Small businesses and electronic crime

By Grant Draper

A You Gov survey has revealed that the cause of stress and anxiety in the work place comes from technology not working, difficult suppliers and clients, heavy workloads, tight deadlines and long hours.

Businesses were also questioned about their views on work based crime, fear of theft, or loss of confidential data for instance.

Amazingly, the reality of break-ins and thefts posed a small threat to a great deal of businesses questioned, with an average of 9% saying it caused them a lot of anxiety.

Again, loss or stolen confidential data was a lot lower on businesses priorities than it should be, with an average of one in ten businesses classing this as a top priority, and something that they should be focused on.

Businesses were also questioned about electronic attacks. With 83% suggesting they had not been a victim, it makes them the prime targets for future attacks, as attackers know they are not expecting an attack, and are therefore not prepared.

For businesses to not come under attack, certain procedures need to come into place, such as implementing a highly developed software based security program, helping them to not become one of over 500,000 websites, for instance, that were infected in May this year.

Other ways to minimize the chances of attack are to ensure use of passwords and authentication technology, employ strict downloading procedures when using non trusted resources, use firewalls and anti virus software, manage backups, maximise encryption and don’t leave confidential information on handheld or mobile devices.