From expanding market reach to enhancing customer engagement and streamlining business operations, technology has revolutionized the business world in recent years, especially for small businesses. Technologies such as cloud computing, digital marketing, and e-commerce have leveled the playing field, allowing small companies to compete with large organizations and grow effectively. However, while small businesses have benefitted the most from the digital revolution, they have also become a prime target for cybercriminals.
Compared to large-scale companies, small businesses are typically ill-equipped to defend against cyberattacks, allowing cybercriminals to steal data or financial assets easily. But what’s more concerning is that cyberattacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated with technological improvements, making defense harder than ever before. However, with the right strategies and cybersecurity technologies, you can protect your small businesses effectively and prevent the devastating consequences of a cyberattack. To help you with this purpose, here are five essential cybersecurity practices for your business.
Train Your Employees
Cybercriminals do not always leverage security gaps in business technology to conduct data breaches. In fact, one of the most common cyberattacking strategies known as social engineering relies on exploiting inexperienced employees. This involves obtaining credentials or confidential information directly through employees through manipulation and different types of scams. For example, phishing, a social engineering technique, involves asking for information through fake emails that appear to be authentic. Keeping this in mind, training your employees and making them aware of the cybersecurity threats your businesses may face is crucial. Doing so will allow your employees to identify social engineering attacks and act carefully while dealing with your company’s private data.
To train your employees, it’s a good idea to start a mentorship program where experienced workers teach safe work practices to beginners. However, you must engage the service of experts to ensure that your business is provided with the necessary security protocols. The experts can provide you with an audit of your current system, help you identify any vulnerabilities, and advise on what measures should be taken to enhance the security of your business.
This also creates opportunities for aspiring professionals in the field of cybersecurity. Ideally, an online masters in cybersecurity can open up a world of possibilities for someone looking to enter the field. With an online degree, aspiring professionals can gain the knowledge and experience to build a successful career in this rapidly growing sector.
Backup Digital Assets
While prevention is one of the main components of an effective cybersecurity strategy, recovery is an equally important practice. Even with stringent cybersecurity measures in place, cybercriminals may still be able to exploit security gaps you are not aware of. In such a situation, your small business could find itself vulnerable unless you have securely backed up your digital assets and prepared for a recovery plan. With a backup of all your assets, you can regain your digital assets in case they are stolen or destroyed. This is particularly useful during ransomware attacks that demand large sums of money in return for the data stolen. In case of a ransomware attack, you can prevent significant financial loss and recover your data with backups. With ransomware attacks increasing by 37% in 2023, it’s crucial to have security measures against them.
However, a few things must be considered to develop an effective backup plan. While creating backups, you must focus on on-site as well as off-site storage for digital assets. Doing so ensures you have several backups in different locations for increased security in case some backups are destroyed. Additionally, it’s a good idea to consider cloud storage for off-site backups as it’s typically cheap while being secure, making it perfect for small businesses. But most importantly, make sure to encrypt your backups to prevent cybercriminals from stealing them.
Use Strong Authentication Systems
As much as 81% of cyberattacks worldwide exploit poor password practices. As a result, it’s safe to say that an insecure authentication system such as a simple password is likely to occur in a cyberattack for your small business. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) systems are best suited for this purpose. Unlike simple passwords, MFA systems have several layers of security. Modern MFA systems make use of biometrics as well alongside PINs, security codes, and passwords.
As a result, if a cybercriminal is able to pass through a few security layers, the remaining will ensure the protection of your digital assets. Moreover, MFA systems release security alerts in case of failed login attempts. This will enable you to take immediate action against any unauthorized access attempt and prevent data breaches. You can organize the company’s authentication by implementing access privileges to further increase security. Doing so will ensure each employee can only access data they have access to.
Secure Your Network
Networks are a vital part of the technological infrastructure of any business in the modern age. Digital channels are needed to transmit and receive important information from Wi-Fi networks to local area networks. However, with sensitive information flowing through business networks, cybercriminals have the perfect opportunity to steal data unless you secure your network. For this purpose, it’s crucial to implement end-to-end encryption as it prevents cyber criminals from intercepting network channels and stealing data. As a result, no individual can access network data externally.
In addition to encryption, it’s equally important to implement authentication systems for networks. Otherwise, an unauthorized individual can easily communicate through your network and access valuable information. Moreover, remote employees should send and receive valuable information using a virtual private network (VPN). But most importantly, you need to use a strong firewall on all your business networks to monitor network traffic and filter out malicious data that may be malware.
Focus on Risk Assessment
One of the most important cybersecurity practices is risk assessment. It allows you to identify different vulnerabilities in the technological infrastructure and understand the likelihood of associated risks. An effective risk assessment can enable you to allocate resources effectively and implement targeted security measures. As a result, your company will only invest in the security of vulnerable areas instead of wasting financial resources to implement poor cybersecurity measures. More importantly, risk assessment can significantly improve cyberattack prevention by allowing you to take the right security measures when an attack is expected.
Conclusion
In recent years, business technology has made it significantly easier for small companies to thrive in the fiercely competitive business world. Whether you need to reach a global market or increase sales, business technology has simple and effective solutions. However, technology comes with its own set of challenges, including the heightened risk of cyberattacks. A single cyberattack can cause a small company to run out of business. To avoid such a situation, follow the essential cybersecurity practices mentioned above and keep your business secure.