Beauty Store Business

MAR 2013

For beauty business news, beauty store owners turn to Beauty Store Business. Beauty business trends, beauty business profiles and more!

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KEEPING HACKERS AWAY Online banking protection is crucial as cyber thieves continually hone their attacks. Here are some tips to protect your accounts. QUICK. EASY. EFFICIENT. WHO DOESN'T LOVE ONLINE BANKING? Be aware, though, of the danger online banking carries. Hackers can access your account, drain your funds and threaten the survival of your business. And the risk is growing. Cyber attacks increased some 24% in the first half of 2012 over the same period the previous year, according to a new report from security firm Symantec. ÒAny time the economy goes down, white collar crime goes up,Ó says Bill McDermott, CEO of Atlanta-based McDermott Financial Solutions (mcdfs.com). ÒWe're seeing an increase in corporate account takeovers. It's a huge problem.Ó Banks commonly refuse to indemnify companies for funds stolen from commercial accounts. ÒA lot of people have the misunderstanding that banks offer to business accounts the protection offered to consumers,Ó adds McDermott. ÒIn fact, banks will not hold business account holders harmless for losses from cyber-fraud.Ó And 54 March 2013 | beautystorebusiness.com if you think that fraudsters only go after big corporations, you're mistaken. ÒThere seems to be a trend toward hackers targeting smaller businesses,Ó says Brian Krebs, a cyberfraud investigative reporter in suburban Washington, D.C. (krebsonsecurity.com). ÒPerhaps that's because larger businesses tend to have protective systems in place so the bad guys have to jump through more hoops.Ó But the numbers tell the tale. Some 36% of attacks during the first half of 2012 were directed at businesses with 250 or fewer employees, according to Symantec. That's a big spike from the 18% during the same period the year before. ÒThere appears to be a direct correlation between the rise in attacks against smaller businesses and a drop in attacks against larger ones,Ó says Paul Wood, Symantec's cyber security intelligence manager. ÒIt almost seems attackers are diverting their resources directly from one group to the other.Ó iStockphoto.com Phillip M. Perry

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