We live in a different world now, a world where cybersecurity threats surround us every day. It used to be easy to fend off these attacks by installing a simple antivirus, but times have changed.
The Target
Small business owners could really get blindsided by an attack, potentially losing thousands of dollars and hours of their time trying to fix it. One encounter with fraud could put them out of business entirely.
Vulnerable Spots
PC’s and smartphones aren’t the only vulnerable spots anymore. Now hackers can infiltrate a system through IP entry points such as phone systems, security systems, and loT sensors. Even clicking on one malicious email link could result in massive fallout.
The Numbers
For some concrete data, here’s how the numbers look from the 2015 Global Fraud Survey.
- $38.1 billion is lost every year due to telecom fraud, which is almost two percent of total global telecom revenues.
- 89% of respondents said fraud losses had increased or stayed steady with their companies since 2013.
Think about that. Almost 90 percent of respondents said that preventing losses from fraud hasn’t improved over the past three years. There could be many reasons for this, but some honest self-maintenance might be the difference between peace of mind and getting hit by fraud.
The Solutions
Luckily there are a few easy solutions that could dramatically improve your telecom security.
- Install phone systems behind the firewall itself.
- Change your passwords every thirty days, and follow the guidelines for creating strong passwords. Make sure to use upper and lowercase letters, symbols, and special characters.
- Use dial codes that require pins for international calls.
- Get to the cloud. Use a cloud-based phone system, which offers improvements in security with a support team to monitor for threats.
- Lastly, have a disaster recovery plan. Install a backup voice service, or contact an SIP provider.
These simple steps could save you thousands of dollars, not to mention peace of mind. If you want to take it one step further,
Call us at (408) 849-4441 or email us at info@veltecnetworks.com to find out more about bolstering your telecom security with a professional team by your side.
