8/8/2019 #280 BBB 08-26-10 97

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MAGNOLIA CLIPPING SERVICE(601) 856-0911 I (205) 758-8610HA n/ESBURG AMERICAN

H.A.TT/ES8URG, MS Circulation =26509 DAILY

07/30/20101/111111111111111111111111111111 III

BILLMOAK

Protectyour business in o n l ~ R W a n k i n g O NLINE BANKING. HAS made it moreeasy and convenient to manage business finances, but it also providesan opportunity for hackersto gain access to businessaccounts with the.goal ofmaking unauthorizedmoney transfers.The Better BusinessBu

'reau serving M'iSSissippirecommend.s small business owners implement afew simple steps to keeptheir financial informationand transactions securewhen banking online.According to Visa Inc.,85 percent of data breachesoccur at the small businesslevel.Symaritec Corp reportsthat 33 percent of smallbusinesses lack even simpleantivirus protection.Small business ownersmight feel that they areflying under the radar ofdata thieves and hackers,but they are actually in thecrosshairs.

That's why we partneredwith leading security experts to show small business owners that implementing a strong data security strategy doesn't haveto take.a lot of time or resourceS.The BBB offers the following advice for smallbusiness owners to makeonline banking transac"tions secure: Initiate a dual controlpayment process. Ensurethat all payments are initiated from your bank accounts only after the authorization of two employees. .

One employee can au thorize the creation of thepayment file and anotherwill be responsible for authorizing the release of thefile . ..This process should be inplace regardless of the type

of payment being initiated(including checks, wiretransfers, fund transfers,payroil files, ACH payments) .

Have dedicated workstations.Restrict the use ofcertain workstations andlaptops splely for onlinebanking and payments, if, possible. Try to avoid usinga computer for onlinebanking as well as for Webbrowsing or social net-working. Use robust authentica

tion methods and vendors.Make sure your financialservice providers allow for."multi-factor authentication. "This means that youneed more than just a username and password to access your account. Update virus protection and security software.Ensure that all anti-spyware, anti-malware, and

. security software andmechanisms are robust andup-to-date on computersused for online bankingand payments. Implementa process to periodicallyconfirm they remain upto-date. Reconcile accountsdaily. Monitor and reconcile accounts daily againstexpected credits and withdrawals.If yousee any kind of un.expected activity on your account, notify your financial institution im.mediately. .Small business ownerscan g e ~ a d d i t i o n a l adviceand.tips onirnproving datasecutity at www.bbb.org /data-security.

Bill Moak is president of theBetter Business Bureau ofMisSissippi . E-mail him atwww.bbbms.org.

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