The last thing a business owner wants to find out is that their company’s personal information has been compromised on the dark web. Now, that business’s financial information, passwords, credentials and more are being sold and traded amongst hackers. 

With new technological advancements and the digital world growing every day, cybersecurity risks are at an all-time high, and more and more companies are becoming vulnerable to a cyberattack. In the beginning of 2019 alone, over 23 million credit and debit cards were on offer in underground forums, and over 6.5 billion online accounts have been sold and traded on the dark web  

So, how do you prevent your personal identifying information from being compromised? 

Implement a two-factor authentication.   

A two-factor authentication or two-step verification is a security process that adds an extra step to your log-in procedure. It’s an additional layer of protection to ensure the safety of your information. Microsoft and Google provide two-factor authentication for your business.      

Make sure your internal or external IT Department is using a system to actively monitor and protect your information. 

Here at Heart if Texas IT, we use a system designed to detect and mitigate cyber threats.  We can search for any compromised personal identifying information and provide a proactive solution with real-time awareness of that information before theft or a data breach can occur.  

 Try to use a different unique password for your work/personal accounts.  

The rule of thumb has always been that people should be changing their password every 30 days. However, Microsoft recently came out with a statement saying that they are wanting to drop their password expiration policies. They recommend alternatives such as enforcing banned-password lists and multi-factor authentication as well as using software to detect password-guessing attacks and detection of anomalous logon attempts. They claim that with these process in place, is there really a point to enforce a password-expiration policy?  

By taking the right precautions and becoming more aware of your online presence, you can protect not only your business, but your personal identifying information as well.  

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect your business’s information, please feel free to contact us or fill out this FORM to see if you qualify for a FREE Dark Web Scan.