ROANOKE, Va. – Russian cyberattacks could strike the United States as part of the invasion in Ukraine.
But there are ways for entrepreneurs to protect their small businesses from becoming a victim.
Vicious hackers have targeted Virginia schools, hospitals and law enforcement agencies in the past.
But Mad Data Co-Founder Mary Hamilton said the backbone of America could be at risk.
She said small businesses “don’t have the money to invest in cybersecurity” and “hackers don’t have to work hard to get them.”
In 2020, according to a report from the Virginia IT Agency (VITA), most cyberattacks in Virginia were traced back to the U.S. Russia ranked second.
Computer security expert Darrin Swan, a channel chief at Todyl, said extra hackers may be lurking under the cover of the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
“They are going to go after the small prey that are quick easy wins to make a quick buck under the cover of its Russia attacks,” Swan said. “No, it could be some guy or gal in their basement somewhere.”
The Mad Data co-founders called southwest Virginia a hotbed for hacking, especially back in 2020. According to the VITA report, the commonwealth faced 66 million cyberattacks. At a rate of 2.12 attacks every second.
“We’re easy to hack because they don’t know what to do,” Mary Hamilton said. “Because they don’t have the tools in place.”
Brian Hamilton, Mad Data co-founder, suggests adding two-factor authentication systems, creating unique 12 to 14 character long passwords and assuring information is being backed up.
“Sometimes we just assume it’s backing up,” he said. “But do we ever check it? Take time to check that. If someone is doing work for you ask them ‘hey do you mind sending me the backup log of that. I just want to see where we are at with that.’”
Pax8 Senior Director of Company Compliance Matt Lee, a cybersecurity expert, said be cautious with social media too.
“Don’t tell me where you are going to be every day on Facebook,” he said. “Don’t tell me your mom’s maiden name, your favorite dog, cause I’m going to use it to attack you.”
Lee also suggests businesses hire an IT specialist to develop a plan with a series of barriers to avoid being impacted by any cyberattacks.