Just how secure are you online? Let’s have a little chat about that.
 
If you’ve ever heard someone guarantee 100 percent security to you in cyberspace then you know you’ve got yourself a liar – and not a very good one. Of course, cyberspace will never be truly secure. This is why cyber security is becoming increasingly complex and as threats do as well. Huge compromises to data occur in rare events, but the biggest day-to-day threats come in the form of crooks attempting to steal financial data from businesses and individuals.

 
The hackers best at what they do are certainly making life more difficult for cyber security professionals. Simply put, however, the most common breaches of security are often the result of the most obvious mistakes. For example, an employee can physically write down a password on paper only to have it fall into the wrong hands, or customer information is available to those that have no business with such confidential information. Because of this, it appears that some businesses are not able to anticipate incoming cyber attacks.

In fact, there are reports that argue there is a great need to actually provide businesses with incentives to take cyber security more seriously than they already are. Here are some simple tips for prevention:

Manage your Internet connection appropriately

 
By managing your Internet connection, both businesses and customers are better off throughout the payment processing activity online. Internet providers have been prompted by corporations to better manage Internet connections by taking more responsibility in helping their clients identify and fix any potential cyber security problems that they may be experiencing. Example, infectious malware is a common issue that could be cleared up by the Internet service provider fairly easily.

Treat your passwords with care

 
This may sound like the best and worst possible advice because it seems so obvious, yet the security of online payment processing often gets breached for exactly this reason. Don’t use the same passwords for all your accounts-this goes for businesses and individuals. The more complex the password is, the more secure your information will be. Of course, absolutely do not write down your password on a sticky note and stick it on your computer monitor. Just by leaving your device unattended briefly can result in huge consequences that could cost you a whole lot.

Thankfully, there are secure online payment processing systems for eCommerce businesses and customers at sites like Shopify that has great technical support in case you aren’t too familiar with cyber security yourself.

Share on your social media platforms with caution

 
It may appear that sharing information with your friends and followers on social media platforms is engaging and pretty safe. But you would be shocked to discover the amount of information that you are personally exposing both about yourself and your business to those that have negative intentions when you share. They can easily gain access to payment processing information if you’re not careful. One solid way to prevent this is simply by monitoring your accounts for suspicious activity regularly. If you can’t verify or confirm why certain actions were made, assume your account is at risk of being compromised and take the necessarily precautions to prevent any mobile payment processing information from falling into the hands of those to which they don’t belong.

Only access the Internet over a secure network

 
Due to the ever growing need to keep up with the world and the people around us, public networks are now providing Internet access to everyone, everywhere at any time. Chances are you could be using a public network when accessing various accounts or making a purchase online. By doing so, you are putting yourself at risk of unknown links and request that could gather personal information from you. The obscene amount of information that can be seen over a public network is also highly disturbing, so only access the Internet over a secure network and never then make sure the applications you run are trusted and reviewed by as many users as possible to ensure safety.

With the Internet turning out to be one of the greatest resources that has ever existed, there has also been a gathering of items equally threatening cyber security. Businesses and individuals can do a lot to help themselves when it comes to fighting against hackers that come after their payment information. Prevention is the ultimate solution, not waiting until the problem arises before searching for a cure.
By: Kevin Flanagan (Guest Blogger) | Hacking & Security News