“Today’s hackers are after information … they are using as a weapon for political and financial gain,” Mr. Herjavek said. “It can be identity information, corporate internet protocol secrets, passwords, payment information — no matter what it is, they’re either putting it up for sale on the deep dark web, holding files for ransom or leveraging the data to influence markets, politics and business.”
Here are four strategies for consumers and three strategies for small business owners to decrease their vulnerability to hackers.
Consumers
1. Stay away from public Wi-Fi, especially while making financial transactions.
2. Keep an eye out for “https://” instead of “http://” if you’re working on anything financial. A URL with “https://” means it meets the basic level of encrypted security.
3. While on various websites, don’t reveal any personal information that seems irrelevant.
4. Be aware of phishing emails from hackers. Don’t open an email if you don’t recognize the sender.
Small business owners
5. Thoroughly train and educate your employees.
6. Create specific cybersecurity rules.
7. Only give security clearance to employees who need to access data.
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