What Small Businesses Need To Know About Cyber Security?

What Small Businesses Need To Know About Cyber Security?

Many small businesses don't think about cybersecurity until a security breach occurs. Without cybersecurity, business can be expensive, time-consuming, and sensitive information can be lost.

Let's see why small businesses need to be mindful of cybersecurity and some of the precautionary measures you can take.

Why Do Small Businesses Need Cyber Security?

Cyber attacks are the new standard for small businesses. Media coverage may have focused on large-scale corporate infringements, but SMBs are a new frontier for cyber criminals. Small businesses are the target of 43% of cyber-attacks, according to a recent Verizon report on data breaches.

The average loss per attack averages over $ 188,000. Worse still, one report suggests that 60% of small businesses collapse within six months of a cyber attack.

Tips For Protecting Small Businesses From Cybersecurity Threats

Following are the tips & ideas for cybersecurity for small business

  • Assess risks and vulnerabilities. Hire an external consultant to test external access systems such as websites, drives, and folders. Create steps to be followed in the event of a breach so that network and computer security is a priority that is similar to other key business priorities.
  • Plan your device. You and your employees may be accessing your business data from multiple devices. Checking business email on cell phones is very convenient, but it also has potential security loopholes. Make sure you have mobile device security built into your cyber security plan.
  • Employee training is important. Make sure your employees are aware of cybersecurity threats and security policies. Be sure to update your training procedures as you continue to provide new guidelines.
  • According to a recent study by GetApp, 43% of employees do not have regular training on data security.
  • Follow password best practices. It is advisable to make all passwords secure and unique. Also, use a different password for each account. Require the use of strong, random passwords that contain letters, numbers, symbols, and special characters. A good password should be hard to remember. Also, ask employees to change all passwords every few months.
  • Log into your app and system with two-factor authentication and facial recognition. More and more apps and ecommerce websites are using two-factor authentication to verify the user's identity. The user receives the numeric code by email or text and enters it with the password to gain access. With biometric features like Windows Hello, users and employees can log in faster and more securely.
  • We are constantly updating our software and our system. Make sure you are running the latest version and security patches. Configure network security properly and use anti-virus software.
  • Back up all of your data to protect against ransomware attacks. Use external cloud providers in addition to on-site backup.
  • Let's start with the Department of Homeland Security's Cyber ​​Security Planning Guide. It covers everything from network and computer security to awareness raising to device and website security. 

Why Are Small Businesses Vulnerable to Cyber ​​Attacks?

There are several main reasons small businesses are particularly vulnerable to cyber attacks.

  • We can't afford to hire dedicated IT staff. And when possible, training and budgets are often inadequate. It can be worthwhile to find a managed IT service provider for your company. They offer deeper specialist knowledge and full-time availability.
  • Inadequate or non-existent computer and network security. Small businesses cannot react quickly to threats and cannot detect them at all.
  • Missing backup plan. Many small businesses don't use cloud services to back up their data outside of the company.
  • Employees unwittingly help cybercriminals attack companies. Employees need to be more aware of various attack vectors, as well as social engineering calls and email fraud.
  • Small businesses are relatively easy to attack. Without protection, hackers can find entry points for easy access to valuable customer financial information. Criminals can also use business data to attack larger targets like suppliers and financial institutions.

What Are The Most Common Cybersecurity Threats For Small Businesses?

Organizations are exposed to many cybersecurity threats. The most common are:

  • Email and phishing scams use email and text messages to entice victims. Falsified official information requires the victim to click a link to a website and then enter confidential financial and personal information. Criminals use the data to steal or resell personal information.
  • Password. Cyber ​​criminals can access passwords using databases, searching servers for unencrypted passwords, using email, text messaging and social engineering.
  • Server attack. DOS (Denial of Service) SQL injection and drive-by attacks target websites and servers. DOS attacks overwhelm system resources and cannot process a large number of service requests. SQL attacks read and modify sensitive data in the database. Drive-by attacks contain malicious code that infects the visitor's system and retrieves and sends sensitive data.
  • In man-in-the-middle attacks, hackers intercept victims' data on fake pages. These attacks also use phishing.
  • Social engineering attacks involve human interaction in order to obtain confidential information. This includes physical activity as well as attacks such as phishing and spear phishing. For example, a malicious person could leave behind a USB stick loaded with malware. If an unknown employee connects to your company's computer, you can be exposed to malware and other malicious programs.


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