If you follow what I do, you probably know that I work closely with governmental institutions whose main focus is on public protection, as well as big corporations and VIP’s who need that extra boost to their security with not-so commonly applied protection methodologies. Going by the playbook in those cases is not enough, so I come in to bring the element of surprise. That is the only thing they need to stay ahead of cyber-criminals and control the attacks.

I noticed one important thing, however – small and medium companies, and individual entrepreneurs do not have a comprehensive security approach. If you fall into one of these categories, you’ll be happy to learn that many of my tools and methodologies are designed specifically for your needs.

Why did I do this? SMEs are currently under threat from almost the same high-end attacks as large enterprises but, they do not have the resources to build adequate protection measures, especially because of the budget related issues.

Why do I care? What can I say! I am a possibilities person. I love making the impossible possible. I love seeing people relieved and excited instead of, stressed out from additional pressure.

The one challenge I meet in this process is how to offer to this category the same effectiveness as the big guys have but, do it on a shoe string budget. I managed to come up with a solution, because I love challenges.

There is one thing I can tell you with certainty. I do not care what your budget is. I can make it worth your while and extend it to the maximum. Always under one condition. You must listen to my advice because you know your business and I know security.

So, here is one piece of advice I can give you without you spending a dime. Yes, you heard right!

Want a little help?

Here goes.

1. Connecting your devices to public Wi-Fi: You probably by now think I am a public Wi-Fi snob, and I most probably am, but with good reason. Stop connecting to public Wi-Fi. Seriously!

No matter how small you are you can afford your own internet connection. If you are working from other locations like hotels and coffee shops you should definitely read my article “The 3 most common locations hackers phish for unexpected victims“. Overall, if you are not at your place (with your own internet access which you set up correctly-that is cheap as well) ponder. Do you really need internet access? How can you make it more secure? Use a VPN or your phone plan (do not complain these are cheap as well and definitely cheaper than an attack or a GDPR fine!).

2. Not maintaining what you have: There is always someone approaching members of my team for pirated software installations. Of course, they do not ask me because they know my reply. No one loves you that much to give you for free a software on which a company spent thousands just out of the kindness of their heart. They spend time to break it because it will be the bait for you to be attacked. You can never be sure what else they have added to that software. So, we have covered the fact that you need to purchase your software from a legitimate source.

Now you have it but, you do not maintain it properly. You still live in the windows XP time frame and you refuse to do updates. Updates are there for a reason. Yes, companies sometimes add upgrades with them; meaning extra features you might not want to have BUT updates are essential and here is why. Software programs are composed of code. You know, that strange language which seems like alien communication! Just kidding. Learning how to write code it’s just an extension of logic. When cyber-criminals discover a mistake in the code, they will try to use it to attack people. That is why companies create patches or UPDATES. So, that you can be protected from cyber-criminals. So, as soon as there is an update available you need to install it on your machine. Additionally, when a company retires a specific software (they do not support it anymore -no updates available) you need to immediately change your software version to a newest version, which is supported.

3. Having the same weak password for all your accounts: Passwords even have their own day which is the first Thursday of May every year. Not by accident. They are that important. Even though for the security experts password setting is a top priority advice, you don’t seem to listen. But that is not the truth. The truth is that you do listen but, you do not know how to set passwords properly.

How will you create strong, memorable, unique passwords once and for all? We do listen, and we are aware that there is no solid guidance on how to do it right. Well it wasn’t until I created “ESODOS-the first key to security”. [if you are interested to learn about ESODOS please let us know here]. Among other things you will learn how to create strong, unique, memorable passwords with no need for tools to create and maintain them. A technique I developed and used for my high-end clients, which I make available to you as well. You can figure out how to do it properly by yourself or you can take our training and nail it.

Apply what you learn immediately. Learn how to develop your greatest ally.

Here we are. The 3 habits that can make or break your security if you are a small or medium business, or an entrepreneur.

I am now turning it over to you. Security without action is not effective, so let me know in the comments section below:

• What steps can you take right now to increase your security levels with these 3 habits?
• Which of the 3 habits are you committed to applying immediately to increase your protection?
• Not entirely convinced? Fill out this threat evaluation report and receive my complimentary feedback on your risk levels.

I cannot wait to hear your comments so leave them below and let’s continue the conversation.