Cyber hackers target small businesses

COLUMBIA, Mo- A new study shows that typically one in three computers are now being hacked. It also is saying around 400 billion dollars is being lost due to businesses being hacked.

Computers, especially local ones, hold all sorts of information about the business and its customers. They are often less protected, making them easier to hack.

A business these days must be online. And a few years ago, it was easy to see when a computer was hacked. However, now it can go un-noticed. President of the Missouri Innovations Center, Bill Turpin says, “The most dangerous one are the ones you never knew hit you. That somebody got your credentials, got logged into the system, they copied whatever they wanted and left. And you didn’t even know it.”

Thieves target smaller local businesses because they may have weaker security, but new technology is helping those stores protect a buyer’s financial information. Turpin says, “Most small businesses are not equipped to do this. There are very smart people out there, internationally that are experts. You really need an expert protecting you. Most small business owners would be smart to get a hosting service that hosts their business and let the hosting service do all the heavy duty cyber protection.”

Also consider that as technology grows, it will only be harder to protect important information. A University of Missouri professor for computer science, Prasad Calyam says, “It’s going to be a scary future with all our devices, we are having more wearables, we are putting more sensors everywhere. So we should be very careful with not only our personal data, but data from our things we are starting to use.”

Experts also say to use a number of different passwords especially when using social media.