How to protect your business from identity theft
Identity theft is a serious problem in the UK. With more than 500 individual identities stolen every day, the chances are high that you – or someone you know – could end up becoming a victim of this unsettling crime. It’s not just individuals who are targeted by cybercriminals looking to benefit from pretending to be someone else but businesses too. From running up fraudulent credit to using falsely obtained financial details, the consequences can be severe. So, how can you protect your business from identity theft?
Make your staff your first line of security
If you educate your staff about the dangers of identity theft and how to spot the signs of scams then you can increase your overall cyber security. Instead of making your organisation vulnerable, your staff will act to protect it instead.
Focus on fraudulent emails
Scammers have become increasingly sophisticated and can very convincingly replicate emails that look like they have come from an authentic company. Those emails can lead to web pages where personal details or passwords are handed over or viruses automatically downloaded. So, it pays to focus on training your staff to spot fraudulent emails and messages and to avoid clicking on potentially damaging links.
Invest in digital protection for equipment and systems
From firewalls to security software, it’s worth taking the time to find the right digital protection for your equipment and systems. Equally crucial is ensuring that everything is always up to date and your business is not vulnerable simply as a result of the latest updates not being downloaded.
Be aware of visual hacking
This could be someone standing and watching staff tapping access codes into a door security lock or listening to passwords being given over the phone. Educating everyone in the business to avoid this kind of exposure will help to strengthen defences against identity theft.
Insist on strong password security
Passwords provide a lot of opportunities for cyber criminals and hackers simply because many of us don’t protect our accounts properly. For example, “password” remains one of the most frequently used passwords and is very easily guessed. Introducing best practice standards when it comes to password security can be crucial for any business. That means regularly changing passwords and ensuring that staff access to any business equipment or systems is protected by complex and hard to crack security.
Introduce comprehensive shredding policies
It’s not just in digital terms that your business may be vulnerable to identity theft but in the physical world too. Documents and files that are not properly disposed of can leave business and customer data exposed to anyone who wants to make use of it. Creating a comprehensive shredding policy that incorporates regular on-site shredding will ensure that your business is not left vulnerable in this way.
Although the number of security attacks against UK businesses is increasing there are some simple steps you can take to protect your organisation against identity theft. If you’d like to discuss how to integrate on-site shredding to better secure your business, please get in touch.
