It’s never too early to protect against cybercrime.
Tax time can be a cybercriminal’s paradise, as there are so many more opportunities to prey upon vulnerable small businesses. And even if you’ve already filed your 2018 returns, you’re still at risk, as fraudsters don’t take time off of work.
Even so, there are steps every business owner can take to safeguard information, according to Daniel Eliot, Director of Small Business Programs at the National Cyber Security Alliance, or NCSA. Here are five tips on how to prevent a cyber attack from sidelining your business all year long.
1. Guard your Identity.
Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) are gateways into a company’s sensitive information and a popular tool among cybercriminals, who use them to open new lines of credit or obtain credit cards, according to the Internal Revenue Service. To get a hold of your company’s EIN, cybercriminals will mousetrap small businesses into filling out forms on fake websites. The IRS advises employers to be wary of any email that requests sensitive information.
