As the CEO of a company that helps small and medium-sized businesses develop their websites, David Brown knows all too well the threat companies face from hackers accessing their systems.
“Cybersecurity is a serious, serious threat, far more serious than many of us understand,” Brown said Tuesday at a World Affairs Council of Jacksonville luncheon at the Downtown River Club.
“A few years ago we didn’t worry about cybersecurity,” said Brown, chairman, CEO and president of Jacksonville-based Web.com Group Inc.
It seemed like the main threat was to big targets like banks and government websites, but that has changed, he said.
“I would guess there are very few companies that haven’t had a visit from some sort of cyberthreat,” he said.
The old image of websites hacked by young technology geeks for the fun of it is gone, Brown said. Now it’s coming from professionals.
“This is not a sport anymore,” he said.
One new threat businesses face is called “ransomware,” Brown said.
“It locks up your information until you pay a ransom,” he said. “This is a growing trend, especially for small business.”
Much of the cybersecurity threat comes from foreign governments, he said.
“The Chinese have enlisted their military and have been working on this for many years,” Brown said.
He also said countries like Syria and Iran have “electronic armies” that are more threatening than their human armies.
“I don’t want to scare you, but want you to know this is a real threat,” Brown said. “You’re not going to be able to be untouched.”
Brown offered several security tips to help protect both business and personal information on computers.
He advised using “complex” passwords and changing them frequently, and not to store the passwords on your computer where they can be found by a cyberthief.
He also advised changing the password on your home router. Many people just leave the standard password issued when the Internet provider sets up the system, and that’s easy to hack.
Brown also recommended backing up your data periodically and storing it off your computer, so you can access it if a virus infects your computer.
“This modicum of prevention will be worth a fortune to you,” he said.
Brown also talked about other areas of concern that will need to be addressed as Internet growth continues around the world. One is privacy, because there is so much information available without even being hacked.
“Within the Internet, there are no secrets,” Brown said.
Along with privacy, people need to worry about what other people say about them on the Internet. There is no regulation for that, Brown said.
“The general consensus around the world is, nope, we’re not going to regulate it,” he said. “It’s up to us.”
One trend driving the growth and availability of the Internet is the use of mobile devices. “In two years, we’ll have one-and-a-half mobile devices for every person on Earth,” Brown said.
“The reality is, we’re moving at light speed,” he said.
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