There is hardly anyone nowadays who can remember a time when computers weren’t an almost necessary part of every day life. For this reason it is imperative that computer anti virus protection be used to protect the information stored on computers as well as to protect the owner. This is paramount for the multi million dollar corporation, whose hierarchy all believe that one of the most essential issues of the company is to protect the company files stored within the databases of their computer systems. Without data protection all of the corporation’s highly classified information would be open to public viewing, and easy to duplicate.
Hospitals are another easy mark for the theft of personal information from computer databases. Confidential information is stored on computers in all medical facilities, and, if not covered by computer anti virus protection, is open for all eyes to see. Statistics show that the chances of any individual being the victim of identity theft within the next year are one in 33. Computer anti virus protection offers some defense; however, even then only 25% of computer viruses are detected by anti virus software.
Construction companies are also a common target for identity theft, especially smaller contractors. Very often a smaller contractor will have high end clients; however, the company’s computer security is on the lower end. The reason for this is simply that the contractor feels that no one would bother trying to break into the security of a small company. Therefore, it is easy for someone to breach the security and access the client’s information. This will serve two purposes for the cyberattacker. In breaching the security of the contractor, they are able to obtain the client’s information, thereby cleaning out the contractor’s bank account as well as the client’s. The U.S. construction market is the second largest construction market in the world which makes the industry a sought after target for cyberattackers. There is, however, anti virus protection available that is strong yet affordable for smaller corporations to utilize.
The bottom line is this; in one single day between 200,000 and 300,000 types of computer viruses, or malware, are discovered. It not only pays to have a strong computer anti virus protection in place, it is an absolute necessity. When is comes to breaches of security of corporations, the law isn’t as forgiving as it is for the private sector. This is because legally, companies are held to a higher standard of security. It is suggested that employees being trained on a company’s computer system be instructed to create passwords that make sense to them, but no sense at all to someone trying to break into the system. For instance, the employee might be told to make up a short sentence, that means something only to them, and then take certain letters from each word to form a password. This is a completely random way to create a password memorable for the user, but impossible for someone else. There are any number of ways to create strong passwords that would provide the necessary security to prevent an attack on a company’s computer system.
Records show that in a single year the number of U.S. residents whose identity is stolen reaches around 15 million. Monetary losses jump over the $50 billion mark. Computer anti virus protection is easy to obtain, but, without it individuals and corporations are open to any type of attack on their personal and client information. The field of construction is just one example of the possibility of cyberattacks on corporate computer systems. There are large and small corporations throughout the world that share the possibility of computer viruses and attacks. Again, even small companies and personal computers are not immune.
