Mission Viejo, CA (PRWEB) September 05, 2014
The iCloud breach that leaked nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence and other celebrities should be a valuable teaching moment for other individuals and companies, according to Ron Zayas, co-founder of 360 Business Consulting.
“There are stories every day about companies getting hacked and security breaches, but none of them have received this level of attention,” Zayas said. “While we sympathize with the victims, we also think this is the perfect time to acknowledge the vulnerability of online data.”
iCloud accounts can be hacked in one of two ways; first, by a hacker guessing the password. “Use a sentence or a phrase as your password. Or mix letters and numbers in a random method,” Zayas suggests. “Also, use different passwords on different accounts, so a hacker who gets one of them won’t get the rest as well.”
If the entire server is compromised, the password doesn’t make any difference. But there are still safeguards available, starting with one that Zayas believes should be obvious but is too often ignored.
“Do not put any personal information – photos, your social security number, company information – on public servers with free access. That includes iCloud, Google Docs and Yahoo,” Zayas said. “These free public services are the #1 target for hackers.”
Instead, store your photos and data somewhere else, such as on your own private hard drive. Or find a smaller service that charges a fee for secure storage – these companies make their money by protecting their customers, not selling data to marketers.
“Too often, a service that’s free really comes with a price tag, and some celebrities are now paying that price,” Zayas said. “We would tell them the same thing we tell our clients – don’t sacrifice security for convenience, or the chance to save a few dollars. It’s just not worth it.”
More free information on how to protect yourself online can be found on the 360 website (http://www.360businessconsulting.com), or by downloading our free app, 360’s Market Your Small Business, from the iTunes store, which offers access to all of our articles on security and marketing.
About 360 Business Consulting
360 Business Consulting is a sales, marketing and security consulting firm. 360 aims to increase sales and profits for small and midsized companies by guaranteeing results and offering innovative pricing to fit a range of budgets and business resources. The firm specializes in identifying client prospects to help companies grow their business, designs custom marketing programs to achieve sales goals and offers a variety of technology and Web-based solutions. For more information, visit http://www.360businessconsulting.com.