It seems as though every other week we’re hearing about a major company falling victim to hackers. With so much information available online nowadays, it isn’t hard to understand why hackers have become so adept at targeting and infiltrating organizations’ financial systems.

Hackers will use a variety of tactics to acquire access to your financial systems, but by far the most popular right now is via social engineering – psychologically manipulating people to perform actions or reveal confidential information. Social engineering scams could look like an email asking for urgent help, or a too-good-to-be-true deal in an online marketplace. In fact, according to Social Engineer, 66% of all hacker attacks use social engineering to gain access — using your own social learning against you.

Are your financial systems hacker proof? Is there anything you can do to better protect them from this threat? Definitely.

Since most of today’s hackers will ‘con’ you into parting with your information by utilizing social niceties or pulling on emotional strings, there are a variety of things to watch out for to protect yourself and your company’s financial information.

For example, never give out information by clicking a link in an email or when someone calls you, especially when those links are in company emails or in regard to company information. Always be wary of those messages or phone calls that pull on the heart strings or try to convince you to take immediate action (thereby making you nervous).

Does the person on the other end of the line seem to know a lot about you? The most successful hackers using social engineering are those who make themselves look the most legitimate – meaning they’re able to best convince you that they know you or have a connection to you. Consider how a hacker might come by the information they’re using to try and trick you into parting with that sensitive information. Don’t put anything on social media that you wouldn’t want hackers to know — and encourage others not to post about you as well.

Here are some further tips to help make your financial systems hacker proof:

–        Make sure security protocols (such as those mentioned above) are in place and well communicated to all employees.

–        Perform regular installation of patches and updates.

–        Ensure all recovery processes are in place in case disaster strikes.

–        Routinely review what company information is available online and assess how such information might be used by a hacker.

If you get hacked, even after you’ve attempted to protect yourself, should you pay the ransom? That depends. How much information was the hacker able to access? What could they potentially do with that information? Did your own backups work or will it take significant time and resources to get your systems back up and running? These are all things to consider when opening up that bitcoin wallet…

In the end, the more secure you can initially make your financial systems, the better off you’ll be in the long run.

At True Sky, we consider the security of your financial systems a top priority. Find out how we can help make them hacker proof by calling 1 855 878 3759 or visit www.truesky.com for more information.