The Leaky Laptop: Are Computer Safety Threats Jeopardizing Your Business?
Businesses have to protect their company data as closely as they protect their bank accounts. Threats by scammers and hackers to obtain this data are getting more devious every day. Businesses, no matter how large or small, need to be aware of their tactics in order to train their employees to deal with them.
Information storage
Company laptops contain a lot of information. This includes private company information, personal financial information, and information on the business’s clients.
The possibility that these laptops will be hacked or stolen means that this information is vulnerable. Many employees do not lock their laptops in their desks when they leave or secure them with highly effective passwords.
Many of these computers are simply lying around waiting to be stolen, sometimes with the password written down close by. These computers put the entire company, including every client and employee, at risk.
This is why it’s more important than ever to adopt a laptop security policy. Here’s how to do it.
Lock laptops with a secure password when not in use.
Be careful not to leave the laptop in your car, which can easily be broken into.
Do not leave your company laptop unsupervised.
When you’re not using it at all, lock it in your desk or keep it in a bag on your person.
These four steps seem simple, but they are crucial to keeping tabs on your company laptop and all its sensitive information. It only takes one theft to put the entire company at risk.
Digital threats
Having the computer physically stolen is not the only threat to company safety presented by your employees’ laptops.
Many scams exist that threaten to use your technology against you by tricking your employees into handing over company money or information or inviting software onto the company’s mainframe that puts its data at risk.
High-end laptop rentals in Australia or whichever country you’re based in come equipped with many modern conveniences in terms of software and hardware that prevent scammers, to a certain extent. However, the most effective cautionary measure is employee awareness.
Therefore, here are a few of the most significant digital threats out there today.
Malware
Malware is a type of software that preys on businesses. Scammers will begin by sending an employee an email and persuading them to click on it.
The website this email will take them to will appear legitimate and either ask them to download a file, update software, or take advantage of an offer. Once they do this, the malware can get onto the company's mainframe.
This allows the software to see the employee laptop’s activity or even to steal its files. This can result in stolen financial information, employee and client information, or sensitive business documents.
Train your employees in using caution when looking through emails from unknown senders. Advise them to never download files or accept unsolicited offers on company computers.
Phishing and Whaling
These scams are so named because they lure employees in with bait. The bait is in the form of a document that looks like it’s from corporate, or an email containing what is deemed critical business or legal information.
The phishing begins when the target (in this case, often an administrator of some kind), inputs company information into a response to this email. This information can then be used to access company computers and steal data.
Overpayment scams
These scams can jeopardize your business by taking advantage of your employees and stealing your money right from their laptops. The scam begins with an overpayment for your company’s product or service, which is then requested back in the form of a refund.
Employees unaware of this scam may accept the payment on the company’s behalf and refund the overage to the client by the method of their choosing – often a direct money transfer through a company like Western Union.
The scam doesn’t become apparent until the check or charge bounces and the overage payment is lost forever.
The Takeaway
Whether laptops threaten to be stolen or hacked into, the common element of all company break-ins through employee technology is employee negligence.
Training your employees to prepare for these threats by keeping their laptops on them at all times and secure with passwords, and remaining aware of potential digital scams that are out there can keep your company data safe.
Prevent the possibility of online threats jeopardizing your company and client information by promoting your employees’ awareness of these tactics.
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