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Safeguard your business against cyber threats


Johannesburg, 05 Sep 2019

In this digitally dominated world, nearly all businesses have an online presence. While embracing the digital playing field offers businesses a multitude of new and exciting opportunities, it can also open them up to cyber security risks. Just as a company needs to stay abreast of the latest trends in online marketing, they also need to understand how to protect themselves on the Web. It is imperative that businesses have critical data security measures in place to protect their data.

Phishing and personal data breaches

Consumers have long been educated on the danger of opening suspicious e-mails and clicking on questionable links. However, as consumers become smarter, so do criminals. Avanan reports that an estimated one in 25 branded e-mails is a phishing e-mail. Armed with information gleaned from social media and posing as reputable companies such as Microsoft and Amazon, attackers are making it difficult for consumers to spot a fraud. Even an SSL certificate isn’t a guarantee of authenticity anymore, as the latest statistics show that 58% of phishing sites use SSL certificates.

Recently, “massive data fraud and theft” and “cyber attacks” were ranked fourth and fifth respectively by the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Risk Report of 2019. Even large corporations haven’t been able to withstand attacks. In 2018, personal data breaches affected 150 million MyFitnessPal users, and 50 million Facebook users.

How to protect your online assets from cyber attacks

  • Understand the risk

While it is the larger corporates that make the news for massive data breaches, it is often the smaller companies that are more at risk of cyber attacks. This is because smaller businesses often have fewer checks and balances in place to mitigate their online risk.

Businesses, especially small businesses, need to remember that any data saved online is potentially vulnerable to a breach and that even the smallest data breach can have far-reaching reputational and economic consequences.

  • Mitigate the risk

Staff training – Employees need to be continually educated on potential cyber security threats, especially filtering potential phishing e-mails. 

SSL certificate – SSL certificates provide an extra layer of protection to consumers on Web sites where data is shared.

Anti-virus software – Implementing anti-virus and anti-spyware on all computers and devices connected to the Internet protects against various threats and malware that has the potential to compromise an organisation’s data.

Domains.co.za offers quality and effective cyber security solutions to companies, start-ups, and individuals alike. Its offering includes anti-virus programs and its newly launched domain validated SSL certificate, Certum DV SSL, is now available at R189 per year.  

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