The threat of cybercrime has been growing fast year after year. Experts predict that the damages inflicted by cybercrime will grow by 15% every year for the next few years, reaching an expected $10.5 trillion by 2025.

That’s a truly astounding number and a cause for alarm. If you’re an integrator or smart home specialist, you’re in a unique position to educate your clients on the risks they’re facing and some high-level security measures they can take to protect their data.

It’s not only clients directly involved in defense and vital infrastructure that need be concerned, but anyone that our society is dependent on. Security risks could also include infiltration of wireless and cellular networks.

Cabling vs. Wireless: Which is More Secure?

Using Wi-Fi is convenient and, in today’s world, quite unavoidable. However, it does come with the risk of data and communication being intercepted by someone with malicious intent.

Leveraging Ethernet connections to increase digital security may not be possible in every situation, but for those with highly sensitive data and communications, an extensive, structured wiring network including dedicated Ethernet wall ports is a great way to increase digital security.

Essential Security Measures to Take Now

There’s a misconception that when it comes to cloud computing and cloud storage, security is the job of the cloud provider. And while that’s to true to some extent, there are also basic security measures cloud and network users should be taking as well.

Password Management

Using the same password on multiple websites can significantly expose a person’s accounts or entire cloud infrastructure to cyber-crime. For integrators and smart home specialists, this is an opportunity to educate your clients on the importance of using strong and unique passwords, as well as enabling multi-factor authentication.

Phishing Training

Phishing attacks are still the number one method for global cyber-crime. Using unique passwords on each site and enabling multi-factor authentication can help protect against phishing, but businesses of all sizes should also be doing regular phishing training for all network users.

Credentials and Access Keys

Another potential weak leak in a cloud network is the credentials or access keys. In many reported breaches, credentials have been leaked through source code or other documents. Best practices advise that access keys should be treated as sensitively as passwords—they should never be hard-coded, shared via email, or recorded in documents.