Easy Ways to Start Protecting Your Data memories. Businesses can lose tens of thousands, even millions, of dollars of revenue. In extreme cases, data loss can even cause a business to fail. It's critical to invest in a good backup solution that stores a copy of your data out of harm's way. It's also important to avoid reusing passwords. Attackers frequently start by compromising several "low-value" sites, such as social media, in order to build a profile that can be used to gain access to a target of greater value, like your Amazon account, your bank account, or your company's network. Using the same password for everything allows the attacker to jump from site to site with ease. If you create a new password for each place you visit, that sort of attack becomes nearly impossible. (A password manager helps with this, also.) Sponsored by Kingfisher Technologies As the world has become more connected, cybercrime has become increasingly common. Hardly a week goes by without at least one announcement of a new data breach. Luckily, it's not terribly difficult to reduce your risk of an attack. Here are seven things that anyone can do, both at home and at work. Learn how to spot phishing and social engineering: Phishing and social engineering are both modern versions of the con game that has been played since the beginning of human history. There are now a lot of tutorials online about how to spot phishing; many companies also provide training for their employees. Learn the signs. When in doubt, don't click that link. And always remember: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Improve your passwords: Your password is your first line of defense against an attack, so you need to make sure it's as hard to guess as possible. Length and complexity are your friends here. A 6-character word can be guessed in eight seconds by a modern computer. Increase it to 10 characters and add some numbers and symbols, and the guessing can take 1000 years. Complex passwords are difficult to remember, so use a good password manager to help you out. Multi-factor authentication: Multi-factor (or two-factor) authentication is a technical name for a simple concept. Rather than relying only on a password, which can be shared or guessed, multi-factor authentication double-checks using something you have, such as your phone or your fingerprint. It's not foolproof, but it makes it harder for an attacker to get into your account. Invest in good security software: Good security software is invisible by design. It filters out malicious files and attacks with very high degrees of accuracy and without a lot of unnecessary interruptions to you. There are free options, but most sacrifice either accuracy or automation (or both). This is a time when it makes sense to spend a little to get something much better. Apply updates: You've probably seen the frequent prompts from your computer or phone to update your software. Don't just silence them: hackers use a known software defect in more than 90% of attacks, and most of the time, those defects have already been fixed. Use permissions properly: It's irritating when you don't have permission to use data that you need to do your job, so it's all too common, especially in smaller businesses, to just give everyone all the rights on everything. Setting permissions appropriately, though, not only makes it much more difficult for an attacker to siphon off data; it also prevents common accidents that would otherwise modify or delete critical business data. The ideal is to assign each account only the minimum permissions required for the task at hand, and most software has mechanisms like groups and roles that help make the management of those fine-grained permissions much easier. Take frequent backups: Backups are your last line of defense against disasters big and small-power failures, fires, floods, ransomware, lost or damaged devices, and accidental deletions, just to name a few. Any disaster can cause data to be lost, and it's always painful. Home users can lose irreplaceable HOW WE CAN HELP Kingfisher Technologies has a single mission: to help small and midsized businesses protect their data using solutions that are proactive, pragmatic, and affordable. From Microsoft SQL Server administration and performance tuning to resilience and cybersecurity, we have the experience and expertise to help you make sure your data is available. when you need it. Contact us via our website at kingfisherdata.com to get started with a free 30-minute. strategy session. **+Kingfisher Kingfisher Technologies kingfisherdata.com Contact us today to schedule a free 30-minute strategy session kingfisherdata.com | 319.343.6538 TECHNOLOGIES Data is at the core of your business. Your website relies on it. Your applications Your business is powered by data rely on it. If the data is slow or offline, your business grinds to a halt. We protect your business' data. That's all we do. Our proven solutions help you eliminate wasted time, eliminate downtime, and reduce risks related to your systems' data. And that gives you peace of mind. Kingfisher TECHNOLOGIES Data Security Virtual DBA | SQL Server Consulting Easy Ways to Start Protecting Your Data memories . Businesses can lose