Understanding the Gaps in Small Business’ Cybersecurity Posture: Is My Company at Risk?
Most people hear about high-profile data breaches that impact large corporations, but the majority of incidents hit small businesses. Since this isn’t as well known, cybersecurity for small businesses is often overlooked. However, no one needs to be more alert than SMBs.
In fact, 43% of all cyberattacks involve small to medium-sized businesses. This includes data breaches, viruses, ransomware, and more. Although every incident has negative consequences, it’s possible to recover. The problem is that most small businesses are unprepared to recover from a cyberattack.
Why Are Small Businesses a Target for Cybercrime?
Hackers target small businesses with less than 100 employees because they know security is usually lacking. Many small business owners don’t prioritize cybersecurity either because they don’t think they’re at risk or the cost seems too high. Compared to large corporations with massive IT budgets, a small business owner has to be intentional with how they implement security. If they aren’t sure what to do, sometimes they skip it altogether.
Critical Cybersecurity Measures for Small Businesses
Small business owners need a strong cybersecurity strategy that includes the following components:
Endpoint Protection
Each device connected to your company’s network needs to be protected from threats. For instance, small business cybersecurity should include firewalls along with antivirus software for all smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers, plus full protection for any web servers you use. It’s wise to also require employees to use a VPN when connecting to the company network or accessing company accounts.
You also need a more advanced strategy to manage and secure your endpoints. This should include the following:
Another aspect of endpoint protection involves keeping software and firmware updated on every device. You don’t want any vulnerabilities from outdated or unpatched software because that makes a device a prime target to get hacked. This alone is a good reason to opt out of the BYOD trend, despite it being easier for employees.
If you must allow employees to use their own device for work, make sure to install software that keeps work-related applications up to date and implement a strategic BYOD security strategy. However, keep in mind that BYOD is always a risk to your organization because you can’t control who uses the device after business hours, nor can you ensure personal apps on the device are updated.
A Backup and Recovery Plan
A data backup and recovery plan is vital for businesses to survive after a cyberattack. Some attacks aim to destroy files, while ransomware makes files inaccessible. When you have regular backups of company files, configurations, and applications, an attack won’t put you out of business. With IT disaster recovery, you can rebuild on a new machine and continue doing business quickly.
Your backup and recovery plan needs to be more than just stashing files on a hard drive. You need a strategy for saving and recovering those files, as well as a full business continuity plan.
Network Monitoring
Having your network monitored 24/7 is vital. Network monitoring will spot performance issues as well as potential threats before they turn into problems, provided you’re employing automated threat detection. Monitoring your network is only half the equation. You also need software to handle the threat immediately.
Automated Threat Detection
Automated threat detection employs a variety of solutions like intrusion prevention systems (IPS), firewalls, and software to prevent data breaches and mitigate the damage from various threats. This is the easiest way to keep your network safe without any effort on your part.
Strict Policies and Enforcement for Employees
Setting up cybersecurity policies within your organization is paramount. Your employees need parameters for how they handle and interact with company data and accounts to keep your company secure. For example, you might encrypt all company emails, back up your data at the end of each day, and use server virtualization to keep sensitive data separate. The details of your security policies are something a managed service provider can help you create.
A cybersecurity policy is only as strong as its enforcement. Enforce your policies without exception. Don’t give anyone the impression that it’s okay to break some of the rules because they will. When you take security seriously, so will your employees.
Employee Cybersecurity Training
When employees get regular cybersecurity training, the urgency remains in their awareness, and they’re more likely to follow company policy. Just going over the rules once isn’t enough because some security policies are a bit more nuanced and require integrating them into a new daily routine. Regular training also keeps employees informed of new threats and tactics hackers are using.
One of the biggest benefits of security training is making employees aware of social engineering attacks, like phishing schemes.
Managed IT Services
If you’re overwhelmed by the idea of implementing cybersecurity within your organization, managed IT can help. A managed service provider (MSP) will work with you to create and implement a personalized, strategic cybersecurity plan to protect your business from threats.
An MSP will also implement all of the necessary security components you require, like network monitoring, automated threat detection, employee security training, and more. Your MSP will give you advice on what antivirus software to use, and they’ll set up your internal network and secure all the endpoints in your office.
If you’re required to follow any specific data regulations, an MSP will help you verify that you are compliant. If not, they’ll show you what needs to change to become compliant and avoid hefty regulatory fines. For instance, you might need to encrypt the data on your company server so that it can’t be read even if it’s stolen. This is important because you can’t prevent all data security incidents, but a managed IT service provider can help you mitigate the potential damage should an incident occur.
Small Business and Cybercrime Statistics
Small businesses are more likely to fall victim to cyberattacks than larger, national brands. CEOs of small companies must understand the risks associated with their operations. Below are important statistics from recent years:
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Breached small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are likely to lose the business of 55% of people in the U.S.
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Cybersecurity incidents at SMBs typically cost up to $650,000, accounting for 95% of such incidents.
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Approximately 50% of SMBs report that recovering from an attack takes 24 hours or longer.
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In 2020, small businesses encountered over 700,000 attacks, resulting in damages totaling $2.8 billion.
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Small businesses are the target of malicious emails at the highest rate, with an average of 1 in 323 being targeted.
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Malware is the most common cyberattack against small businesses, comprising 18% of the attacks.
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Employees at small businesses are subjected to 350% more social engineering attacks compared to those at larger enterprises.
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One-third of small businesses with 50 or fewer employees rely on free, consumer-grade cybersecurity solutions.
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59% of small business owners who lack cybersecurity measures believe their business is too small to be targeted.
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Nearly half of small businesses allocate less than $1,500 per month to cybersecurity.
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SMBs typically allocate 5% to 20% of their total IT budget toward security.
BL King: Managed IT Services for Small Businesses
BL King offers managed IT services in Massachusetts for small businesses that need complete protection. If you aren’t sure how secure your business is, we’ll perform a cybersecurity risk assessment to identify your weak areas and then work with you to create a full plan. Contact us today to secure and protect your small business.
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