MILWAUKEE – With technology rapidly developing every day, so does the capability of cybercriminals. During an appearance on Wisconsin’s Midday News, Better Business Bureau Serving Wisconsin President and CEO Jim Temmer discussed the recent popular victim of cybercrime: small businesses
Specifically, Temmer discussed how cybercriminals can use a small business’ social media presence against them and why they are the popular target.
“First of all …. demographics. I think there are hundreds and hundreds of times the amount of small businesses than large ones, but they don’t have the resources that large businesses have,” Temmer said. “They don’t have gigantic I.T. departments and chief information officers.”
A cyber attack is generally when a ‘hacker’ gains access to a person or organization’s online page to damage their network. Sometimes, a cybercriminal will demand a ransom payment in order for the person or organization to regain control of their online pages. Temmer added that is another reason why small businesses can be targeted, they may be unable to pay that ransom.
Social media is a popular avenue to attack small businesses because a hacker is not just leveraging a business, but gaining access to their customers too.
“Maybe someone takes that over, and sends an ad that looks like it’s from (the business),” Temmer said. “All of those clients, and if they are buying something like jewelry and be affluent, they then could be downloading some malware.”
According to Temmer, hackers will look for a business that has not posted on a social media platform recently in hopes they will not notice fraudulent activity.
Temmer went on to call small businesses a “gateway” to their entire customer base.
So it all begs the question: How can a small business stay safe from hackers?
“Keep your passwords and security systems up to date,” Temmer said. “If you have employees, you have to make sure they are trained as well because the weakest link is the human factor. If someone opens up that email that they shouldn’t have or a bad link, it can all be gone.”
Temmer described “cyber insurance” as a new policy available to some businesses, saying it can be quite helpful after an attack happens.
TOP HEADLINES FROM THE 620 WTMJ NEWS TEAM:
- Big Drone Show coming to Milwaukee
- Ed Policy to be named Packers President and CEO
- Southeast Wisconsin bracing for more severe weather
- Boat crash near Reef Point Marina leaves child in life-threatening condition
- National Weather Service confirms five tornadoes touched down Saturday in Wisconsin
READ: Data breach puts Medicaid members’ information at risk, according to Wisconsin DHS
