JACKSON, MS
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WEEKLY
04/08/2010
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Steps to help protect your
busiQess in online banking
"s'­
JANS - Online banking has made it more
easy and convenient to manage business fi­
nances, but it also provides an opportunity for
hackers to gain access to business accounts with
the goal of making unauthorized money trans­
fers. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) Serv­
ing Mississippi recommends small business
owners implement a few simple steps to keep
their financial information and transactions se­
cure when banking online.
According to Visa Inc., 85 percent of data
breaches occur at the small business leveL
Symantec Corporation reports that 33 percent of
small businesses lack even simple antivirus pro­
tection.
"Small business owners might feel that they
are flying under the radar of data thieves and
hackers, but they are actually in the crosshairs,"
said Bill Moik, President/CEO of the Missis­
sippi BBB. "That's why we partnered with lead­
ing security experts to show small business
owners that implementing a strong data security
strategy doesn't have to take a lot of time or re­
sources."
The BBB offers the following advice for
small business owners to make online banking
transactions secure:
• Initiate a dual control payment process.
Ensure that all'paymcijJU'8tepinitiated from your
bank accounts only after the authorization of
two employees. One efuployee can authorize the
creation of the payment file and another will be
responsible for authorizing the release of the
file. This process should be in place regardless
ofthe type of payment being initiated (including
checks, wire transfers, fund transfers, payroll
files, ACH payments).
• Have dedicated workstations. Restrict the
use of certain workstations and laptops solely
for online banking and payments, if possible.
Try to avoid using a computer for online bank­
ing as well as for Web browsing or social net­
working. '
• Use robust authentication methods and
vendors. Make sure your financial service
providers allow for "multi-factor authentic a­
ti~l1." This means that you need more than just
a user name and password to access your ac­
count.
• Update virus protection and security soft­
ware. Ensure that all anti-spyware, anti­
rnalware, and security software and mechanisms
are robust and up-to-date on computers used for
online banking and payments. Implement a
process to periodically confirm they remain up­
to-date.
• Reconcile accounts daily. Monitor and re­
cor-cile accounts daily against expected credits
and withdrawals. If you see any kind of unex­
pected activity on your account, notify your fi­
nancial institution immediately. '
Small business owners can get adliitional ad­
vice and tips on improving datl:t'os\ecurity at
www.bbb.orgidata-security.