Small businesses get top security tips

Top US accountants have issued advice for SMEs to stay abreast of hackers malware and other security threats to their IT systems.

The California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CSCPA) has warned small and medium size businesses of the growing threats and issued guidelines on how to combat the majority of security threats to companies today.

CSPCA said that the internet has made opportunities for identity theft, business disruption and access to sensitive financial records easier and urged companies to stay vigilant.

The advice the CSPCA has issued is to:

Install hardware firewalls, gateways and proxy servers that will restrict access from the outside world and also control outbound data flow.

Use an intrusion detection system, setting an alarm to instantly notify key managers when a breach is detected. Constantly check the network for leaks and any open doors.

Discard weak passwords, usually with common words or names, and implement a company policy that requires at least 12 mixed alpha, numeric and special characters.

Install and monitor virus protection software on both PCs and servers-including email servers - to scan all incoming and outgoing messages. Update it on a weekly basis.

Do not open any unexpected email attachments without first saving to disk and scanning for viruses.

Make frequent back-ups and copies of every file on the system.