People suck when it comes to New Year’s resolutions. That’s because 45% of Americans or 145 million people who promise to lose weight, save money, quit smoking, or do better the following year fail to achieve their goals. In fact, only 8% keep their resolutions, according to the University of Scranton and the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
What’s more depressing are people who make dangerous resolutions! Believe it or not, that happens a lot, even among small businesses owners. Psychology Today believes this explains why many resolutions are “unrealistic” and not aligned with company goals.
To show you what we mean, Cyber Shift Technologies, LLC, a leading provider of cost-effective IT solutions in the Akron–Canton–Massillon area, has prepared a list of bad resolutions that small business owners should avoid. Don’t make these mistakes if you want your organization to succeed.
[X] I will ignore malware and other cybersecurity threats. Why learn about the dangers of malware like ransomware and business email compromise (BEC) attacks when you’ve never been targeted by cybercriminals before? Is there any reason they should target you now? It’s not your fault that US businesses have already lost $346 million due to BECs. You’re running a company and have no time to worry about those figures!
[X] I won’t train employees. As long as the people you hired are qualified for the job, there’s no reason to be worried, right? Why waste money on training employees in cybersecurity and other best IT practices when they already know what they’re doing? Ignore the fact that human error is responsible for 52% of data breaches, which is usually caused by weak passwords, low security awareness, and carelessness.
[X] I won’t update my software and hardware. Why rely on upgrades when your archaic office PC has been working well for many years now? Since you think you’re better than seasoned cybercriminals, you can certainly do away with the updates and security patches that will fix vulnerabilities in your computer.
[X] I will never back up my data. Who needs reliable data backups when you have a photographic memory that’s capable of remembering every single file in your office? Besides, all your important data are stored in your PC, so why spend more for backup services? Who cares if 140,000 hard drives fail in the United States every week or 60% of businesses that experience data loss shut down within a month?
[X] I will abandon the idea of creating a website to promote my products and services. You’ve told your family and friends about your new business, so why pay more for a website? Customers who need your services will eventually come to your store and buy your products anyway, right? What’s the point of paying extra for web design and search engine optimization services? So what if over half of the world’s population is online and there are more than three billion social media users?
These are just a few resolutions that you should throw out the window if you want to succeed in 2019. As the year comes to an end, we sincerely hope that your holidays will be merry and bright — free from malware, data breaches, crashes, and other serious problems.
But if something bad happens, don’t panic because it’s not the end of the world. Get in touch with the friendly experts of Cyber Shift Technologies, LLC for fast, reliable IT support, cloud services, backup, and recovery. Our knowledgeable technicians will take care of all your technology needs. Contact us today for details.