The potential to fall victim to a cyberattack is a modern reality for businesses of any size. The smallest among them have the most to lose, yet complacent leadership often pays the price of putting cybersecurity off for later.
Luckily, such mistakes are easy to avoid if you familiarize yourself with the threats and the ways to counter them. Here’s what every small business owner or manager should be aware of and take to heart when it comes to protecting their company from online threats.
What Online Threats Plague Small Businesses?
SMBs (Small and Medium-sized Businesses) are up against a wide variety of cyber threats. Some happen due to a false sense of security, as owners and decision-makers erroneously believe their businesses aren’t worth targeting. Others can be the result of increasingly sophisticated attacks that can bypass active defenses or happen when employees decide to act maliciously. Here’s what you’re up against.
Data breaches
A breach happens when someone gains unauthorized access to the sensitive data your company is supposed to safeguard. It may result from a leaked reused password that makes its way to the dark web, improperly shared cloud storage folders, weak cloud security settings, malware, etc.
Attackers are usually after your most valuable digital asset – customer and company data. Compromised databases give access to personally identifiable and payment information, payroll data, contracts and pricing info, or intellectual property. Breaches can be devastating for SMBs since the legal and financial consequences, not to mention the reputation loss, may be too much to handle.
Phishing
Another way of getting access is by tricking employees or higher-ups into providing it. This is done via phishing attacks that are increasingly sophisticated thanks to AI. You may get an email that looks like it’s from a bank or vendor that instructs you to urgently click a link or download an attachment. The former usually leads to a fake portal that captures any login details you type in. The latter may infect your system and others in the same network with malware.
Ransomware
The malware mentioned above comes in many forms. Some are sneaky and hard to detect since their goal is to monitor system activity to extract passwords and gain further access. Ransomware is more direct and impactful. It can encrypt important documents or system files, making the infected device unusable unless you give in to the accompanying demands and take a financial hit.
Malicious insiders
Businesses need to be aware of two types of insider threats. The more common one is broad and stems from employee negligence and incompetence. It can happen unintentionally, for example, if an employee repeatedly reuses passwords or falls victim to a phishing scam.
However, employees may also use their credentials and privileges to deliberately harm the company. They may steal or alter data, sabotage work processes, or leak company secrets to competitors. This can be an ongoing process, or it can escalate if a disgruntled ex-employee’s access isn’t revoked in time.
Supply chain attacks
Your company can also suffer collateral damage if a vendor or other third-party you depend on experiences a cyberattack. There are fewer safeguards when interacting with trusted third parties, making it easier for attackers to push harmful software updates or make requests that compromise your security.
Practical Defense Practices You Should Implement
Small businesses don’t have the luxury of not taking the above threats seriously. That said, there’s no need for fearmongering. Attackers prioritize speed and ease of execution, meaning that a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy will make you a much less tempting target. Implementing one is neither expensive nor complicated if you focus on the following.
Access control
Most cyberattacks can be preempted or at least prevented from escalating with strong access controls. From a security standpoint, this means insisting that employees use unique credentials for each business tool or account they need to log into and securing them with multifactor authentication. Deploying a business password manager will standardize this practice and greatly speed it up.
Also, a hierarchy needs to be in place that limits most accounts’ scope and privileges. Using role-based access control ensures that every employee can do their job without obstructions while limiting access to sensitive systems and data to the most responsible and knowledgeable individuals.
Network security
The challenges of network security are twofold. On the one hand, you need to protect the company’s internal networks and systems from breaches. This entails deploying next-generation firewalls that monitor incoming and outgoing threats as well as segmenting the network so high-priority systems and databases are harder to reach and compromise.
On the other hand, remote employees and distributed teams need a secure means of accessing company networks and assets from the outside. VPNs are essential for this.
The best VPNs encrypt the connection between company servers and any potentially unsafe network remote employees might be using, ensuring that any sensitive information or file exchanges remain safe. Moreover, connecting via VPN serves as a strong means of authentication – mandating that remote employees use one simplifies access while also helping to identify and prevent unsanctioned connection attempts.
Employee training
Informed and vigilant employees are among your strongest cybersecurity assets. Not only will they not fall for phishing attacks and other scams, but they’ll also be more ready to spot potential security issues and let the IT team know before these can escalate.
This only works if training is conducted regularly and accounts for real-world scenarios and threats. It’s equally important to build and maintain a company culture that makes security a core part of everyday operations and rewards employees who take related responsibilities seriously.
Conclusion
Small businesses can’t eliminate risk entirely, but consistent basics like strong access control, secure networking, and ongoing employee training will stop most attacks before they turn into expensive disasters.
