As a small business owner, you have enough going on with operating your business and the headaches that come with taxes, managing employees and getting customers to like you, to have to deal with hackers slowly working their way into your database and manipulating your bank accounts or going through your customers’ accounts.
Most small business owners actually don’t think of themselves as a target for a hacker’s activity. Most believe, “What would a professional hacker want with my little shop?” This is exactly the reason they target small businesses, because, to be completely frank, weak security is found at most small businesses when compared to large companies.
The Mental Toll of Cybercrime
Anxiety is a key component when it comes to dealing with a data breach because it’s not just that your data was taken; you now have a mental health crisis (i.e., the anxiety caused by uncertainty) due to the fact that your company had a breach. The anxiety caused by wondering whether your data and your family’s data are at risk, as well as the possibility of losing money, can create an overwhelming feeling of “violated.” Having to be constantly “hyper vigilant” about your data can ultimately lead to burnout as well.
Most of the anxiety that accompanies a data breach stems from the unknown… You begin to ask yourself, “Is my data on the dark web?” If you find yourself in an anxious state of being paranoid about not knowing where your information is at, understand that this is a good thing. There are ways to alleviate your anxiety by learning how to find out if your information is on the dark web. Knowing whether you have been compromised is a much better alternative than simply worrying about it.
The Psychology of the Scam
The reason many people fall victim to phishing scams is that hackers are experienced in the field of social engineering, not due to being unqualified in such scams, nor due to having lesser intelligence than most others. Hackers use social engineering by creating a sense of urgency in those receiving their phishing emails. For example, an email may include such a statement as, “Your account is going to be deleted in 2 hours!” Because of this sense of urgency being created, the person receives the email, panics and shuts down his/her logical thinking process due to a fight or flight response. As a result, he/she clicks on the link without even realising that they are responding to a scam.
How to Actually Protect Yourself (Without a Tech Degree)
You don’t need a million dollars to be secure; just stop being an easy target to access.
- Use MFA on everything you can. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) will save your life, it really will. Even if a hacker obtains your login credentials, they will still not have access to your home or accounts because you have protected them with two-factor authentication.
- Avoid password reuse at all costs. I know it may be a hassle to remember different passwords for every single account you have, but when a website is hacked, and you use the same password over and over again, you are giving hackers access to your entire life, basically. Consider using a password manager; it will be way easier and will help you keep track of your various accounts.
- Train your employees. This is more important than anything. The majority of all hacks occur because an employee clicked something they were not supposed to click. Talk to your employees regularly about security and how they can protect themselves and your company. Make it a fun activity rather than a bland lecture once a year; engagement is critical for retention.
Cybersecurity and reducing risk, but also reducing anxiety caused by it. So, be vigilant, be simple and don’t give any hacker free access to your mind.
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