Best Security Practices to Protect Your Self-storage Business from Cyber Attack
Cyber-attack incidences have been on a steady rise in the past decade since most enterprises, both small and medium, are venturing into the digital space.
Most cyber-attacks happen when you least expect it, and they hit where it hurts the most. They mainly target your coffers, and that will be sure to cripple your business. Additionally, in the self-storage field, you receive client information whenever you rent a storage unit, and hackers can access their credit card details and other sensitive information. That would be a disaster. Self-storage operators worldwide have discovered that employing an SSL certificate to a website prevents brute attacks against your website and also helps in search engine optimization. This article entails some of the smart practices you can use to prevent such incidences from ever occurring.
Smart Practices
There are numerous ways of fortifying your storage business from ever getting attacked, but this article will highlight several, and they will be sure to equip you with the skills you need to stay safe.
PCI compliance
PCI refers to the payment card industry. This is a body that permits online businesses to accept and use a credit card for payments. Their security standards ascertain that all companies that allow the process and keep client credit card information do so safely and securely. These regulations ensure that the information your client provides about their credit card details is safe and sound.
Be vigilant
This is a simple yet effective routine. It would help if you only opened web links from sources you trust. This means opening websites that have an S in the first part of its URL (https://), if it only displays (http://), then it is not a secure site, and hackers could be waiting for you on the other end. Lastly, please do not respond to any email that you do not trust its source.
Back-up and encrypt your data
Backups have been termed as life-saving techniques by many storage personnel in the past decade. They come in handy whenever you lose your data, and they help you resume operations like you never stopped. Also, data encryption has proven useful, especially when sensitive data no one else needs access to. When the two are used effectively, you can only watch your business sore to more significant heights.
SSL certificate
Every serious self-storage business that is on the internet has an SSL certificate. It is used in websites to authenticate the identity of the site and to encrypt the data it transmits. This is useful in developing a rapport with your client because they will trust you with their information. If your business having many websites and sub-domains websites then you should use Multi-domain SSL Certificate purchased from the best SSL Providers that will protect all the sites using just a single certificate. Wonderful, isn’t it?
Password management
It is strongly advised always to change your password after several months and keep it as random as possible. It would help if you chose a strong password that has alphabets, numerals, and symbols. These three types of characters make it harder for hackers to surpass your password and thus to keep your data safe and full proof. Lastly, make it as long as possible and do not share your password with anybody as they may compromise the integrity of the password.
Secure your email gateway
Hackers change their mechanisms and tactics every day. Do not be mistaken and underestimate them because they tend to send emails with strange attachments. Once you open the attachment, it will launch a bug into your system and will compromise it in every aspect. Having a useful gateway that scans, filters all messages, and warns you of malicious emails will do the trick.
Install security software
This is a very effective mechanism; security software helps prevent infection. Always ensure the software includes anti-virus, anti-spam filters, and anti-spyware. Hackers tend to look at every possible angle from which they can launch an attack.
Read Also: Can iPhone Get a Virus?
Train your staff to stay safe online
Your staff is the backbone of your business. They manage your clients and are at the last line of defense if you should suffer an attack. You can educate them on their computer rights and responsibilities, maintaining good passwords, reporting suspicious online activity, and flagging fraudulent emails. This will be an effective way to keep the bad guys at bay.
As a pro-tip, it is not guaranteed that your business will not suffer an attack. If you should experience one, it is always prudent to have a contingency plan in place that details the procedures to be followed and a recovery plan if you get attacked. At all times there should be an emergency plan.
Here are some steps you should take if you are attacked:
File a complaint
Always file a report with local authorities before anyone else. They will help you to unmask whoever carried out the attack and may also help in the recovery process. Additionally, there is a body known as The Internet Crime Complaint Center that investigates hack incidences. You can log on to their website to file a report.
Collect all evidence
Always remember to collect and keep things like log files, receipts, emails, reports, and other items that could come in pretty handy in the investigation procedures.
Salvage anything else that could be at risk
If a tenant’s data is compromised, always reach out to the authorities before contacting them. Secondly, advise them to change their passwords, cancel any credit cards, or you could also recommend they update the account information. That will help to prevent further damage to your business and, more importantly, your client.
Conclusion
It is a shame watching an online business go down while all that could have been prevented by regarding simple measures and techniques to curb this. Lastly, make sure to install an SSL certificate for your all websites.
