Take It More Seriously

Small business form backbone of U.S. economy

• 1 in 2 american workers are employed in a small business
• 15 million net jobs created between 1993 and 2009 and 65% were small firms

The internet is a critical resource for U.S. small business

• 73% say a safe and trusted internet is critical to their success
• 87% have one or more employees who use the internet for daily operations
• 55% say that the loss of internet access for 48 straight hours during a regular business week would be disruptive to their business - 38% say it would be extremely disruptive

A cyber security disconnect

• Majority of U.S. small business satisfied with their online safety measures
• 77% say their company is safe from cyber threats such as hacker, viruses, malware or a cyber - security breach
• 66% say they are not concerned about external threats (like a hacker or cyber - criminal stealing data) or an internet threat (like an employee, ex-employee or contractor/consultant stealing data)
• 47% believe a data breach incident would have no impact on their business and it would be treated as an isolated incident
• 18% say they would not know if their computer network was compromised

Yet most U.S. small business can improve their online security practices

Cyber attacks aimed at small business:

• 18% in end of 2011
• 36% today
• 60% of small business will close within six months of a cyberattack
• Nearly 9 in 10 do not have a formal written Internet security policy for employees - 87%
• 69% do not have even an informal Internet security policy for employees
• 59% do not have a contingency plan outlining procedures for responding and reporting data breach losses
• 75% do not have policies for employees social media use on the job while 23% have established policies
• 60% do not have a privacy that employees must comply with when they handle customers or employee information.

What business can do better to protect themselves

• Keep a clean machine.- keep all workplace machines clean and protected from malware, viruses and infections
• Protect your information.- secure your accounts by making passwords long, strong and unique
• Protect your company's online reputation.- set security and privacy settings to your comfort level of sharing
• Educate your employees.- teach your employees basic best practices; such as if an email, social network post or text message looks suspicious, even if you know the source, delete it.

About LaraNet: We are a web design firm focused to help you to grow your business and communicate with your customers and prospects using two simple but powerful tools: 1) Interactive Website and 2) Internet Marketing Strategy on social networks like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc …
Whether you want to work with just a web page, or launch or improve your presence on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn or communicate with your customers through newsletters, or improve the location of your business in the search engines through Search Engine Optimization, or start marketing your products or services online, in LaraNet we can help you.

Keywords: Website designer in Houston, Web Designer in Houston, Web Site Developer in Houston, Webmaster in Houston, Internet Marketing Agency in Houston, Website Consultant in Houston, Enrique Antonio Lara Vidales, LaraNet, Web Design in Houston, Website Development in Houston, Open Source Content Management, Internet Marketing Services, Houston Small Business Websites, Integrated Internet Marketing, Content Marketing Specialist, Community Manager Specialist, Houston Internet

Register now to receive my weekly BLOG on your email!

Enrique Lara