Cloud security tips and tricks by Ben Climer and Safe Network Solutions right now: According to Security Magazine, the average cost of a data breach for a small business is $36,000 to $50,000. Of course, this number is much greater when we look at large successful businesses. It was also reported that 60% of small businesses went out of business within 6 months of falling victims to cyberattacks, according to Keeper Security and the Ponemon Institute. Running the risk of closing your doors forever due to a crippling cyberattack is just one of the many reasons to implement Cybersecurity Awareness Training. Here are some additional reasons why cybersecurity awareness training is critical in Nashville and Middle Tennessee: To Prevent Breaches and Attacks – It doesn’t get simpler than this first reason, Cybersecurity Awareness Training prevents breaches and attacks. The more your employees know how to identify threats, the safer your sensitive data is. Find additional information on Ben Climer.

Ben Climer has been in the Service Team Lead and Solution Architect role for 5 years. His favorite aspect of SNS is the great team we have, which allows us to deliver excellent service to our clients. When there’s a challenging problem at hand, Ben is the one we can count on for complete answers and elegant solutions. Ben built his first computer at the age of 8, started building web applications at 12 and before joining SNS, went on to compete in National Computer Repair competitions. He worked for HP as well as music row clients prior to joining SNS. Outside of work, Ben enjoys working on cars and traveling.

With over 10 years of work experience in the IT industry, Ben Climer is a passionate and skilled CTO at Safe Network Solutions, a leading provider of network security and cloud solutions. Ben Climer has a strong background in technical sales, network administration, and solution architecture. His mission is to deliver innovative, reliable, and cost-effective solutions that meet the needs and expectations of our clients. Collaboration, learning, and excellence, and striving to create a culture of trust, empowerment, accountability within the team are Ben Climer’s goals.

As the CTO, Ben Climer is responsible for overseeing the technical direction, strategy, and vision of the company, as well as mentoring a team of talented engineers and consultants. He has successfully implemented and troubleshooted various projects involving Hyper-V, Azure, Office 365, AWS, and wireless point-to-point technologies, ensuring high performance, security, and scalability. He also participated in various CTF competitions, demonstrating proficiency in cloud and cybersecurity. Ben Climer enjoys staying updated on the latest trends and developments in the IT field, and sharing his knowledge and insights with the community.

An attack that directly or indirectly targets your customers would be disastrous not only for the customers but also for your company. The public relations catastrophe alone could be enough to ruin the business, not to mention the financial aspect. It could take years for people to trust you again, if ever. We’re not saying you’ve hired any shady characters, but employees are a common source of security breaches — 60 percent of them occur within the company, according to a survey by the International Data Corporation [source: Staff Monitoring]. For that reason, employees should be given access to only as much sensitive information as they need to do their jobs, and no one person should be able to access all data systems. Employees should be required to get permission before they install any kind of software on their work computers. Lock up laptops when they’re not in use.

Understand What Data Your Business Is Collecting and Ensure It Is Protected. In order to keep your business data safe online, you should conduct an audit of all data and identify which data is public information (and therefore doesn’t need to be closely guarded), which data has a medium importance and will not impact your business too much if discovered (this should have some security measures to protect it) and finally, which data is most important and personal to your business. The final category of data will impact your business greatly if lost or stolen and should be guarded safely with the highest security and least access rights from members of your business.

Be Cautious of Public Wi-Fi. The laws and regulations that govern cyber security in other countries are typically not going to be the same as those found in the US. Free Wi-Fi access can be very appealing for business or leisure travelers but is also particularly vulnerable to security issues. Avoid unencrypted Wi-Fi networks; ask your hotel about its security protocol before connecting to the Web. Be extra cautious using Internet cafes and free Wi-Fi hotspots; if you must use them, avoid accessing personal accounts or sensitive data while connected to that network.

Use Strong Passwords & Use a Password Management Tool. You’ve probably heard that strong passwords are critical to online security. The truth is passwords are important in keeping hackers out of your data! According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) 2022 new password policy framework, you should consider: Dropping the crazy, complex mixture of upper case letters, symbols, and numbers. Instead, opt for something more user-friendly but with at least eight characters and a maximum length of 64 characters. If you want to make it easier to manage your passwords, try using a password management tool or password account vault. LastPass FREE is a great tool for an individual. LastPass offers a FREE account and has a $2/month membership with some great advanced password features.

Ben Climer about data breaches: Data breaches can be far more than a temporary terror — they may change the course of your life. Businesses, governments, and individuals alike can experience huge complications from having sensitive information exposed. Whether you are offline or online, hackers can get to you through the internet, Bluetooth, text messages, or the online services that you use. Without proper attention to detail, a small vulnerability can cause a massive data breach. Since many people are unaware of how common modern security threats work, they don’t give it enough attention.