Identity Theft is Misunderstood By Many Of Your Clients

Last Friday I had the opportunity to interview John Sileo, one of our nation’s foremost experts on Identity Theft. This was part of the SVLC Insider’s Circle online events…if you’re an active member you have access to the entire interview posted on the membership site.

We gained some great insights through this interview. John gave us actionable information – ideas to take to small business owners, as well as those responsible for security in the larger accounts. ID theft is still the biggest problem. There’s lots of intellectual capital being taken, but ID Theft is bigger in terms of volume and likelihood for most of your accounts.

John Sileo revealed some issues you need to know…in summary:

1. Small businesses are liable for their bank accounts. If someone steals money out of your personal account, chances are your bank is going to cover that. They’ll take the hit! But of course we’ll all pay for it in banking fees. There are no free lunches. But if a small business account gets drained, that small business owner is on his own! Most small business owners have no idea…

2. It’s going to take over a year for the business owner to discover he’s been hacked. Most of them are waiting to see if something will go wrong. If they don’t see it, the assumption is everything’s okay. They need someone to show them. It’s stealth, and they won’t see it.

3. The assessment process is broken. John shared a story from his recent visit to Starbucks. While sipping on a latte he watched as a man left his system to visit the restroom. John was able to film the entire thing, including the guy’s screen – which was open for everyone to see. He was a government contractor accessing confidential information through a secure VPN. That VPN session was open and accessible while he was powdering in nose in the men’s room! Assessments don’t find this kind of stuff, yet it’s happening every day.

4. John personally experienced the loss of his own business years ago. He shared how his technology reseller business was compromised when someone ravaged through a trash can outside his office. Using unshredded documents, perpetrators were able to convince the banks that they were “John”. They took out loans and bought stuff using John’s identity. It took about three years to recover his name – but he still lost just about everything he owned, including his business.

5. In our interview he revealed that 60% of the ID Theft going on happens at the small business level. 50% of these companies will go out of business once they disclose the breach (which is something they most likely will have to do.) If they don’t disclose it and the media gets word – the damage multiplies.

ID Theft is big. If you’re in the managed services business, you need to be in the security managed services business. This week, Aegify, a provider of security managed cloud offerings is hosting a session on Growing the Managed Services Business. I’ll be addressing how to add security, what security to add, and how to take it to the market to address the issues mentioned above. Register here and join us:

Yes, I want to learn about selling MSSP services << Get your seat here!

If you would like a copy of John’s session, I did record it. Anyone who joins the SVLC Insider’s Circle will get this program, plus my latest book on selling security…and several other bonuses worth over $500, free. You can sign up right here: Learn more about the SVLC Insider’s Circle << CLICK.