermore, make sure to change the passwords frequently to avoid hackers having the chance to send out a fraudulent post or tweet in your or your company’s name. it can be “bad” for business to be misrepresented in that way.
Some other tip for protecting yourself on social media? Not including personal information such as your birthdate, hometown, town of your high school, on your profile. These are easy answers to the security questions you might have set up. Knowing this information allows hackers to easily access your personal information.
Who doesn’t like to advertise their upcoming vacation or the fact that you’re be away for some time? Schober suggests not posting that information over the social media websites you use to stay in contact with friends and family. This could give a “real life” thief the opportunity to break into your home and steal your belongings. At the same time this information could open the door to hackers and their devious ways.
When reviewing your business and personal a e-mail, from anyone, prospective client or inquiring company, a friend or family member, avoid any that have a link within the message. By not clicking on the link you avoid, malware software that that attached to your computer and sends out malicious links to your contact list. Not to mention, it avoids risks of the hacker stealing the personal information or even files within your computer.
What “Hacked Again” by Scott Schober taught me and should teach all of us is that a hacker is just a person, albeit, a person who preys on the fact that you don’t know a lot about how to come through an experience of being hacked. Furthermore, they prey on, quite frankly, people’s stupidity. Read this book, “Hacked Again.”
Edited by
Ken Briodagh
