RICHMOND, Va. — Businesses are taking action to protect themselves and their customers online against hackers and other types of cyber attacks.
The Metropolitan Business League (MBL) is teaming up with the FBI for a cyber security conference this week called "Be Cyber Ready."
The MBL has opened up registration to its members, as well as any other business owner in the community hoping to learn more about online security.
"If there's anybody that I want to help me with security, it is the FBI," explained Micah White, business development manager for the MBL.
White said one cyber attack can greatly impact any business, but for a small businesses, it can be catastrophic.
In fact, 61% of all small to medium-sized businesses reported at least one cyber attack last year.
"You have no idea how one person's evil doings can mess up your entire business," White explained. "And when you are a small, woman or minority-owned business, you don't have the resources to bounce back like some of these larger corporations do if they get cyber attacked."
This week is also Data Privacy Week in the Commonwealth, and state experts are encouraging all Virginians to take action to learn about online privacy.
Here are a few tips experts suggest you to keep in mind when using the internet:
- Make informed decisions about who gets access to your information, and be wary of apps or services that require information that isn't relevant to the services provided.
- When you decide to use an app or set up a new account, be sure to check the privacy and security settings and set them to your comfort level for information sharing.
- Create long, unique passwords for each separate account and enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible.
The MBL's free, virtual event is being held Wednesday from noon to 1:15 p.m. You can sign up here.
