Easy Steps to Prevent Cybersecurity Threats

By Dani Sheehan. 

Better safe than sorry! Learn about potential cybersecurity attacks and what steps you can take to mitigate your company’s risk. 

In season five, episode 45 of Roofing Road Trips, Heidi J. Ellsworth sits down with Adams and Reese Counsel Roy Hadley to discuss the importance of cybersecurity in the industry and what to be aware of to protect your business. In an increasingly digital era, our constant dependence on computers and electronics makes us more susceptible to bad actors infiltrating our businesses.  

Most people know to be weary of email scams, but with advancing technology, phishing and social engineering pose threats even on the phone. As Roy describes, historically, we used to pick up the phone and call a customer to verify any suspicious information. “Now with artificial intelligence, they can replicate voices. And so you pick up the phone and you call, and you think you’re calling the right number, they put a number in the email and you call that number and all of a sudden it sounds just like [the customer].” Unfortunately, it’s getting more complicated to keep your business safe. Roy says the best thing you can do in that situation is to “Call the known number, not a number that’s in the email, or not a number that they text to you or send to you. Call that number that’s in your contacts, that’s been in your contacts for five years, ten years, and verify it that way.” 

While Roy jokes that his children call him paranoid, there are steps your company can take to keep your mind at ease and reduce your risk for cybersecurity attacks. No matter the size of your company, Roy suggests investing in employee training. “We can have the best technological solutions and spend hundreds of thousands, tens of thousands of dollars putting them in place, but if our employees are clicking that link, or if they’re doing things that they shouldn’t, it’s going to be all be for nought.” 

As another suggestion, Roy says, “A good thing to do is to get a password manager for your company. They’re relatively inexpensive, they can help you come up with very strong passwords and they can also prompt you to change your password [at regular intervals] so that your password isn’t the same that’s been sitting out there for years.” 

These are just a few examples of the low hanging fruit that can protect your company against potential threats.

Listen to the full podcast episode or read the transcript to learn more about cybersecurity and what is happening in the construction industry.