Five Simple Habits to Protect Your Small Business from Cyber Attacks

Today's episode of How I Work is sponsored by Cyber Wardens

As a small business owner, it's easy to think cyber security isn't a priority. But 80% of small businesses have habits that make them vulnerable to cyber crime. In this episode, learn 5 easy things you can do today to keep your business safe.

Don't wait until it's too late - a few simple changes can protect your business from costly attacks. Tune in for actionable tips you can implement today.

 

My new book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/

Connect with me on the socials:

Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber)

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai)

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at howiwork.co

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at [e-mail]

Credits:

Host: Amantha Imber

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today's episode is sponsored by cyber Wardens. My name is
doctor amanthe Immer. I'm an organizational psychologist and the founder
of behavioral science Consultancy Inventium, and this is how I work,
a show about how to help you do your best work.

(00:22):
If you're a longtime listener of this show, you'll know
that as well as being a podcast host, I am
a small business owner of Workplace Consultancy Inventium, and today
I want to talk about something that might make your
eyes glaze over. Cyber security. I know, I know it
sounds about as exciting as watching paint Drive, but trust me,

(00:45):
it's important and I promised to keep things interesting. You see,
whenever I used to think about cyber security, I had
one of two responses. First, I thought that only related
to big businesses, you know, the ones getting hacked and
hitting the front page of the Australian Financial Review. And
I remember reading about some of those data breaches that

(01:07):
have happened in the last year and thinking, wow, that's terrible,
but that could never happen to my little business. Sound familiar. Second, well,
my eyes would just glaze over because it all sounded
so boring and technical. I mean, who has time to
think about firewalls and encryption when you're trying to run
a business right. But here's the thing, I'm not alone.

(01:31):
Small businesses and especially small business owners, are notorious for
having bad habits when it comes to cybersecurity. In fact,
Cyberwarden's research has found that around eighty percent of small
business owners have observed everyday habits in their teams that
make them more vulnerable to cyber crime. That's a pretty

(01:52):
scary thought, So what can we do about it today?
I want to share five things that you can do
right now to protect your business from cyber attacks. And
don't worry, you don't need to be a tech genius
to implement these tips. First up, let's talk about your computer.
More than one enforced small business owners put their computers

(02:15):
in sleep mode rather than shutting them down, which increases
the risk of out of date software giving access to
cyber criminals. I used to be guilty of this myself.
At the end of the day, I would just close
my laptop and assume everything would be fine. But it
turns out that is not the case. So cyber safe

(02:38):
habit number one, shut down your computer. When we shut
down our computers, automatic software updates are installed that can
help protect us against a cyber break in. Try to
shut down your computer every night when you finish work.
It might take an extra minute or two. And yeah,
I know it's a little bit annoying, but it's worth

(02:59):
it for added secure already. Now, let's talk about passwords.
They're your first line of defense. Yet one in four
of us reuse the same passwords across multiple systems and platforms,
and sixteen percent of small businesses use short passwords, making
them easier to crack. And I'll admit I used to

(03:20):
use the same password for a bunch of different sites.
It was just easier to remember. But then I heard
about a small business owner who had their email hacked
and the hacker used that same password to hack their
bank account, which was pretty scary. So what can you do? Well,
here's what you can do. Upgrade your passwords to pass

(03:41):
phrases and protect them in a password manager. And if
you want to know what the difference is between a
password and a pass phrase, a password is a short
character set of mixed digits, whereas a pass phrase is
a longer string of text that makes up a phrase
or a sentence. When we use U unique and complex
passwords or ideally pass phrases. We stop cyber criminals from

(04:05):
accessing multiple programs and services if they crack just one
of them. So change your passwords, including for your company email,
financial services, business files, and any account storing your payment details,
and save them in a secure password manager like last
pass or one Password. It does take a bit of

(04:27):
time to set up, but it's a lot less painful
than dealing with a hack. Now, let's talk about scams.
More than one in five employees delete suspicious emails that
they think could be scams without alerting it or the
head of their business. And I have definitely been tempted
to do this myself, and well, let's be honest, I've

(04:49):
done it myself. I mean, who wants to bother someone
with every suspicious email? But it turns out that's not
the best approach. Instead, identify and port suspicious emails. Sharing
suspected scams with the right people helps to ensure the
senders can be investigated and blocked, and that other staff

(05:10):
can be warned about these attempts. You can also report
scams to the National Anti Scam Center scam Watch, or
the company being impersonated, such as your bank or phone company.
It might feel like an extra step, but it could
save you and your colleagues a lot of hassle down
the line. Speaking of sharing, let's talk about logins. One

(05:36):
in five small businesses share passwords between team members. I
know it can be very tempting to do this, especially
if you're working on a project together and need access
to the same files, but it's a big no no. Instead,
make sure each team member has their own unique log in.
When each team member has their own unique log in,

(05:58):
it means that if one staff member password is compromised,
multiple accounts aren't compromised. You're also better protect it from
insider threats. It might mean a bit more admin work
for you, but it's worth it for the added security. Finally,
let's talk about updates. About one in five small business

(06:20):
owners snooze software updates, and I totally get that they
always seem to pop up when you're in the middle
of something important right, but putting off updates can leave
you vulnerable to cyber attacks. Making updates a priority means
you'll deliver important bug and security fixes as soon as

(06:42):
they become available. Hackers use these security weaknesses to attack
your systems. So the sooner you action updates, the sooner
you'll be protected. Set your devices to automatically update software
and you'll be all good to go. And if an
update pops up while you're working, try to schedule it
for your lunch break or the end of the day.

(07:04):
So there you have it, folks. Five easy things you
can do right now to protect your small business from
cyber attacks. I know it can be overwhelming to think
about cybersecurity on top of everything else you have to
do as a small business owner, but trust me, taking
these small steps can make a big difference. Thank you

(07:26):
for sharing part of your day with me by listening
to how I work. If you're keen for more tips
on how to work better, connect with me via LinkedIn
or Instagram. I'm very easy to find. Just search for
Amantha Imba.