Why is Cybersecurity for Small Businesses Important?

With remote-work capabilities, cloud-based storage, and nearly every part of business involving the internet somehow, cyber threats are more prevalent than ever.

You hear the statistics, and see it on the news, but how does it affect your small to mid-sized business?

Cybersecurity Risks for Small Business: What Makes Them a Target?

While many small business owners believe their size shields them from cyber threats, the reality is quite the opposite. SMEs are prime targets for these attacks due to a combination of factors that make them easier to exploit. Here’s why:

Limited cybersecurity resources
Weaker security systems
Lack of employee training
Valuable data readily available
Third-party vulnerabilities

1. Limited Cybersecurity Resources

Most of the time, small businesses don’t have the security resources that large corporations have – which often means their IT infrastructure is easily accessible and more vulnerable to attacks.

How do the cybercriminals even find my small business?

If your business has any online presence at all, from a website to a small Facebook page, your data is stored online and can be accessed. Additionally, third-party software is also to blame – more on this later.

2. Weaker Security Systems

Compared to larger enterprises, small businesses typically rely on basic or outdated systems that lack the latest security features. These older systems may not receive regular updates or patches, leaving them vulnerable to known exploits.

Without a strong cybersecurity plan for small businesses, even minor weaknesses can be exploited, leading to data breaches, ransomware attacks, and more.

3. Lack of Employee Cybersecurity Training

Many cyberattacks, such as phishing or malware, target unsuspecting employees. Small businesses often overlook the importance of cybersecurity training for small business staff, which leaves employees unaware of the latest threats or how to avoid them.

Without proper training, human error becomes a significant cybersecurity risk, as one wrong click can lead to devastating consequences.

4. Valuable Data Readily Available

Though smaller in scale, small businesses still handle valuable data such as customer information, financial records, and intellectual property. This data is considered highly valuable to cybercriminals and easily accessible if you don’t have strong encryption and security protocols in place.

5. Third-Party Vulnerabilities

Small businesses often rely on third-party vendors and software to run their operations. However, these third-party providers may not always prioritize cybersecurity, leaving a backdoor open for attackers.

If one of these vendors is compromised, it can easily lead to a breach in the small business's own network, further compounding their cybersecurity risks for small businesses.

Types of Cyberattacks Threatening Small Businesses

There are a range of threats your small business cyber security plan has to prepare you for. The nature of the attack depends on the goal of the hacker. For example, if they’re selling private information online, they will target small businesses for:

Medical records
Social security numbers
Proprietary information
Intellectual property
Personal identifiable information

Small businesses are prime targets for these attacks due to having less cyber defense practices in place. But before we get into defending against these threats, you should learn more about the risks you face every day.

Some common cybersecurity attacks include:

Ransomware
Phishing
Wireless network exploits

Ransomware

Imagine being locked out of your entire system until you meet a hacker’s demands.

This was the case during the worldwide “WannaCry” ransomware attack in 2017. The attack affected more than 200,000 computers across 150 countries. It caused sweeping shutdowns for companies in manufacturing, healthcare, education, communications, and government agencies, including FedEx, Honda, Nissan, and England’s National Health Service.

Ransomware is a malicious program that encrypts every file on your network. In order to reverse the encryption and regain access to your files, you must pay a sum of money to the attacker (usually in BitCoin). However, the ransom is not the only cost associated with a cyber attack. On average, companies lose 22 days of productivity and are forced to hire specialty employees and purchase additional cybersecurity software.

How are ransomware attacks spread?

Ransomware attacks are most often deployed through email phishing, Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) compromise, and software vulnerabilities.

Phishing

Phishing is the practice of tricking a user into providing their sensitive information. The “bait” is often an email created to look like an email from a reputable source. Typically, inside of the email, you are prompted to click a link and “sign into” your account, or enter a piece of sensitive information.

However, rather than signing into your account, you’re essentially filling out a form resulting in handing over your information to the cyber-criminal. The hacker will keep records of everything they’re given and sell your data to either a competitor or someone on the black market.

Wireless Network Exploits

Hackers can upload infectious files when your network security isn’t up to date. For example, you may be using an obsolete router for your business’s Wifi. If your router is using outdated wifi security protocols, an attacker can easily gain access to your network and steal your information.

Even when your router meets security standards, you’re still at risk if the network isn’t password protected. Allowing unauthenticated connections means anyone within your access point’s range can access your network.

Cybersecurity Software Available for Small Businesses

Unfortunately, cybersecurity software isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. To create a comprehensive cybersecurity stack, you have to piece it together based on your business needs and what threats you may encounter.

Different tools and software cover different aspects of cybersecurity, so it’s important to evaluate which combination works best for your company. Additionally, some software isn’t always safe to use. Here are a few cybersecurity software solutions for small businesses that we recommend:

1. Antivirus Software

Antivirus software is designed to stop harmful programs from getting into your system and doing damage to your data. It detects malicious files like trojans, worms, and ransomware before they can poison your PC or network.