tens of thousands , even millions , of dollars of revenue . In extreme cases , data loss can even cause a business to fail . It's critical to invest in a good backup solution that stores a copy of your data out of harm's way . It's also important to avoid reusing passwords . Attackers frequently start by compromising several " low - value " sites , such as social media , in order to build a profile that can be used to gain access to a target of greater value , like your Amazon account , your bank account , or your company's network . Using the same password for everything allows the attacker to jump from site to site with ease . If you create a new password for each place you visit , that sort of attack becomes nearly impossible . ( A password manager helps with this , also . ) Sponsored by Kingfisher Technologies As the world has become more connected , cybercrime has become increasingly common . Hardly a week goes by without at least one announcement of a new data breach . Luckily , it's not terribly difficult to reduce your risk of an attack . Here are seven things that anyone can do , both at home and at work . Learn how to spot phishing and social engineering : Phishing and social engineering are both modern versions of the con game that has been played since the beginning of human history . There are now a lot of tutorials online about how to spot phishing ; many companies also provide training for their employees . Learn the signs . When in doubt , don't click that link . And always remember : if it sounds too good to be true , it probably is . Improve your passwords : Your password is your first line of defense against an attack , so you need to make sure it's as hard to guess as possible . Length and complexity are your friends here . A 6 - character word can be guessed in eight seconds by a modern computer . Increase it to 10 characters and add some numbers and symbols , and the guessing can take 1000 years . Complex passwords are difficult to remember , so use a good password manager to help you out . Multi - factor authentication : Multi - factor ( or two - factor ) authentication is a technical name for a simple concept . Rather than relying only on a password , which can be shared or guessed , multi - factor authentication double - checks using something you have , such as your phone or your fingerprint . It's not foolproof , but it makes it harder for an attacker to get into your account . Invest in good security software : Good security software is invisible by design . It filters out malicious files and attacks with very high degrees of accuracy and without a lot of unnecessary interruptions to you . There are free options , but most sacrifice either accuracy or automation ( or both ) . This is a time when it makes sense to spend a little to get something much better . Apply updates : You've probably seen the frequent prompts from your computer or phone to update your software . Don't just silence them : hackers use a known software defect in more than 90 % of attacks , and most of the time , those defects have already been fixed . Use permissions properly : It's irritating when you don't have permission to use data that you need to do your job , so it's all too common , especially in smaller businesses , to just give everyone all the rights on everything . Setting permissions appropriately , though , not only makes it much more difficult for an attacker to siphon off data ; it also prevents common accidents that would otherwise modify or delete critical business data . The ideal is to assign each account only the minimum permissions required for the task at hand , and most software has mechanisms like groups and roles that help make the management of those fine - grained permissions much easier . Take frequent backups : Backups are your last line of defense against disasters big and small - power failures , fires , floods , ransomware , lost or damaged devices , and accidental deletions , just to name a few . Any disaster can cause data to be lost , and it's always painful . Home users can lose irreplaceable HOW WE CAN HELP Kingfisher Technologies has a single mission : to help small and midsized businesses protect their data using solutions that are proactive , pragmatic , and affordable . From Microsoft SQL Server administration and performance tuning to resilience and cybersecurity , we have the experience and expertise to help you make sure your data is available . when you need it . Contact us via our website at kingfisherdata.com to get started with a free 30 - minute . strategy session . ** + Kingfisher Kingfisher Technologies kingfisherdata.com Contact us today to schedule a free 30 - minute strategy session kingfisherdata.com | 319.343.6538 TECHNOLOGIES Data is at the core of your business . Your website relies on it . Your applications Your business is powered by data rely on it . If the data is slow or offline , your business grinds to a halt . We protect your business ' data . That's all we do . Our proven solutions help you eliminate wasted time , eliminate downtime , and reduce risks related to your systems ' data . And that gives you peace of mind . Kingfisher TECHNOLOGIES Data Security Virtual DBA | SQL Server Consulting