Shadow IT<\/strong><\/p>\nThe bane of corporate IT departments, “shadow IT” refers to the practice of employees downloading unauthorized software for use on their work computers. They might have no ulterior motive to harm the company, such as wanting to use a new Web browser or a program to watch movies or play music during breaks.<\/p>\n
But failing to consult with IT and get permission to install software exposes your company to malware that could lead to identity theft and other cyber crimes.<\/p>\n
Weak Passwords<\/strong><\/p>\nEmployees who are lazy or who just do not realize the importance of using strong passwords can expose you to hackers bent on penetrating your network, vandalizing your website and stealing confidential documents.<\/p>\n
Have your IT department remind each worker about setting up stronger passwords, using numbers and letters and some uppercase characters. A convenient way to make a difficult-to-guess password is to have employees come up with a phrase and use the first letter of each word such as “Let’s go to the beach Saturday at 3” to make a password “LgttbSa3.”<\/p>\n
Access Continues Following Termination<\/strong><\/p>\nJust as you would demand the key to the front door from a worker who is leaving your employ, you should always cut off their access to your computer systems. Change the employee’s computer password promptly (don’t forget to adjust the email login credentials and the password for voicemail).<\/p>\n
Personal Cloud Computing<\/strong><\/p>\nCloud computing makes it easier for employees to share information with one another as well as access their own files from different devices. Unfortunately, workers may be tempted to upload sensitive company data to their personal cloud storage accounts, which will likely not have the same robust protection your IT department implements for the official cloud computing services you rely on.<\/p>\n
Vulnerable to Social Engineering<\/strong><\/p>\nYour IT staff should instruct employees not to write their passwords down on sticky notes attached to their computer monitor or on scraps of paper in the top drawer of their desk. A visitor may wander by the office and take note of the password.<\/p>\n
At the same time, IT should remind workers not to give out information on the phone to strangers that could be used to guess passwords. Social engineering helps hackers figure out passwords that then give them full access to a company’s proprietary information.<\/p>\n
For more details about how your business can protect itself against computer criminals stealing data because of employees failing to take security seriously, the team at {city}’s {company} is standing by to assist you. Contact us at {phone} or {email} today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hackable employees are the weak links in your company’s computer and software security. Learn how your organization can defend itself better against hackers. The safety and security of your company’s intellectual property and the confidential data that you routinely collect, store and use may not be as robust as you think. As the owner or…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":154742,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-154740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Hackable Employees - IT Services in Virginia<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n