How often do you hear of hacking on the news? Realistically, not very often... Generally it involves the big companies losing data and personal information, and even then it's not often. This brings a false sense of security to so many people. If you don't hear about it happening, then it doesn't happen. The information on hacking with viruses should give you good indication of how easy it is to get into a company sometimes.

Think about your workplace for instance - how often do you, or the employees around you, get viruses? Do you know what kind of security your employer has in place to protect the corporate network from being hacked? How often do the network computers actually become infected with a virus or trojan compared to how often the antivirus software stops it?

Many small companies are not secure, and they rely on the basic off the shelf firewall that you pay $40.00 for and it's definitely not enough. These firewalls cannot stop the flow of network traffic from your network to the internet and a virus at that point is a guaranteed hack. Understand this very well and tell your employer as well. "If you have basic protection and get a viral infection, it is almost certain that you will be hacked". If the virus can gain access to the internet, it will go looking for the hacker as it is usually pre-programmed with all the information to do so.

Now you have to stop and think about the information the company holds on you?

You have a right to request information on the security setup of the company you work for. After all, they hold key information on you that you do NOT want to lose. They will have your Social Insurance Number, your complete address and phone number, your bank account number if you have a direct deposit, etc. Corporate networks and access to corporate servers are a goldmine to the average hacker.

Companies getting hacked and losing data really is a common occurrence, but it's very rarely ever reported. It's at the point now where many of the larger corporations will not deal with smaller companies unless they prove they have a decent firewall and proper antivirus protection. It just makes sense. The fines that come with the new privacy laws are no minor sum, but not only that, there's a stigma that comes with losing personal information through being hacked. .

How else can information be gained by a thief?

It's not just the hacking due to viral activity, it's the computer thefts, lost paperwork, garbage that's tossed out, etc. Think about the paper that the company throws out on a daily basis, are there addresses or mail? Does the company shred documents before it's tossed? How many companies do you deal with in a year, and how often do you give out your personal information to average companies? Would you ask them about how secure it's going to be? Probably not.

Thank you.
Management - Internetempowered.com
When it comes to Internet Safety - knowledge really is power.

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