Our preferred business antivirus solution is VIPRE. We’re experienced in deploying their full suite of cyber security tools including endpoint security, email protection, and automated patch management.

While you might be familiar with Norton or McAfee antivirus, both software specialize in consumer-grade protection. They do not provide the resources needed for the robust cyber security solution your business needs. Rather, they give basic blanket protection. In the event of an attack, they might lengthen the disruption because you depend on their customer support for resolutions.

If your systems are attacked, VIPRE takes corrective action and immediately alerts our IT technicians. VIPRE is built so IT professionals can rapidly assess threats and choose the best course of action based on an organization’s infrastructure.

2. Firewalls

A firewall is a digital barrier around your network. Consider it the walls around a castle. It establishes rules that filter what goes in and out of your network. With these protocols in place, the firewall inspects the files going through the network for their source, destination, and content. It’s able to recognize files coming from malicious sources by cross-checking databases of reported harmful programs.

Firewalls give you the ability to monitor everything connected to your network and the internet. You can keep suspicious or unknown devices from connecting to your network. Likewise, you can see if a compromised app streams your data to the web.

Windows includes a firewall but there are third-party options available. Your router may have a firewall built-in, but you may have to activate it.

3. Guest Wifi Network

A guest network is separate from your business’s primary, internal network. It’s usually created using a virtual local area network (VLAN) which isolates it from the main network where your private data is. Though it sounds complex, it only takes a few clicks to set up your router settings.

4. Password Policies & Ease-of-Use Software

Strong passwords are the foundation of your cyber security plan. When setting up your password policy, these are the minimum parameters we recommend:

10 character minimum
Update every 3-6 months
No repeating passwords
Require multi-factor authentication

For additional protection, you can implement one of the following ease-of-use software:

Duo – used for multi-factor authentication
LastPass – a password management software to safely store and generate passwords

5. Updating Your Operating System (OS) and Applications

An outdated, unsupported operating system makes your network & devices an easy target for cyberattacks. To protect its users, Microsoft releases regular security updates to patch the bugs hackers could exploit. They go into the software’s source code, make the necessary changes, and deliver a new version to you via download.

You cannot ignore updates and delay your security. We recommend configuring applications to update automatically.

6. Training Your Employees

As sophisticated as cyber security technology is, the human factor prevents it from achieving near 100% security. Your employees are one innocent click away from compromising your business’s data. It’s vital to actively train your users to spot suspicious content and report it to IT support professionals.

Cyber security training for employees should include instructions on:

Password policies
Phishing and email safety
Social engineering tactics
VPNs and safe web browsing
Secure file sharing

7. Backups for Cyberattacks and Disaster Recovery

Should all else fail and your business falls victim to a cyberattack, a data backup is the fastest way to get up and running again. Backups are crucial if you’re subject to a ransomware attack, your device suffers an irreparable failure, or your hardware is damaged in a disastrous fire or flood.

If a server becomes unrecoverable due to fire, theft, data corruption, natural disaster, or any other unforeseen event, it will cost you dearly to get back up and running, including the cost of:

Trying to recover the data
Getting another server up and running
Lost productivity

A comprehensive backup strategy includes local storage hardware and off-site cloud storage. The scope of your solution depends on the size of your business:

Backups for Small Businesses

(10 PCs or Less)

Backups for Medium-Sized Businesses

(10-20+ PCs)

For small businesses, we recommend Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive, at a minimum. These services save your files to an off-site network called “The Cloud” that you access over the internet.

Storing files in the cloud gives you the ability to access them on all your devices. Using the cloud, you can still access your documents from another PC if yours is out of order.

Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive can be organized natively on your Windows PC File Explorer program. OneDrive will feel more familiar to Windows users.

If you’re concerned about security risks, Google and Microsoft use state-of-the-art encryption to protect your files from outside threats and have significantly stronger defense mechanisms in place than any small business’s data storage.

When your business grows beyond 10 PCs, it’s a good idea to have an on-site backup device that can replicate your data in the cloud. We recommend CTERA Global File System. They offer Hybrid Local and Direct-to-Cloud backups.

Upgrading to a dedicated cloud vendor gives you more control and flexibility over your data. They allow employees to share files across a whole range of devices while ensuring that everything – data, metadata, encryption keys, user authentication – is driven through your own firewalls and VPNs and not a third-party provider’s.

In the event of a data loss at your office, devices like the CTERA allow us to quickly recover data on-site rather than having to wait for data to transfer from the cloud.

The cloud component is an excellent insurance policy for instances where your on-premise device has a failure, or your office encounters a complete loss.

Small Business Cyber Security Solutions

No business is too small to be hacked. Whether you employ three or 300, you need to implement cyber security solutions that keep your networks safe. You may not have the luxury of an in-house cyber security team, but small to medium businesses can get the same benefits for a fraction of the cost by partnering with a cyber security services company.

Need Help Creating Cyber Security Solutions That Work For You?

While all businesses need a robust cybersecurity plan, not all businesses have the same needs.

Our team is dedicated to making sure your technology and security is set up for success.

Small Business Cybersecurity Plan